After sitting through a nearly three-hour rain delay at Busch Stadium, the Atlanta Braves watched their night end with a gut-wrenching 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Seriously, they waited around until 1:30 AM ET just to get punched in the gut, which really feels like a bad return on investment for everyone involved.
Mother Nature's Long Intermission
The night started with some promise before Mother Nature decided to turn Busch Stadium into Busch Lake. Chris Sale, despite a poor last outing, came out firing, striking out five Cardinals in three frames before the rain cut his night short. He looked good, settling in after a double and a walk in the third, with Ivan Herrera doing nothing useful against a first-pitch slider. Then, the skies opened up. For nearly three hours, everyone just sat there, waiting for the weather to clear. On the other side, Kyle Leahy had retired the first eight Braves he faced, gave up a single to Jim Jarvis, and even had a Michael Harris II liner snagged by JJ Wetherholt, who signed a big extension that same day.When Close Doesn't Count
When play finally resumed, it was a battle of who was less sleepy. The Braves managed to scrape across their only run in the fifth when Mike Yastrzemski barreled a double with one out and then scored on a hard grounder from Austin Riley up the middle. They could have had more, but Wetherholt snagged another liner for the third out. Drake Baldwin nearly popped a two-run homer in the sixth, but the ball was just foul. Victor Mederos threw two shutdown innings after the rain, but then Didier Fuentes gave up the lead: a walk, a slow, seeing-eye single on a pitch in the "waste" area, and then a hard-hit liner the other way by Jordan Walker. Fuentes and the defense somehow escaped the frame with the tie intact. Tyler Kinley even had a leadoff walk erased on a double play in the seventh. But the real kicker came in the eighth. Michael Harris II hit a ball over 105 mph that would have been a homer in 26 of MLB's 30 ballparks, but it was caught at the wall. Then, pinch-hitter Jimmy Crooks stepped up against Danny Young and deposited a 102 mph sweeper into the stands for a game-winning homer, which would've been out in 24 of 30 parks. Just for that extra sting, Baldwin hit another deep drive off closer Riley O’Brien, traveling 402 feet and good for a homer in 12 parks, but not Busch Swamp. The game ended shortly after. So, yeah, a tough 2-1 loss after a ridiculously long night. On the bright side, the entire NL East lost today, so the division lead still sits at three games. That's why you build that cushion, right? Right? They’ll be back at it soon, hoping to leave this soggy, late-night L in the past.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.