ATLANTA BRAVES WRAP UP ROAD TRIP WITH LOSS IN ST. LOUIS TO THE CARDINALS; ROME BRAVES DROP SERIES FINALE UP IN BOWLING GREEN, KY TO HOT RODS

The Atlanta Braves finished a six-game road trip with a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals by a final score of 6-3 on Sunday evening in the finale of a three-game series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. That allowed St. Louis to take the weekend set among National League rivals. The Braves wrapped up their road trip with a total of four wins and two losses. They are now three games back from the NL East-leading New York Mets (who were defeated by the Colorado Rockies on Sunday), while the Cardinals extended their lead in the NL Central.

The Cardinals struck first in the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run by Lars Nootbaar and an RBI single by Nolan Arenado. But the Braves surged ahead with a three-run homer from Dansby Swanson in the top of the seventh.

However, the Cardinals struck back with a lead-off home run from Tommy Edman and three-run shot by Tyler O’Neill off of AJ Minter in the bottom of the eighth. They won the ballgame in front of their home crowd, again, by a final score of 6-3.

Minter was charged with the loss for Atlanta. Ryan Helsley got the win and Giovanny Gallegos picked up the save for St. Louis.

The Braves’ record currently stands at 79-50 for the ’22 season. They have a scheduled night off tonight and will be back at Truist Park this Tuesday night to open up a six-game home stand with the first of three matches against the Colorado Rockies. First pitch is slated for 7:20 pm. Listen on WLAQ 1410 AM or 96.9 FM: airtime is 6:05 pm.

In a minor league update, the Rome Braves wrapped up a six-game series in Bowling Green, Kentucky with a loss to the Hot Rods by 7-4 on Sunday. The Hot Rods took the series 4-2. Rome is off today and will return to their home field at AdventHealth Stadium this Tuesday evening for the first of six games versus the Greenville Drive; it will be their final homestand of the ’22 regular season.