The St. Louis Cardinals clashed with the Atlanta Braves in a tight NLDS series. They forced game 5 thanks to Yadier Molina and crushed Atlanta in the final game. The birds are moving on to the 2019 NLCS.
Ozuna And Goldschmidt Carry Cards
The Cardinals and Braves opened the divisional round at SunTrust Park. Atlanta opened the scoring in the bottom of the first thanks to a fielding error by second baseman Kolten Wong, allowing Ozzie Albies to cross the plate. Dexter Fowler tied things up for the redbirds in the top of the fifth with a sacrifice fly. The Braves went up by two an inning later thanks to more errors by St. Louis. The Braves were up 3-1 after six.
The road team tied the game in the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt went deep to slice the lead in half. Matt Carpenter doubled to bring home another run and even things out. The Cardinals kept at it. A pair of clutch doubles by Marcell Ozuna and Wong put them up 7-4. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman hit two homers in the bottom of the ninth. However, it was too little, too late.
Final Score: Cardinals 7-6 Braves
Braves Tie The Series
Atlanta came back to tie the 2019 NLDS the next day. The top of the order went to work early once again. Josh Donaldson hit an RBI single to bring Albies across the plate. Game 2 turned into a pitcher’s duel as both Mike Foltynewicz and Jack Flaherty looked solid on the mound. That was until Adam Duvall came to the plate in the seventh.
Duvall hit a two-run homer to center to put the Braves up by three. Max Fried picked up where Foltynewicz left out of the bullpen. He did quick work out of the eighth inning. Mark Melancon allowed a pair of hits in the top of the ninth. Nonetheless, he got the final set of outs to complete the shutout and even the series.
Final Score: Cardinals 0-3 Braves
Atlanta Wins Pitcher’s Duel
Game Three of this divisional series saw a pitcher’s duel in St. Louis. Veteran Adam Wainwright and Mike Soroka were almost untouchable. Wainwright pitched 7⅔ innings, allowing no runs and striking out 8. Soroka threw 7 innings allowing a single run and fanning 7 batters himself.
Runs were at a premium at Busch Stadium. Carpenter scored an early run with a sacrifice fly that brought Ozuna across the plate. The Redbirds would keep the lead intact until the top of ninth as a pitching masterpiece turned into pitching disaster. Carlos Martinez replaced Miller on the mound and that was the beginning of the end for the home team. He gave up three runs off a pair of RBI doubles by Dansby Swanson and Duvall.
Final Score: Braves 3-1 Cardinals
Yadi Saves Cardinals From Elimination
The Braves were ready to clinch the series on the road, but the Cardinals had other plans. A pair of homers by Ozuna and Goldschmidt had the home team in front 2-0 in the first. Albies shrunk the lead two innings later with a sacrifice fly that brought Swanson in to score. Ozuna went deep once again in the top of the fourth to put St. Louis up by three once again. Duvall reached first on a fielding error in the fifth that brought in another run. Albies gave Atlanta the lead with a homer in the top of the fifth.
The Braves were up 4-3 after five.
St. Louis tied the score in the bottom of the 8th with an RBi single by Molina. Late drama was evident as the bird left a man on base after Fowler struck out. Extra innings baseball was up next. Molina did it all as he drove in the final run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th. The hunt to make it to the 2019 NLCS was still on. The series was tied, Game Five was up next.
Final Score: Braves 4-5 Cardinals
A Crushing Finale
SunTrust Park hosted the fifth and final game of this 2019 NLDS Series, and things didn’t go as planned for the locals. Ozuna and Carpenter brought in a pair of runs off a bases-loaded walk and an RBI single. Tommy Edman had a two-run double and pitcher Flaherty added another run with a bases loaded walk. Fowler and Wong followed that up with a pair of two-run doubles. Ozuna batted once again and managed to drive in a run off a wild pitch. The first frame was a catastrophe for the Braves and it showed in the score.
St. Louis was up 10-0 after one.
The birds weren’t happy with their lead and added three more runs in the next couple of innings. Donaldson put the Braves on the scoreboard with a solo home run. St. Louis let their foot off the gas and seemed to focus on playing solid defense with good fundamentals. There wasn’t much offense after that. The redbirds are moving on to the 2019 NLCS.
Final Score: Cardinals 13-1 Braves.
Where To Watch
St. Louis will square off with the Nationals. The 2019 NLCS kicks off this Friday at 8:08 PM ET on TBS.