 The Cardinals, however, took two of three from the Mets at home, shrinking the Braves' lead even further to a mere two games.With just two series remaining apiece for both the Braves and Cardinals, the Braves traveled to Nationals Park to play the Washington Nationals in their final road series of the season while the Cardinals remained at Busch Stadium for their final home series of the year.Braves veteran ace Tim Hudson pitched well enough to give the Braves a win in the first game of their series, while the Cardinals struggled against Ryan Dempster and the Chicago Cubs.