ST. LOUIS — After a close loss on Monday and a rainout on Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves returned to the field on Wednesday needing a day-night doubleheader sweep to extend their streak of series victories to four in a row.
After another rain delay, they won the twinbill’s afternoon opener 6-2 to hold on to hope of taking two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals.
In the nightcap, the home team had other plans.
Matthew Liberatore pitched six scoreless innings in a spot start, and Alec Burleson hit a go-ahead two-run double to lead the Cardinals to a 4-1 win for a split of the doubleheader, their fifth victory in six games and their second straight series win.
Jarred Kelenic had three hits, including his eighth home run, and three RBIs as the Braves won the opener. Kelenic was 6-for-9 with four RBIs in the doubleheader and is hitting .362 (17-for-47) with four homers and 10 RBIs since being moved to the leadoff spot in the batting order.
Liberatore (2-2) gave up two hits and struck out eight batters in his fifth start of the season. He got the spot start after Tuesday night’s rainout.
“Probably the most fun I’ve had on the baseball field this year,” Liberatore said. “I found a rhythm there early on and tried to continue to trust myself and not get outside of what I do.”
St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said before the game he would have been satisfied with four or five good innings from Liberatore.
“He was incredible tonight,” Marmol said. “He was in control that whole outing. It was a best-case scenario.”
Liberatore, who has 22 appearances out of the bullpen this season, struck out eight batters, the single-game high for his Major League Baseball career. It was his longest outing since going eight innings against the Tampa Bay Rays last Aug. 10.
“Slider and cutter were both really good for me tonight,” Liberatore said. “I was kind of able to keep guys off the fastball and mix it in enough to keep guys guessing.”
St. Louis reliever Chris Roycroft, who was designated as the 27th man on the roster for the doubleheader, followed Liberatore with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
“Every opportunity is a learning experience, and I was happy to be in this situation,” Roycroft said.
Burleson put the Cardinals ahead 2-0 in the third inning with his double off Atlanta starter Bryce Elder (1-3), a National League All-Star last season who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett for the doubleheader. Elder allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.
Michael Siani and Masyn Winn had two-out singles before Burleson lined the ball into the right-field corner for his 27th hit in June. Burleson has driven in at least one run in each of his past five games.
Paul Goldschmidt and Brendan Donovan added run-scoring singles off Grant Holmes in the eighth inning, and St. Louis closer Ryan Helsley struck out Adam Duvall with two on for his MLB-leading 28th save in 29 chances and his 28th in a row.
St. Louis has won 10 of its past 14 games and improved to an NL-best 26-14 since May 12.
“These guys are locked in,” Marmol said. “They’re not giving away a whole lot.”
Kelenic had a run-scoring hit off JoJo Romero with two outs in the eighth inning of the second game after hitting a two-run homer in the sixth inning of the opener. That home run was the first allowed by Kyle Leahy in 17 appearances and 28 1/3 innings this season.
Reynaldo López (6-2), who took the mound for the Braves in the opener, improved to 4-0 in his past five starts, allowing two runs and four hits in five innings.
After Ramón Laureano hit into a run-scoring forceout, Zack Short had a two-run single in Atlanta’s four-run second that included Kelenic’s RBI single.
Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom half for St. Louis, and Burleson had a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia missed both games after being removed in the sixth inning Monday night, with dizziness cited. Meanwhile, third baseman Brian Anderson was put on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a bacterial infection, retroactive to Sunday, and left-handed pitcher AJ Minter (left hip inflammation) moved to Triple-A Gwinnett on his rehab assignment.
The Braves, who won two of three against the New York Yankees before visiting St. Louis, have one date left on this seven-game road trip, visiting the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon to make up a contest that was rained out in early April. The scheduled starting pitchers for the matchup are Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale (10-2, 2.91 ERA) and Chicago right-hander Drew Thorpe (1-1, 5.02).