Braves vs. Cardinals Sereis Wrap

A sweep! The Atlanta Braves swept the Saint Louis Cardinals for the first time in three years. It was a well-earned series sweep for Atlanta. Not only did the Braves win THREE games in a row… they now have a winning record of 55-54. And, after this series, they are 1.5 games behind the New York Mets. It took Atlanta a long time to get a winning record, but it was worth it!

Game One: Max Fried vs. Jon Lester, Braves won 6-1 Max Fried had a very good outing for the Braves. He went six innings, allowed four hits, ZERO runs, only one walk, and he struck out seven. Fried had good command over his pitches and his pitch count. He was able to get corner calls and keep his pitches in the strike zone.

Atlanta was ALL OVER Jon Lester in the top of the first inning. Ozzie Albies led off the game with a full-count walk. Jorge Soler followed Ozzie’s walk with a monstrous two-run homer. After Soler’s home run to make it a 2-0 Braves lead, Freddie Freeman reached base on a single, and Austin Riley followed him with a single. Dansby Swanson scored Freeman with an RBI-single making it 3-0 Atlanta. As if Jon Lester hadn’t gotten himself into enough first inning trouble… he walked Duvall to load the bases with Braves. With the bases loaded and NO ONE out, Joc Pederson was up to bat. He had an RBI-single to extended Atlanta’s lead to 4-0. And then, to add the final blow of the inning, Kevan Smith grounded into a double play. However, he still got an RBI and made it a 5-0 game, all Atlanta.

Freddie Freeman extended the Braves lead in the second inning when he hit a solo home run to right field. That made it a 6-0 game.

The Cardinals did not have much luck against the Braves pitchers. However, they did score one in the bottom of the ninth inning. Josh Tomlin gave up an RBI-single to Yadier Molina, which scored Tyler O’Neil who singled in the previous at-bat. Molina’s base hit made it a 6-1 game, which was the final score.

Game Two: Drew Smyly vs. J.A. Happ, Braves won 7-4

Talk about a come-from-behind win! St. Louis got a 3-0 lead early on a three-run bomb by Nolan Arenado to give the Cards the lead in the bottom of the first. But Atlanta didn’t let that discourage them. They battled throughout the entire game, and in the end, they came out on top!

Drew Smyly didn’t have his best outing. He only went four innings, allowed six hits, three runs, one walk, and he had two strikeouts. Smyly got the first batter of the game, Tommy Edman, to ground out. The next batter he faced, Dylan Carlson, hit a line drive back to Drew Smyly that almost hit him in the face. Woah! I think that the line drive to the head shook Smyly up, which resolved in his first inning struggles.

Atlanta got on the board in the top of the fourth inning. Guillermo Heredia had an RBI-double that scored Dansby Swanson and made it a 3-1 game. The Braves scored again in the top of the fifth inning on a first-pitch, solo home run by Jorge Soler. His homer made it a 3-2 game, with St. Louis still on top.

The Cardinals went to the bullpen in the sixth inning. They brought Ryan Helsley on to pitch in relief of Happ. The Braves took advantage of the Cards’ bullpen. After Austin Riley struck out to start the inning, Dansby Swanson had a single. And then, Adam Duvall came up clutch once again for Atlanta. He hit a gigantic two-run bomb making it a 4-3 game.

However, Paul Goldschmidt had an RBI sac fly to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. That made it a 4-4 game.

In the top of the eighth inning, Austin Riley led off with a single. Dansby Swanson followed Riley with another single. Adam Duvall struck out to make the first out of the inning, and then Guillermo Heredia walked to load the bases with Braves. Stephen Vogt had a sac fly to make it a 5-4 game, and then Joc Pederson had a two-RBI double, making it a 7-4 four game.

That was all the runs scored that game, and the Atlanta Braves pulled off a come from behind win! This was the first time the Braves won multiple games in a row since before the All Star break.

Game Three: Touki Toussaint vs. Wade LeBlanc, Braves won 8-4

It was almost like this game was handed to Atlanta. The Braves were losing coming into the eighth inning, when they scored six runs in the top of the eighth… SIX. Not to mention FOUR of those runs came on bases loaded walks.

Touki Toussaint pitched 5.1 innings for Atlanta. He allowed five hits, three runs, two walks, and he had three strikeouts. His stuff wasn’t bad, and he had much better command of his pitches and the strike zone than the last time he was on the mound.

The Braves got on the board first in the top of the third inning. Freddie Freeman hit an RBI single that scored my man, Ozzie Albies who walked earlier that inning. That made it a 1-0 game.

In the bottom of the third inning, St. Louis took the lead. They tied the game on a solo home run by Andrew Kinzer, their catcher, to make it a 1-1 game. Then Nolan Arenado hit an RBI-single that scored their center fielder, Dylan Carlson who was hit by a pitch. That RBI single made it a 2-1 game, Cardinals on top.

Joc Pederson tied the game at two apiece the top of the fourth inning when he hit a line drive, solo home run into the seats in right center field.

In the bottom of the sixth inning the Cards took the lead back on a passed ball, and then in the bottom of the seventh inning, they extended their lead with an RBI-single by Paul Goldschmidt to make it a 4-2 game.

However, in the top of the eighth inning, things got fun for Atlanta. Not to mention all SIX of these runs came with two outs. Austin Riley started off the scoring of that inning with a two-run BOMB that tied the game 4-4. Swanson followed his home run with a double. Adam Duvall was hit by a pitch and then Joc Pederson reached base on a four pitch walk. That loaded the Bases up with Braves. Ehire Adrianza walked with the bases loaded to make it a 5-4 game. Stephen Vogt walked with the bases loaded, making it a 6-4 game. My man, Ozzie Albies, he WALKED with the bases loaded to extend the lead to 7-4, and then Jorge Soler walked with the bases loaded AGAIN for Atlanta making it a 8-4 game. Freeman ended the St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching nightmare with a line out – but not before the Braves took the lead and stunned St. Louis at the same time!

This was a great series! The Braves won three consecutive games in a row…and they now have a winning record! Let’s hope they can keep this up!