ST. LOUIS — Matthew Liberatore pitched six scoreless innings as a makeshift starter and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 Wednesday to split the wins in a doubleheader.
Alec Burleson added a two-run double that gave the Cardinals the lead.
In the first game, Jarred Kelenic had three hits, including his eighth home run, and drove in three runs to lead the Braves to a 6-2 victory.
Kelenic finished hitting 6-for-9 with four RBIs in the double feature. He has a .362 average (17-for-47) with four homers and 10 RBIs since he was placed first in the batting order following Venezuelan Ronald Acuña’s season-ending knee injury.
Liberatore (2-2) allowed two hits and struck out eight in his fifth start of the season. He opened the meeting after Tuesday’s match was postponed due to rain.
Burleson put the Braves ahead 2-0 in the third inning against Bryce Elder (1-3), called up during the day of the Triple A branch in Gwinnett.
Elder, who was selected by the National League to the All-Star Game last year, allowed a pair of runs and five hits in six innings.
Closer Ryan Helsley struck out Adam Duvall with two men on board. He leads the majors with 28 saves in 29 opportunities.
Kelenic had a two-out RBI hit in the eighth inning off JoJo Romero, after hitting a two-run homer in the sixth inning of the first game.
In the afternoon, Dominican Reynaldo López (6-2) improved to 4-0 in his last five starts, allowing two runs and four hits in five innings. Dylan Lee, Pierce Johnson, Joe Jiménez and Cuban Raisel Iglesias each pitched a hitless inning.
Lopez’s 1.70 ERA in his first 14 starts of the season is the best by a Braves pitcher since Tom Glavine’s 1.64 in 2002.
Atlanta (44-33) matched its season high of 11 games over .500.
Kyle Gibson (5-3) allowed four runs and four hits in four innings with five walks, his most since April 30, 2022 with Philadelphia.
In the first game, for the Braves, Dominican Ramón Laureano went 1 for 5 with an RBI.
Later, for the Braves, Dominican Marcell Ozuna went 4-0. The Dominican Laureano 3-1 with one scored.
For the Cardinals, the Venezuelans Willson Contreras 4-0, Pedro Pagés 3-0.
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