The Atlanta Braves' struggles continued Thursday night, falling 11-5 to the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park in a game where promising early momentum collapsed in the seventh inning.
The defeat marked the team's third consecutive series loss. The Braves mounted an early comeback and appeared poised to seize control before things unraveled.
Hurston Waldrep made his 2026 season debut on the mound for Atlanta, surrendering three earned runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning. Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker, a Stone Mountain native, drove a three-run homer to put St. Louis ahead 3-1.
"That first inning tested us," Braves manager Walt Weiss said.
Atlanta answered quickly. In the second inning, Dom Smith connected on a Dustin May fastball that ricocheted off May's ankle and into right field, scoring all three Braves runners and putting Atlanta ahead 4-3. Mike Yastrzemski added a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-3.
May, the Cardinals pitcher, stayed in the game despite suffering a right ankle contusion on the play.
Weiss was encouraged by Waldrep's performance after the first inning. The right-hander struck out three more Cardinals over the next three frames while allowing only two singles and no additional runs. Waldrep finished with 5.1 innings pitched.
"I thought he gave us exactly what we needed," Weiss said. "I'm really encouraged by what I saw from Waldrep."
The Braves' momentum evaporated in the seventh inning. Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn led off with his third single of the evening. Nathan Church, the Cardinals' center fielder, followed with a two-run homer off Tyler Kinley to tie the game at 5.
St. Louis scored six consecutive runs from there. Winn contributed again with a fielder's choice RBI, with Jordan Walker sliding home past an attempted tag by Braves catcher Drake Baldwin. Video review confirmed Baldwin missed the tag.
"The game took an ugly turn in the seventh," Weiss said, his frustration evident.
The Braves will look to snap their skid in a four-game series against the New York Mets over the Independence Day weekend.
