Braves at Cardinals
It has been a miserable season so far for Jedd Gyorko, but his biggest hit of 2019 sends the St. Louis Cardinals into Sunday's home contest against the Atlanta Braves looking for a series victory. Gyorko, who entered Saturday hitting just .167 with only seven singles and two RBIs, capped a four-run, eighth-inning uprising with a three-run homer to lift St. Louis to a 6-3 victory its sixth win in 21 games.
There were other good signs Saturday for the Cardinals, who are 7-15 this month, as Matt Carpenter finished with three hits and two RBIs – including two game-tying singles – to give him six hits in his last 12 at-bats and raise his average to .222. Atlanta lost for just the fourth time in 15 games and scored fewer than four runs for only the third time in its last 13 contests. Dansby Swanson singled in four at-bats to extend his hitting streak to eight games, while Austin Riley finished 1-for-4 with a run-scoring double, giving the rookie at least one hit in nine of his first 11 major-league games. Atlanta, which took a 3-2 lead in the seventh frame on the strength of three doubles, has recorded 27 two-base hits and 26 homers while batting .262 after the sixth inning this season.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Julio Teheran (3-4, 3.67 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Jack Flaherty (4-3, 4.19)
Teheran quietly has been one of the reasons Atlanta has played well this month, giving up only two earned runs while limiting opponents to a .132 batting average over 22 2/3 innings in four starts. The 28-year-old held San Francisco to one run and three hits while recording six strikeouts in 5 2/3 frames on Tuesday but did not factor in the decision of Atlanta's 4-3 loss. Teheran defeated the Cardinals at home on May 16, giving up just two hits in five scoreless innings.
Flaherty allowed four or more earned runs in three of his first five starts but has pitched to a 3.34 ERA while holding opponents to a .188 batting average over his last five outings. The 23-year-old has gone 2-2 in that stretch, settling for a no-decision last Sunday at Texas after giving up two runs and four hits in six innings. Flaherty posted a road victory over the Braves on May 14, when he allowed three runs on three hits and five walks over six frames in a 14-3 rout.
WALK-OFFS
1. Atlanta CF Ronald Acuna Jr. was hitless in three at-bats on Saturday and enters the series finale 1-for-18 with six strikeouts in his last four games.
2. The Cardinals have gone 0-5-1 in their last six series, their longest such winless streak since 2017.
3. Saturday’s defeat dropped the Braves to 24-3 when leading after seven innings this season.