The Atlanta Braves fell to the St. Louis Cardinals by 4-3 on Monday night in the opener of a three-game set at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO.
The Cardinals scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI double from Alec Burleson, an RBI single from Willson Contreras, an RBI single from Brendan Donovan, and a double steal which allowed Nolan Gorman to reach home plate. Austin Riley got the Braves on the board with a home run to lead off the top of the fifth. The Braves scored two more runs in the ninth on an RBI single from Ramon Laureano and a sac fly by Travis d’Arnaud, but lost the ballgame, again, by a final score of 4-3 to the Cardinals.
Spencer Schwellenbach was charged with the loss for Atlanta after giving up four runs and eight hits, walking none, and striking out six over five innings. Lance Lynn was credited with the win, and Ryan Helsley picked up the save for St. Louis.
The Braves will face the Cardinals again tonight at 7:45 pm Eastern. Listen to play-by-play coverage from the Atlanta Braves Radio Network on WLAQ 1410 AM/96.9 FM; airtime is 6:30 pm.