ST. LOUIS – Corey Dickerson tied the game with an infield single and Tyler O’Neill drew a bases-loaded walk, all in the bottom of the ninth inning, to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 6-5 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.
Nolan Arenado and Andrew Knizner homered for the Cardinals, who claimed their sixth walk-off win of the season.
Brendan Donovan hit a one-out double off Kenley Jansen (5-1) in the ninth and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jansen walked Paul Goldschmidt and hit Nolan Arenado to load the bases. Dickerson singled to shortstop Dansby Swanson, scoring Donovan and tying the game. Jansen then walked O’Neill on five pitches to blow his fifth save in 34 chances.
Ryan Helsley (8-1) pitched a scoreless ninth in his first appearance since Aug. 16 after missing eight games due to the birth of his first child.
Travis d’Arnaud homered for the Braves and Austin Riley added three hits.
Charlie Morton allowed four runs on five hits and three walks and struck out four batters, but did not figure in the decision.
Jordan Montgomery allowed five runs on eight hits in five innings after allowing just one run in 25 2/3 innings in his first four starts with St. Louis.
D’Arnaud hit his 14th home run of the season after Matt Olson and Riley led off the fourth inning with singles. Montgomery had retired nine straight batters after Dansby Swanson’s leadoff single.
Michael Harris II drove in William Contreras with a single up the middle later in the fourth inning to push Atlanta’s lead to 4-0.
Knizner hit a two-run homer into the Braves’ left-center field bullpen for his second home run of the season, cutting Atlanta’s lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth.
Olson and Riley hit back-to-back doubles with two outs in the fifth inning to give Atlanta a 5-2 lead.
Arenado answered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run to left field, his 27th of the season, cutting the Cardinals’ deficit to 5-4.
I-55 SHUTTLE:
The Cardinals activated Arenado off the paternity list and recalled LHP Zack Thompson from Triple-A Memphis. The club optioned 1B/OF Juan Yepez and LHP Genesis Cabrera to Memphis. Cabrera allowed five runs on six hits in one inning Friday night and is 1-1 with a 10.38 ERA in 14 outings since July 9.
TRAINER’S ROOM:
Atlanta: Placed RHP Jackson Stephens on the seven-day concussion injured list and recalled RHP Jay Jackson from Triple-A Gwinnett. Stephens left Friday night’s game after being struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Brendan Donovan.
“He got checked out last night,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. Everything was good. He just has to lay low for a little bit.”
St. Louis: LHP Steven Matz (sprained left MCL) threw 37 pitches off the mound at Busch Stadium pregame as he works to return as a reliever in September.
UP NEXT:
Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (9-9, 3.11 ERA) will face the team that drafted him 30th overall in 2000. He has the highest career winning percentage (.714) of all active pitchers with at least 15 starts against Atlanta. Braves RHP Jake Odorizzi (5-5, 3.95 ERA), from Highland, Illinois, just 30 miles east of St. Louis, and is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA in four career starts against his hometown team.
Cardinals score twice in bottom of the 9th, beat Braves 6-5 originally appeared on NBCSports.com