The game was decided before Atlanta had a chance to settle in. Lars Nootbaar's three-run homer to right center — 435 feet — put St. Louis up 3-0 in the bottom of the first, and the Cardinals never looked back, beating the Braves 4-1 at Busch Stadium on Saturday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| STL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 5 | 0 |
Nootbaar finished 1-for-2 with a walk, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBI. The blast was his third home run of the season. Matthew Liberatore made the early cushion stand up, working six innings without allowing a run, scattering 4 hits, walking 1, and striking out 6 on 71 pitches. He picked up his fifth win against six losses, with a 5.00 ERA.
The Cardinals added to their lead in the fourth when Blaze Jordan singled to center to score Nootbaar, pushing the advantage to 4-0. Atlanta's only answer came in the seventh, when Mauricio Dubon hit a solo homer to left center at 401 feet — his 10th of the season — to make it 1-4. Riley O'Brien closed out the ninth for his 24th save of the year.
Reynaldo Lopez absorbed the loss, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits over 5 innings, with 3 strikeouts and 1 walk on 85 pitches. He falls to 4-2 with a 3.50 ERA. O. Murphy covered the final 3 innings for Atlanta without allowing a run, striking out 3.
St. Louis improved to 50-44, winning for the second consecutive game. Atlanta dropped to 54-40, losing its second straight.