The Atlanta Braves completed the sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon, a fitting revenge against a club that broke their hearts last September. Despite a final score of 7-4, the Braves dominated the entire game before surrendering a meaningless homer late in the ninth inning.
Tommy Hanson struggled in the first inning due to a lack of control and command of his fastball, but the young hurler still managed to work 5+ innings of one-run ball. Hanson allowed just five hits and three walks, striking out nine Cardinals in the process.
Lance Lynn started for St. Louis and threw 121 pitches in six innings of work. He picked up his first loss of the season after allowing three runs to score on four hits and three walks. Lynn was consistently weaving in and out of trouble on Sunday afternoon and it took a serious toll on him physically.
The at-bat of the game came from Jason Heyward in the third inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Heyward fought off nine pitches before eventually lining a three-run double down the right field line to give the Braves an early 3-0 lead. The at-bat was easily among the best a Braves hitter has put together this season, and it proved to be the difference against a tough Cardinals team.
Carlos Beltran hit a solo homer in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-1, but Atlanta quickly responded in the seventh with three more runs. Michael Bourn then added on a seventh run in the eighth with an RBI-single to center field.
Cristhian Martinez came in to work the ninth inning and gave up a monster three-run dinger to Allen Craig, making the score 7-4 with just one more out to go. Jonny Venters came in and struck out Lance Berkman to end the game and complete the sweep.
The Braves finish their 10-day, nine-game road trip with a stellar record of 7-2. They will now return home to Turner Field to take on the Cincinnati Reds.