Cardinals Drop Finale to Braves, Still Take Series Into Break

The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Drop Finale to Braves, Still Take Series Into Break
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals had a chance to finish the first half with a sweep.

Instead, they finished with a reminder.

The Braves beat the Cardinals 4-3 Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium, salvaging the final game of the three-game series and sending St. Louis into the All-Star break with a frustrating loss after a weekend that was still good enough to count as a series win.

That is the balance of this one.

The Cardinals took two of three from Atlanta, one of the better clubs in the National League. They won the first two games behind strong pitching, timely swings and enough late-inning work to hold things together. That part matters.

But Sunday was there for the taking.

The Cardinals tied the game in the sixth, had momentum back in the ballpark and were three outs from at least forcing Atlanta to survive the bottom of the ninth. Instead, the Braves pushed across the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, and St. Louis could not answer.

A series win is a series win.

But a sweep was sitting there.

And the Cardinals let it slip away.

St. Louis struck first in the opening inning. Jordan Walker drew a two-out walk, stole second and came home when Alec Burleson drove a double to deep left field. It was a sharp piece of two-out offense, and it gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead before the Braves could fully settle in.

That was the kind of start the Cardinals wanted.

Dustin May needed it.

May did not have his cleanest outing, but he kept the Cardinals in the game. The right-hander worked four innings, allowing two runs on two hits, walking four and striking out four. It was not the dominant bounce-back outing the Cardinals would have liked to see heading into the break, but it was not a collapse either.

It was a grind.

The second inning showed the problem. May walked Dominic Smith and Austin Riley to open the frame. Joey Jarvis moved both runners with a sacrifice bunt, and after May struck out Brewer Hicklen for the second out, a wild pitch got away and allowed Smith to score from third.

That tied the game at 1-1.

It was not hard contact.

It was not a big swing.

It was a free pass, another free pass, a bunt and a mistake pitch that got away. That is how teams create runs without doing much damage, and it was an inning that kept Atlanta alive early.

The Braves took the lead in the fourth.

Riley was hit by a pitch with one out, Jarvis popped out, and Hicklen singled to left to put two aboard. Drake Baldwin followed with a single to right, scoring Riley and giving Atlanta a 2-1 lead.

That was the end of May’s line.

May had allowed only two hits, but the walks, hit batter and wild pitch kept him from controlling the game the way the Cardinals needed. He threw 84 pitches, 50 for strikes, and once again left the bullpen with plenty to cover.

That has been the larger issue.

The Cardinals need length from their starters, especially with the bullpen having been tested heavily over the past couple of weeks. May kept St. Louis close, but he did not give the club the kind of length that lets a pitching staff breathe.

Justin Bruihl opened the fifth and got a needed double play after Matt Olson singled. But Atlanta added to the lead in the sixth when Jarvis doubled to deep right-center and Hicklen followed with a double to left-center, scoring Jarvis and making it 3-1.

At that point, the Cardinals’ offense had done very little after Burleson’s first-inning double.

Then the sixth inning finally brought life.

Walker singled to center to open the inning. Burleson flied out, but Lars Nootbaar walked and Masyn Winn singled to left, loading the bases with one out. Oliver Marmol went to the bench, first with Blaze Jordan announced and then Bryan Torres coming in as the pinch-hitter.

Torres struck out.

That left the game sitting on José Fermín’s bat.

Fermín came through.

With two strikes, Fermín singled to center, scoring Nootbaar and Walker and tying the game at 3-3. Winn moved to third, and Busch Stadium had life again.

It was the biggest Cardinals swing of the afternoon.

Not a homer.

Not a loud headline blast.

Just a tough at-bat, a ball through the middle and two runs in a spot where the Cardinals badly needed them.

That is the kind of bench and depth contribution that can win a game.

It nearly did.

Jimmy Crooks struck out to end the inning, leaving Winn at third, and that missed chance mattered. The Cardinals had tied the game, but they did not take the lead. Against Atlanta, leaving the go-ahead run 90 feet away is dangerous living.

Gordon Graceffo gave the Cardinals important work after entering in the sixth. He got Ozzie Albies to ground out to end that inning, then handled the seventh with three ground-ball outs. It was exactly what the Cardinals needed in that spot — quick, efficient and calm.

Ryan Stanek followed with a scoreless eighth. Eli White singled, but Stanek got Riley to pop out, struck out Jarvis and got Hicklen to ground out.

The game was still tied.

The Cardinals still had a chance.

They just could not finish it.

After St. Louis went quietly in the bottom of the eighth, JoJo Romero took the ninth and faced the top of the Braves’ order. He got Baldwin to fly out to deep center for the first out, but Albies turned on a sinker and drove it into the left-field corner for a double.

That put the go-ahead run in scoring position.

Romero got Olson to ground out, moving Albies to third. Michael Harris II was then hit by a pitch on an 0-2 offering, a call that held up after review and led to Marmol being ejected after arguing the ruling.

That brought Dubón to the plate.

Dubón hit a grounder to short. Winn fielded it, but his throw sailed past Burleson at first, allowing Albies to score from third.

Atlanta led 4-3.

It was not a clean go-ahead rally. It was a double, a productive groundout, a controversial hit-by-pitch and an errant throw. But the Braves do not care how it looked. They found a way to score the run.

The Cardinals did not.

Romero walked White to load the bases, but Riley flied out to Nootbaar in center to end the inning and keep the deficit at one. That gave St. Louis one last chance in the bottom of the ninth, but the offense had nothing left.

The Cardinals finished with three runs on four hits.

Walker scored twice, stole a base and had one hit. Burleson drove in the first run with his 23rd double of the season. Winn singled. Fermín drove in two with the sixth-inning single. Nootbaar walked twice and scored once.

That was the offense.

Four hits.

Six left on base.

A tied game in the sixth.

A go-ahead chance left at third.

A quiet ninth.

That was the difference.

Atlanta finished with four runs on seven hits. Hicklen had two hits, including the RBI double in the sixth. Baldwin drove in a run. Albies doubled and scored the decisive run in the ninth. The Braves did not hit a home run, but they found enough ways to manufacture offense and take advantage of the Cardinals’ mistakes.

That is what good teams do.

The Cardinals committed one error, and it came at the worst possible time.

The series still belongs to St. Louis. That should not get lost in the frustration of the finale. The Cardinals beat Atlanta 2-1 in the opener after a long rain delay, then came back with a clean 4-1 win Saturday behind Matthew Liberatore and Lars Nootbaar. Taking two of three from the Braves before the All-Star break is a good weekend.

But Sunday could have made it better.

A sweep would have sent the Cardinals into the break with a much louder statement. It would have finished a strong homestand against one of the National League’s best teams. It would have given them one more win in a race where every game matters.

Instead, they head into the break with a series win and a sour final taste.

Both things can be true.

The Cardinals showed backbone this weekend. They played well enough to win the series. Their pitching was good enough for long stretches. Their defense, until the ninth inning Sunday, was steady enough. They got meaningful swings from different parts of the roster.

But the finale was a reminder of how thin the margin can be.

Walks matter.

Wild pitches matter.

Leaving runners matters.

Throwing the ball away in the ninth inning matters.

The Cardinals are still in the postseason picture, but the path forward does not get easier. The All-Star break gives them a chance to reset, breathe and take inventory. Jordan Walker will head to the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game as one of the organization’s brightest stories. Riley O’Brien will also represent the club. The Cardinals will have time to rest some arms, review the roster and prepare for the second half.

But when play resumes, the same questions will be waiting.

Do they have enough pitching?

Can they get enough length from the rotation?

Can the bullpen hold up?

Can the offense produce consistently enough when the game tightens late?

Sunday did not answer those questions the way St. Louis wanted.

The Cardinals took the series.

The Braves took the finale.

And the first half ended with a 4-3 loss that felt like one more game the Cardinals had a chance to finish — but did not.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB