The Braves hit into a couple of costly double plays early against St. Louis, and Folty gave up 6 over 2 & 2/3 innings to set up a comeback effort that fell silent after the 6th.
Atlanta Braves fans have been more than pleased Mike Foltynewicz‘s efforts from the mound recently, so Friday night’s performance was tough to take in. Folty had turned in 4 quality starts in his last 5 games, but lasted just 2 & 2/3 innings against the Cardinals, with the final blow coming from the opposing pitcher.
After walking two and escaping trouble in the first inning, Foltynewicz got beaten to death by an extra-base hungry Cardinals lineup. Three doubles, two walks, a single and a nifty sac bunt paved the way to a 4-0 Cardinals’ lead after 2 innings.
The Braves got a run off of a Freddie Freeman double play In the third, but Folty proceeded to hit Kolten Wong, gave up a RBI triple to Randal Grichuk, and then a single to Adam Wainwright to give the Cardinals a 6-1 lead before the Braves went to Luke Jackson, who seemed to have the Cardinals figured out.
Of the seven men he faced, Jackson struck out six, all swinging, over 2 & 1/3 perfect innings of relief. He had all of his pitches working well Friday night, and it’s a shame that such a great outing came in a losing situation for the team.
Albies gets another!
The Braves finally decided to get busy in the 6th inning. Freddie walked, and Nick Markakis moved him to 2nd, which set up Matt Adams‘ RBI single. Ozzie Albies decided to join in on the fun with his second big-league home run, a 3-run shot to left field. Ozzie’s homer brought the Braves within one run. 6-5 Cardinals after 6.
Atlanta’s bats went quiet again after the 6th inning, drawing nothing but a walk from St. Louis’ bullpen in the final three innings
ripped a two-run double off of Rex Brothers in the 8th inning that created an insurmountable 3-run lead heading into the 9th inning with the 7-8-9 spots coming up for the Braves.
Cardinals win, 8-5
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- The Braves have now grounded into 105 double plays this season. The most in the National League.
- Ozzie Albies recorded his first major league multi-hit game Friday night, going 2-4 with a single and a home run.
- Friday’s appearance marked the shortest outing of Mike Foltynewicz’s career at 2 & 2/3 innings.
- Dansby Swanson went 0-4, but was putting the ball in play and making good contact.
Next: Braves complete a trade...kinda
Rookie Lucas Sims will get tested by a momentum-filled, postseason-hungry Cardinals lineup, and he’ll square off against Carlos Martinez, who is coming from an impressive 8-inning performance against the Royals.