Braves pitchers kept Albert Pujols and the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals in the ballpark for the entire series, but it didn't much matter.
The Cardinals peppered Braves pitcher Javier Vazquez with singles and won 5-3 Wednesday night at Turner Field, clinching a 2-1 series victory that featured just one extra-base hit for St. Louis in three games. Pujols had one of six singles off Vazquez (2-2) in a four-run fifth inning that erased Atlanta's 3-1 lead, including an uncanny array of bloop hits and three consecutive two-out RBI singles.
"To lose a game like that, it's pretty disappointing," Vazquez said. "That's why Baseball is a difficult game. Sometimes you're going to have an inning where they hit three balls hard at people, and sometimes you're going to have an inning like that."
Right fielder Jeff Francoeur said: "Tonight was the worst luck I've seen for us in a long time. Vazky pitched great."
Former Braves prospect Adam Wainwright (3-0), allowed three runs (two earned) in six innings. The Brunswick, Ga., native is 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA in seven games (four starts) against the team that drafted, developed, and then traded him.
The Braves (10-11) have scored three runs or fewer 11 times during a 5-10 stretch, including all three games in this series.
The 5-10 stretch followed a 5-1 tear by the Braves to begin the season, in which they hit .300 with 10 home runs and averaged more than six runs per game.
The Braves have hit under .235 with eight homers in the past 15 games, including no homers against the Cardinals. Their four extra-base hits in the series included three Casey Kotchman doubles.
They had a chance to strike back against Wainwright in the bottom of the fifth, after loading the bases on two singles and Jordan Schafer's two-out walk. Catcher David Ross worked a full count before striking out looking.
Vazquez was charged with nine hits and five runs in eight innings and fell to 1-6 in his past seven starts against the Cardinals.
"He got blooped to death," Braves manager Bobby Cox said.
The Braves built a 3-1 lead on Omar Infante's RBI single in the second inning and a two-run third when they took advantage of Cardinals fielding mistakes.
Kotchman doubled and scored on Francoeur's single to right field, which was misplayed to allow Francoeur to advance to second. One out later, he alertly scored from third on a wild pitch.
Next for Braves
Who: vs. Astros
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
TV; radio: WPCH; 640 AM/96.1 FM
