The St. Louis Cardinals lost 4-5 to the Braves on Tuesday, falling to 27 wins and 23 losses on the year, one game back from the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central.
Cardinals starting pitcher Jake Westbrook (4-4, 3.69 ERA) couldn’t hold off a hot Atlanta lineup, which knocked five runs (four earned) off Westbrook in five innings.
After going down four runs to nothing after three innings, the Cards played a game of cat and mouse, trying to catch up to the Braves.
Yadier Molina and Tyler Greene tacked on two runs in the fourth inning, making it a 2-4 ballgame, but the Braves drove in another run in the fifth to go up 2-5.
Yadi had a solo shot in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh to put the Cards within one run of the Braves, but the phenomenal Braves pitching staff shut down the Redbirds in the 8th and 9th innings.
Atlanta’s Craig Kimbrel threw a 98 mph fastball by Cardinals’ OF Matt Holliday to earn his 14 save of the year.
Yadier Molina had a huge day, going 4 for 4 with a solo homer, three singles and three RBIs to lift his average to .337 on the year with 8 HR and 32 RBI. It was his twelfth career four hit game.
Braves starting pitcher Randall Delgado improved to a 4.58 ERA in his third win of the year after giving up three earned runs in five and a third innings.
The Braves ended an 8-game losing skid and the Cardinals look to find a foothold in the NL Central pennant race as the Cincinnati Reds’ record continues to improve to the dismay of STL baseball fans.