Braves catcher Sean Murphy tags out the Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado to end the game, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta.
Colin Hubbard, Associated Press
ATLANTA — The first walk of the season allowed by reliever Phil Maton proved the spark that led to a bonfire the Cardinals could not contain in the eighth inning.
With the Cardinals holding tight to a one-run lead earned in the sixth inning, Atlanta spun an infield single, two walks, and a sacrifice fly into a lead, and did not stop there. Atlanta blitzed the Cardinals’ bullpen for five runs to not just take a lead, but momentarily warp the look of what otherwise was a close, taut game. Willson Contreras’ two-run homer paired with Victor Scott II’s RBI double retightened the game before the Cardinals lost, 7-6, on Monday at Truist Park.
The Cardinals have lost 10 of their first 11 road games.
Nolan Gorman’s second hit of the game broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning and following starter Erick Fedde’s quality work gave the Cardinals a chance to secure a win and slow one of the worst road starts in club history. They hopscotched quickly through the seventh and got the ball to their best setup man, Maton. The veteran had not allowed an earned run or a walk in any of his 12 appearances this season.
He would allow both, in bunches, in the eighth.
Atlanta challenged the out call on Austin Riley’s groundball and replay overturned it for a single. That proved pivotal as instead of two outs, Maton had one and the middle order up. Maton avoided Marcell Ozuna and issued that first walk of the season, and the next batter, Matt Olson, tied the game with an RBI groundball single. When Ozzie Albies followed with a walk, manager Oliver Marmol went out to relieve Maton with the bases loaded. Marmol took the opportunity to comment, colorfully, on home-plate umpire Mark Carlson’s opinion of the ball four to Albies.
Carlson ejected Marmol — the manager’s first of this season and 16th in his career.
Atlanta bounced the Cardinals from there.
Michael Harris II’s sacrifice fly off lefty JoJo Romero added a run, and then Sean Murphy swept the bases clean with his three-run homer. That hit appeared to be the one that turned the eighth into a runaway, but it proved an essential firewall against the Cardinals’ rally. The Cardinals got the tying run on base before the game ended with a confusing play that Nolan Arenado thought was a foul ball until Carlson called it fair and Murphy applied the tag.
During their five-game losing streak, the Cardinals have allowed the deciding run in their opponents’ final at-bat three times.
Did Leahy seize the seventh?
The Cardinals are auditioning possible setup relievers to fill-in or take over for Ryan Fernandez in the seventh inning ahead of the veteran duo, Maton and Ryan Helsley.
Early Monday afternoon, Marmol said Kyle Leahy would get the next crack at the role if the right opportunity presented itself. Within hours it was there. The Cardinals led by Gorman’s RBI and they had the seventh inning to clear before getting to the final two innings and the right-handers lurking or lefty Romero waiting.
It was a situation tailor-made for a setup test.
And the back third of Atlanta’s lineup due up.
The right-hander retired all three batters he faced without the ball leaving the reach of an infielder. He struck out the All-Star in the mix by bending two sliders past Murphy and dotting one fastball for a called strike. Murphy went reaching for the second of the sweeping sliders to strike out for the first out of the inning. Leahy got a groundout and a popup in foul territory to complete the scoreless inning and turn the lead over to Maton.
Cardinals capitalize on error for lead
Gorman’s first hit – a double into the right-center gap – came with two outs and the inning could have ended soon after, if not for a some shenanigans by Atlanta’s infield.
An error from first baseman Olson allowed the Cardinals to turn Pedro Pages’ single to right field into a two-run burst and what felt like the Cardinals’ first lead of the road trip after four consecutive losses to the New York Mets. When he tried to get Gorman straying past third, Olson throw was wide and the error pinballed around. Instead of retreating to third, Gorman scored from it, and Pages eventually reached third. He scored on Scott II’s infield single to shortstop for a 2-0 lead.
At the ballpark where he sat in the stands and predicted that he would play big-league baseball there, Atlanta native Scott had singles in his first two at-bats.
He stole second in the second inning to improve to 8-for-8 in attempts this season.
He was stranded there in the second inning. He never got to second in the fifth inning. And the Cardinals had a series of potential rallies dissolve in the middle innings. Scott was one of three leadoff hitters to reach base for the Cardinals from the third through the sixth inning. Scott in the fifth and Willson Contreras in the third did not get past second before being stranded. The Cardinals did not pounce on an opportunity with a leadoff hitter on base until Arenado’s double in the sixth.
Walker’s sizzling liner ignites rally
Statcast data would show that ball left Jordan Walker’s bat at 112.5 mph.
It got to Ozzie Albies glove at only slightly slower.
And it did not stay put there for long.
The hardest hit ball thus far in the game, lasered to Atlanta’s second baseman, and he appeared to snare it for the second out of the inning. He had an eye on possible turning a double play, but that ended almost as quickly as the ball got to him. The baseball rattled out of Albies’ glove and dropped, freezing Arenado at second but putting a rally in motion by getting Walker to first and keeping the inning going.
Gorman followed with his tie-breaking single to center that scored Arenado.
Atlanta answers with authority
With a second look at Fedde, Austin Riley hoisted Atlanta back into the game with his sixth homer of the season. Fedde invited trouble with a leadoff walk to Alex Verdugo. The right-handed got back in the count against Rile with a cutter and then misplaced a flat, listless sinker right into the third baseman’s swing path. Riley launched the pitch 412 feet – well beyond the left-field wall and Cardinals bullpen – and drove the game into a 2-2 tie.
With help from two double plays, Fedde got 12 outs from the next 13 batters he faced. He pitched most of the game with his calf muscle aching and tightening after being drilled a line drive in the second inning. By the time he turned the ball over to the bullpen, the Cardinals had the lead.
Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés celebrates with teammates after scoring in the second inning of a game against the Braves on Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta.
Colin Hubbard, Associated Press
Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta.
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Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley (27) and first baseman Matt Olson, right, celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Erick Fedde delivers in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy, left, tags out St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado (28) to end a baseball game, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves’ Ozzie Albies rounds second base in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves’ Austin Riley rounds third base before scoring in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher JoJo Romero walks off the field after giving up a three-run home run to Atlanta Braves’ Sean Murphy in the eighth of a baseball game, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves pitcher Raisel Iglesias delivers in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Victor Scott II attempts to steal second base during the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker, left, signals for a challenge in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies throws to first base during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado (28) rounds third base before scoring in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves’ Sean Murphy rounds first base after hitting a home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Willson Contreras reacts after hitting a two-run home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves’ Michael Harris II (23) and Eli White, right, shake hands in front of the dugout after White scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Harris in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman doubles to center in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman reacts after hitting a double in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Pedro Pagés (43) runs to third base in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Pedro Pagés (43) runs to third base in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Pedro Pagés (43) celebrates after reaching third base in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (40) makes a catch in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves’ Austin Riley runs to first base after hitting a ball in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado (28) scores a run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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Atlanta Braves shortstop Nick Allen makes a catch in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II (11) makes a throw from the outfield in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Phil Maton, left, gets relieved from the game by manager Oliver Marmol (37) in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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