The start was far better than the day before. The finish they booted.
The Cardinals used a crafty double steal in the seventh inning to tie the game Wednesday only to give what they took all away with a long, laborious and momentarily comic eighth innings. The Atlanta Braves snapped a 4-4 tie with three runs, all of them against setup man Giovanny Gallegos, in the top of the eighth to pull away for a 7-4 victory Wednesday night at Busch Stadium.
Atlanta laced Gallegos for three hits and a walk in the eighth inning as the righthander tried to hold tight to the tie. A sacrifice fly from No. 8 hitter Stephen Vogt misplaced the tie game, and then pinch-hitter Joc Pederson added to the lead with some help from the Cardinals’ outfielders. Pederson, one of three outfielders in the Braves’ lineup who were acquired around the trade deadline, lasered a liner to right field that rookie Dylan Carlson slid to catch. He appeared to get it in his glove but could not control it and instead slingshot it several yards in front of him.
