By MATT PIKE
The St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves combined for all 11 runs scored through in a wild first three innings of the game, and the Braves beat the Redbirds 6-5 at Busch Stadium to open the final series ahead of the All Star Break on Friday night.
After Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the game with a double, and advanced to third on a wild pitch from Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore, Austin Riley singled to drive him in for the opening run. Riley scored in the next at bat on a two run home run by Sean Murphy, his 14th of the season, to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead.
The Cardinals cut that lead to one in the bottom half of the inning, Brendan Donovan opening up with a single and scoring on a double by Alec Burleson. A single from Willson Contreras drove in Burleson for the second run to trim the Braves lead. Atlanta pulled away though, getting one run back in the second inning when Acuña Jr. singled home Michael Harris II to give Atlanta 4-2 lead.
Unable to score in the bottom of the third, the Braves added the final two runs in the third inning, Murphy hitting his second home run of the game to lead off the inning, and then later in the inning Drake Baldwin singling home Jurickson Profar, who followed Murphy's home run with a double.
Now trailing by four, the Cardinals again trimmed the lead to one, though that would be all they could do. A single from Pedro Pagés with the bases loaded drove in Burleson, who doubled to open the inning, and Lars Nootbaar who walked. Victor Scott II singled in the final run, scoring Nolan Gorman who also walked in the inning, but the inning ended with Scott being thrown out at second base on a grounder by Donovan.
Neither the Cardinals nor the Braves threatened the remainder of the way, never getting a runner past first base. Liberatore took the loss for St. Louis, falling to 6-7 on the season, pitching three innings and giving up all six runs on nine hits while walking one. At the plate, Scott II was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Contreras was 2-for-5 with an RBI while Burleson was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.
St. Louis and Atlanta continue their series on Saturday. Erick Fedde (3-9, 4.79 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals while the Braves starter is listed as TBD. First pitch is at 1:15pm, coverage will be joined around 1:05 on KY 102 (102.5 FM).
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