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Cards top Atlanta 8-1, win third straight game

The Cardinals top the National League with 36 victories since All-Star break, and their 43 road wins this season rank second.
Credit: Brett Davis, USA Today Sports; Joel Hulsey, KSDK
Photo: Brett Davis, USA Today Sports; Joel Hulsey, KSDK

ATLANTA — Game Report: Cardinals 8, Braves 1

Paul DeJong’s batting average might be lower than he would like, but the Cardinals can’t argue about his run production since the All-Star break.

DeJong hit his 19th homer of the year and drove in three runs Tuesday night to lead the Cardinals over the Braves in Atlanta, maintaining their hold on the second wild-card spot and cutting the Brewers lead to two games for the top wild-card spot. The Cardinals have 10 games left to play.

The three RBIs increased DeJong’s total to 43 in his 56 games since the All-Star break. Only two players in the NL, Christian Yelich and Michael Conforto, have driven in more runs in the second half of the season than DeJong, who is tied with Bryce Harper for third on the list.

DeJong’s two-run homer in the fourth inning put the Cardinals ahead 2-1, and he added an RBI single in a four-run eighth inning that blew the game open. The two hits left his season average at .237.

Here is how the game broke down:

At the plate: The Cardinals carried the 2-1 lead into the eighth inning when DeJong’s RBI single followed a walk to Matt Carpenter and a double by Jose Martinez. Another walk, to Marcell Ozuna, loaded the bases and all three runners scored on a two-out single by Yadier Molina and a fielding error by Ronald Acuna Jr. … They added two insurance runs in the ninth, getting an RBI double from Tyler O’Neill and an RBI single from Ozuna … Carpenter struck out in his first three at-bats and is hitless in his last 16 at-bats.

On the mound: The only run off starter Austin Gomber was a home run by Acuna in the third, the first home run allowed by Gomber in his last 43 innings. He also gave up his first stolen base of the season when Johan Camargo stole second in the second as Kurt Suzuki struck out … Gomber worked five innings to get the win, giving up six hits and three walks while striking out five … Relievers john Brebbia, Jordan Hicks, Dominic Leone and Mike Mayers combed to allow just one hit and two walks over the final four innings, getting seven of the last 12 outs by strikeouts.

Key stat: DeJong’s homer was the 121st of the season on the road for the Cardinals, which tied the franchise record for most road home runs in a season. They also hit 121 homers on the road in 2004 and 2016. The Cardinals have four games left on the road this season to try to break the record.

Worth noting: The Cardinals have won their last eight games in Atlanta, dating back to the start of the 2016 season. Their most consecutive wins in Atlanta is 11, between 1967 and 1968 … Fifteen of DeJong’s 19 homers have come on the road … The Memphis Redbirds defeated Durham 14-4 on Tuesday night in the Triple A Champiosnhip game. Alex Mejia went 5-for-5 and drove in five runs to earn MVP honors … With Memphis’ season complete, the Cardinals will call up right-hander Giovanny Gallegos to add another arm to their bullpen. Gallegos, 27, was acquired with Chasen Shreve from the Yankees on July 25 in the trade that sent Luke Voit to New York. He has 20 games of major-league experience with the Yankees.

Looking ahead: Jack Flaherty will get the start on Wednesday in the final game of the series, which begins at 11:10 a.m. St. Louis time.

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