Bullpen falls apart as Braves drop series finale to Cardinals

The Atlanta Braves had a solid game yesterday and were looking to make it two in a row as they took on the Cardinals behind Hurston Waldrep making his return as a starter.

This was the third of six games the Braves would face the Cardinals and will face them again shortly for another three games right before the all-star break. Last season the Braves won both series against the Cardinals. The Braves have a .625 winning percentage against the Cardinals since 2019 which is their fifth best winning percentage against a NL team in that span. The Braves also have a .714 winning percentage against the NL Central this season. The only team with a better winning percentage against the NLC are the Brewers.

The first inning did not go great for Hurston Waldrep, and it started to look like doom and gloom again. Waldrep showing he is a viable option in the rotation would be a huge boon for the ravaged Braves rotation. The first batter Waldrep faced he surrendered a singled and then followed that up with a HBP. He was able to get a groundout, but then Jordan Walker took him deep to left field to score three. Waldrep was able to largely settle down in the first. He gave up another single but was able to end the top of the first without anymore damage.

The Braves had a crazy bottom of the first. Last month being down three runs would have seemed like the game was already over for the Braves, but that was not the case. Dustin May, the Cardinals starting pitcher, has a 5.68 ERA in his 12.2 innings against the Braves before this start. He loaded the bases right away via a single from Baldwin followed by walks to Albies and Olson. Harris struck out, but then Dubón continued his clutch streak by knocking in Baldwin with a line drive single to make the score 1-3. What followed was one of the craziest plays we have seen in awhile. Dominic Smith smoked a ball that hit Dustin May in what looked like his angle and it ricocheted perfectly down the right field line to clear the bases for the Braves to take the lead.

Believe it or not, Austin Riley got in on the fun and hit a single to move Smith to third and then Yastrzemski hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 5-3. Jim Jarvis, the ninth hitter, then singled which prompted May to be pulled from the game and replaced with Justin Bruihl who was able to get Drake Baldwin to groundout to end the inning.

Waldrep then looked like the dominant starter we hoped he would be. He sat down the next seven batters he faced picking up three strikeouts along the way. In the first inning Waldrep pitched twenty pitches. In the next two innings he pitched a combined nineteen. Waldrep did not give up another baserunner until he surrendered a single in the fourth inning to Winn, but he sat down the other three hitters that inning as well. In the fifth inning he a single to Crooks but then he was able to get a fly out and a double play. He came back out for the sixth and after a groundout and walk to Jordan walker he was pulled. All-in-all Waldrep pitched 5.1 innings where he surrendered three earned runs (all in the first inning), five hits, one walk, and accumulated four strikeouts. He was replaced by Tyler Kinley.

Let’s catch up on the offensive side with the Braves. During the following innings after their five run first, they were unable to score anymore runs while Waldrep was in the game. They were sat down in order in the second and third innings, but then in the fourth Yastrzemski was able to get some offense going with a single, and after a Jarvis groundout that moved him to second, Baldwin was hit by a pitch. This led to a pitching changed where Ryan Fernandez came in. This did the trick for the Cardinals because both Albies and Olson were retired. In the fifth the Braves had the minimum runners when Dubón singled but Smith grounded into a doubled play.

The sixth inning is where Tyler Kinley took over for Waldrep and was able to force a double play to end the top of the sixth. Gordon Graceffo came in to pitch for the Cardinals and retired the side in the sixth.

The seventh is where the wheels fell off. Tyler Kinley stayed in the game. He gave up a single to Winn followed by a two run shot by Nathan Church to tie the game. After a walk, he was replaced by Dylan Lee who is having an elite season. However, tonight was not Lee’s night. José Fermín came in to pinch hit and singled to put two on. JJ Wetherholt then had a single of his own to give the Cardinals a one run lead. The damage did not end there with yet another single to make the score 5-7. Lee finally got an out via fielder’s choice, but then he was replaced by Ian Hamilton who promptly gave up a single and a double to make the score 9-5. A grounder was then hit and it looked like Matt Olson gunned down Walker at home, but upon review he was safe to make it 10-5. Finally, Church hit into a double play to end the atrocious top of the inning.

Jojo Romero came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and was able to get Baldwin to groundout and and strikeout Albies. Matt Olson then flied out to end the inning.

Ian Hamilton stayed in the game to eighth as a white flag, and gave up a single to the first hitter. Hamilton then got the force out at second thanks to Jim Jarvin. As a sign of how terrible this game is, the sure handed Matt Olson had an error to put runners on the corners with one out. Fortunately, the next play was a double play to end the top of the eighth.

Michael Harris came up to bat in the eighth and was able to get on via a single to the left side. George Soriano then came in to pitch to Dubón who was able to turn an 0-2 count into a walk. Dominic Smith then flied out on a full count. Riley then grounded into a force out. Yastrzemski also grounded out to end the inning.

James Karinchak came in to mop up in the ninth inning, and the first batter he faced, Alec Burleson hit a HR. Walker flied out but then Nootbar followed that up with a single, and Winn walked on four pitches. After a nine pitch at-bat he finally got a groundout to first followed by a pop up on the first pitch to end the ninth.

Jim Jarvis came up to bat in the ninth with the Braves being down by six. Matt Svanson was the pitcher for the Cardinals. Jarvis had a good at-bat forcing nine pitches but ultimately struck out. Baldwin then came to the plate and also struck out. Albies popped out to end the game.

In a game where the Braves needed some hope, their greatest strength let them down. Going into the seventh inning the Braves had a two run lead. Their bullpen had the best ERA in MLB by almost half a run, but the bullpen ended up surrendering eight earned runs. You can’t win games like that.

The Braves will face the Mets at home tomorrow at home at 7:15 EDT in hopes to get back on track.