Jul 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin (30) hits a one run single against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
The Atlanta Braves took a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, and though they didn’t win the battle, they’ve won the war… or at least avoided being swept after dropping the series. Does that still count?
The sunny days just might be here again.
The Cardinals kicked off their bid on the scoreboard after an RBI double from Alec Burleson to bring Jordan Walker in. The Braves would drive in three of their own soon after.
The most impressive one was from Brewer Hicklen, knocking in a 109.1 MPH double for the first RBI of his career to drive in Jim Jarvis to give the Braves a two-run lead.
Elite placement by Brewer Hicklen🙌#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/dJWg2Bnz3O— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 12, 2026
Danny Young, who was slated to start for the Braves at the last minute, only saw the first inning after allowing the first run and a walk from Lars Nootbaar right after. JR Ritchie, who was the original starter, went in for him before the end of the first inning and stayed until the bottom of the sixth inning (4.1 IP/ 1 H/ 0 ER/ 2 BB/ 2 K).
Pitching is what almost got the Braves in trouble as the Bullpen gave up two more runs later in the bottom of the sixth inning, tying the two teams until the top of the ninth where the Braves got a run off a throwing error by Cardinals’ Masyn Winn from a Mauricio Dubón RBI single to bring Ozzie Albies in.
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the first half of the 2026 season. Lots of positives, ran into struggles, but what team doesn’t? Now, it’s a matter of how they’ll get back on top in the second half, in the race to October.