By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS(AP) -- Adam Wainwright made the most of his 28th
birthday and bobblehead day, becoming the majors' first 16-game
winner.

Wainwright dominated most of his six innings in St. Louis' 2-1
victory that gave the Cardinals a three-game sweep of the
Washington Nationals.

"Adam by far is the best pitcher I've faced this year,"
Nationals leadoff hitter Willie Harris said. "That's why he's
where he is right now."

Albert Pujols had the go-ahead single on a hit-and-run play in
the sixth and Colby Rasmus had two hits and scored twice for the
NL Central leaders, who have won five of six and are 29-4 since
July 1 in starts by their top three - Wainwright, Chris
Carpenter and Joel Pineiro. Pujols had two hits and was 5 for 10
in the series with an RBI in each game, including a game-winning
ninth-inning homer on Friday.

St. Louis was 20-6 in August with a day off Monday, and the .769
winning percentage is the best for that month in franchise
history. They're a season-best 22 games above .500 and their
10-game lead over the Cubs is their largest since the end of
2005, when they finished 11 games ahead of Houston.

The Cardinals won on only four hits while leaning on the
pitching staff, also limiting the Nationals to four hits. They
needed only three hits to beat the Astros 1-0 on Tuesday,
getting eight scoreless innings from Wainwright.

"Adam rose to the occasion," manager Tony La Russa said.
"Again."

Elijah Dukes had an RBI single for the Nationals, who have lost
10 of 13 and finished 1-6 against St. Louis. Washington was held
to seven runs in the series after totaling 24 runs while taking
two of three at Chicago the previous series and is 14-14 this
month, needing a win on Monday at San Diego for their first
winning month since September 2007.

Wainwright (16-7) is 4-0 in his last five starts and has worked
at least six innings in 26 consecutive starts, the best streak
in the majors. Wainwright is 41-22 since moving to the rotation
in 2007 after getting the last out in the 2006 World Series as
the closer.

He, Carpenter and Pineiro are a combined 43-19.

"We've got a lot of talented pitcher in this league, and on this
team even," Wainwright said.

Wainwright's outing against the Nationals is tied for his
shortest in the last 13 starts, and he faltered at the finish
with consecutive walks to Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham setting
up Dukes' game-tying two-out hit.

"I didn't do anything particularly well," Wainwright said. "I
just had a good team behind me. That was what I did on the bump,
play for the Cardinals."

The Nationals didn't have a runner in scoring possession until
the sixth against Wainwright, who allowed a run on three hits
with seven strikeouts and three walks. In his last eight starts,
he's 6-1 with a 1.31 ERA and his overall 2.47 ERA is fourth-best
in the NL.

Ryan Franklin escaped a bases-loaded situation in the eighth and
got the last four outs for his NL-leading 35th save in 37
chances. Franklin has a save in his last 11 appearances.

Left fielder Matt Holliday protected the lead on Josh
Willingham's two-out double off the wall with a man on and two
outs in the eighth, blocking the carom with his leg and then
getting the ball in quickly.

Rasmus singled off Garrett Mock (3-6) and went all the way to
third on Pujols' dribbled infield hit before Ankiel's one-out
sacrifice fly in the fourth, his first RBI in six games.

Dunn walked three times for the eighth time this season and the
43rd time of three or more. He has an NL-leading 100 walks.

NOTES: Mark DeRosa (sore wrist) was scratched from the
Cardinals' lineup and replaced by Khalil Greene, who was 0 for 3
and didn't get the ball out of the infield. DeRosa played 3B
after a double switch in the seventh. ... Troy Glaus turned an
ankle while hitting for Triple-A Memphis Saturday night and is
due to visit team physician Dr. George Paletta on Monday. He has
been due to join the team along with the September callups. ...
Wainwright's six-inning streak is the franchise's longest since
Chris Carpenter had a run of 28 in 2005. ... Five of the
Cardinals' last six games have been decided by a run, all but
one of them St. Louis victories.