The Braves finally got the result they were looking for Monday night, riding Ozzie Albies, a sharp outing from Reynaldo López, and a late burst of offense to a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
For most of the night, Atlanta’s offense was basically Ozzie Albies and a whole lot of waiting.
He opened the scoring in the first with an RBI double that brought home Drake Baldwin, then flipped the game in the third with a solo homer off starter Michael McGreevy to put the Braves ahead 2-1. That cushion held for a long stretch, and it was Albies doing the heavy lifting while the bats around him stayed quiet.
López, meanwhile, gave Atlanta exactly the kind of outing it needed. He opened with the same uneasy first inning that’s become too familiar, allowing a ground-rule double to Iván Herrera and then a Jordan Walker single that scored Herrera.
After that, though, he settled in and kept the Cardinals off balance. In five innings, López allowed just those two hits, plus a walk to JJ Wetherholt in the third, and finished with six strikeouts.
The velocity was back, the command looked cleaner, and he left the mound fired up after a much-needed rebound.
Atlanta also made the right call by not pushing him for a sixth inning after 69 pitches. Instead, the bullpen took over and did its part. Didier Fuentes worked between the two left-handed Dylans, and all three turned in perfect innings to protect the one-run lead.
McGreevy did his job well enough to keep St. Louis in it, but the Braves eventually made him pay for a quality start.
He left after six innings of two-run ball and handed the game over to the bullpen. Max Rajcic escaped a pair of walks, but Justin Bruihl ran into trouble right away in the seventh.
He walked Drake Baldwin, then saw Albies reach on a Blaze Jordan fielding error. Matt Olson’s flyout moved Baldwin to third, and Michael Harris II followed with an RBI single to stretch the lead.
Gordon Graceffo came in for the last two outs and immediately watched another run score, as Mauricio Dubón laid down a sacrifice bunt that still brought Baldwin home. That brought out the Ozzie wink.
Dominic Smith added a single to right after that, but Jordan Walker saved a run with a terrific throw to cut down Harris II at the plate. That play left Dubón at third, and then Austin Riley came through with an RBI single to make it 5-1.
Raisel Iglesias finished it off in the ninth, even though it was no longer a save situation, and the Braves closed out the win.
The victory gave Atlanta its 50th of the season and, just as important, kept López and the bullpen from having to lean on Hurston Waldrep ahead of the rubber match and series finale. For one night, though, the Braves got what they needed: a win, a strong start, and enough late offense to make it comfortable.
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