Cardinals’ Bullpen Crumbles Late in 4-1 Loss to Braves

The St. Louis Cardinals (10-15) dropped the series finale to the Atlanta Braves (10-14), 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Truist Park. Despite a quality start and six scoreless innings from starter Miles Mikolas, the bullpen ultimately gave it away down the stretch.

Starting Pitchers

Miles Mikolas (STL): 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 K, 2 BB

Bryce Elder (ATL): 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 K, 3 BB

Scoring Summary

1st Inning 

Nolan Arenado opened the scoring for St. Louis, doubling to left field to drive in Nolan Gorman, who had walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch from Elder.

7th Inning 

John King came on in relief to begin the seventh. Nick Allen doubled to left and was brought home by a Michael Harris II RBI single to right. Kyle Leahy took over and recorded the final two outs of the inning.

8th Inning 

JoJo Romero took the mound to start the eighth. Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies hit back-to-back singles before pinch-hitter Sean Murphy grounded out to advance both runners. Ryan Fernandez entered in relief and promptly surrendered a three-run homer to Eli White, giving the Bravos a 4-1 lead.

FINAL: Braves 4, Cardinals 1

Stats & Notes

The Cardinals are now 2-11 on the road and went 1-6 on this road trip.

Alec Burleson recorded three of the Cardinals’ seven total hits, all singles.

Ryan Fernandez, 26, has an 11.42 ERA over 8.2 innings this season.

After giving up 12 homers through their first 18 games, Cardinals pitchers have now allowed 10 in the last 7.

Betting Recap

Braves ML (-170) cashed, and the game total stayed UNDER 9 (-105). Despite the tough loss, Eric Sontag’s Same Game Parlay hit smoothly: Mikolas issued an early walk, and Willson Contreras singled in the fifth.

On Deck

The Cardinals have Thursday off before returning home to open a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CT. Matthew Liberatore (1-2) is the expected starter for St. Louis.

READ MORE: Cardinals Snap Skid with 10-4 Win Over Braves