A two-run single by Nolan Arenado in the top of the 7th inning was the difference Saturday night, as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves 2-1 in a game that didn’t end until nearly midnight after a two-hour rain delay.
The game was halted in the bottom of the 4th inning with Atlanta leading 1-0. Play resumed at 11:05 p.m. ET. By the time the final out was recorded at 11:48 p.m., most fans had gone home.
“That’s the rain delay rule,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “You keep playing. We didn’t have anything left in the tank offensively.”
The Braves’ lone run came on a solo home run by Austin Riley in the 3rd inning, his 18th of the season.
Cardinals starter Sonny Gray (8-3) allowed one run on four hits over six innings before the rain delay. The Cardinals bullpen held Atlanta to one hit over the final three innings.
The loss snaps a three-game Braves winning streak and drops Atlanta to 54-41 on the season. The Cardinals improve to 45-50.
The two teams play the rubber game of the three-game series Sunday at 1:35 p.m. at Truist Park. RHP Chris Sale (9-3, 2.20 ERA) gets the start for Atlanta against RHP Miles Mikolas (6-7, 4.21) for St. Louis.