Braves fall to Cardinals 11-5, lose third consecutive series

The Atlanta Braves lost their third consecutive series on Thursday night following an 11-5 loss to the t. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park.

Braves pitcher Hurston Waldrep made his first start of the 2026 season on Thursday night. He pitched two innings, had three strikeouts, and walked four Giants in his season debut in San Francisco on June 26.

This appearance started a bit rougher as he gave up three earned runs, three hits, and a walk in the first inning. One of those hits was a three-run home run by Stone Mountain native and Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker.

Down 3-1, the Braves regained the lead an inning later when Dom Smith hit a Dustin May fastball back at the other, hitting his ankle and rocketing into right field. All three Braves runners scored while the ball rolled into the outfield. May went down after being hit but stayed in the game. Atlanta ended the inning ahead 5-3 after getting a sacrifice fly from Mike Yastrzemski.

The Braves were getting May at the right time. During his previous start in Kansas City on June 21, he only managed to pitch two innings before giving up six earned runs and six hits. The medical update out of the Cardinals clubhouse was a right ankle contusion.

Waldrep, on the other hand, was beginning to settle down after a tough first inning. During the next three innings, he struck out three Cardinals and gave up only two singles, and didn’t give up another run. He finished his night with 5.1 innings pitched, three strikeouts, and a strong welcome-back overall performance in the books.

That stellar performance from Waldrep would not result in a win. Nathan Church, the Cardinals center fielder and seven-hole hitter, took Tyler Kinley deep to right-center field to tie the game at five in the seventh inning. Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn got on base with his third single of the game to lead off the inning.

The Cardinals’ offense tacked on another six runs to go ahead 10-5. The last of those runs came in a fielder’s choice RBI from Winn. Walker slides home past an attempted tag by Braves catcher Drake Baldwin. The video review showed Baldwin missing the tag as Walker maneuvered around it.

The seven-run seventh inning ended the game and the series for Atlanta.

Next up: The New York Mets for a four-game Independence Day weekend series.

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