ATLANTA _ With a golden opportunity to gain ground in the wild-card race, the Cardinals' offense only had to stay ahead of their bullpen.
On the way to an 11-6 victory Monday night against the Braves, the Cardinals hit four home runs and scored in five different innings to take a lead and then push it further along to give the relievers some margin for error. Carlos Martinez needed 32 pitches to get through the eighth inning at suburban SunTrust Park, and that kept him from getting the final six outs of the 12 asked from the bullpen. Martinez allowed a run in the eighth inning; Yadier Molina got two back with a home run in the ninth. And so it went.
The game weebled and wobbled like that a few times, but the Cardinals never fell down.
Kolten Wong struck for a two-run double in the first inning, added the Cardinals' first home run in the fourth inning, and capped a three-hit night with a single in the ninth. Miles Mikolas slogged through five innings to improve to 16-4 for the season, and the Cardinals would also get home runs from Paul DeJong and Harrison Bader, who came off the bench to slug a three-run shot in the eighth inning. That, of course, answered the one run Dakota Hudson allowed in the bottom of the seventh.
John Brebbia handled the ninth with aplomb to end the game.
Wong, Molina, and Bader each had three RBIs, and that helped the Cardinals (83-68) assure, at worst, they'll be in a virtual tie for the second wild-card berth in the National League. By late Monday they could be back in the lead, ahold of the wheel in the race.
When the Cardinals and Dodgers parted company late Sunday night from Busch Stadium they headed in opposite directions, which is the rare opportunity offered the Cardinals this week.
While the Cardinals went east to visit first-place Atlanta, LA headed west to host the Colorado Rockies for a three-game series. Regardless of who wins or loses each game in that series between NL West rivals, the Cardinals will win. All the more so if, that is, they win. The fact that the Dodgers, 82-68 entering play Monday, are playing the Rockies, 82-67, assures that one of the teams will lose _ and that loser will remain in the wild-card race with the Cardinals. If the Dodgers sweep the Rockies, LA will lead the NL West by 2{ games, and the Rockies will slip into the wild-card race with the Cardinals.
They'll trail if the Cardinals can win once vs. Atlanta.
Same is true if the Dodgers tumble, or they split.
While it tests the Cardinals with a run of games against playoff-chasing teams, the schedule has given the Cardinals a gift.
Mike Foltynewicz did not stop at one.
Atlanta's power-tripping starter entered Monday's game as, arguably, the best pitcher in the National League not chewing the scenery in the Cy Young Award conversation. Yet, there he was Monday, fourth in ERA (2.66) behind the Cy Young trio of Jacob deGrom, Aaron Nola, and Washington's Max Scherzer. That ERA did not survive the first inning. Foltynewicz did for the Cardinals what they have not done consistently for themselves _ create offense. The right-hander walked three batters to load the bases and then got the hit to bring home a run when he plunked Molina for the RBI, Run Bruised In.
With two outs, Wong made the inning hurt with a two-run double that sped the Cardinals' to a 3-0 lead. Wong's home run would push it to 4-2. And by the end of the fifth inning, Foltynewicz was no longer in the game, the Cardinals had hit a third home run, and their lead had widened to four runs.
In his previous 42 innings, Foltynewicz had allowed one home run. The Cardinals tagged him for two, in successive innings. The six runs the Cardinals scored against him on five hits and four walks were as many as he allowed in his previous three starts, combined. Not since his first start of May had the right-hander allowed as many as six runs in a game, and the four walks tied a season-high. At the same time the Cardinals were frolicking against Foltynewicz, the Braves were tenderizing Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas.
Just slower.
Deliberately.
Laboriously.
It took Mikolas 39 pitches to get through Atlanta's order the first time, and all he had to show for it was six outs. He allowed two singles and hit a batter, but then traipsed out of trouble with a key strikeout in each of the first two innings. It took Mikolas 75 pitches to get through three innings. On a 2-2 pitch, Freddie Freeman hit his 22nd home run to cut into the Cardinals' lead, and take advantage of the walk that preceded him. The pitch count kept climbing for Mikolas, who was on the verge of bringing in the bullpen before he could qualify for the win.
He righted the start by retiring eight consecutive batters after Freeman's home run. With his 90th pitch, Mikolas bent a curveball past Dansby Swanson to end the fourth inning. He got three outs on seven pitches in the fifth to complete his night.
That brought in the bullpen and began the tango to a finish. The Braves got two runs off the bullpen in the sixth thanks to two errors in the inning from center fielder Yairo Munoz. Manager Mike Shildt said he played the infielder in center to keep his bat in the lineup and because he'd played the position as a younger player and shown well in a recent start there at Detroit. Munoz allowed an extra base to Ender Inciarte when he missed fielding a single. Munoz's wild throw to third on a sacrifice fly then allowed Inciarte to score the Braves' fourth run.
For a moment, Atlanta trailed by two runs.
In the seventh, they whittled that down to a run when Nick Markakis doubled off Hudson. The Cardinals answered with three in the eighth. Atlanta scored one in the eight. The Cardinals scored two in the ninth.
