The St Louis Cardinals were unable to hold onto a lead in the eighth, allowing five runs to the Atlanta Braves in a 7-6 loss Monday, April 21 at Truist Park.

The Redbirds had a 3-2 lead heading into that fateful inning, after Nolan Gorman’s single in the sixth gave the visitors the lead. Reliever Phil Maton struck out the leadoff batter, but came unglued after the Braves successfully challenged a play at first. Maton walked Marcell Ozuna, then gave up the tying run off a single from Matt Olson. He was pulled after allowing another walk, handing the ball to JoJo Romero with the bases loaded. The Braves took the lead on a Michael Harris II sacrifice fly, then cleared the bases with a three-run shot from Sean Murphy. The Cardinals responded in the ninth with doubles from Pedro Pagés and Victor Scott II, then a home run from Willson Contreras, but couldn’t bring Brendan Donovan home after his two-out walk.

Scott went three-for-four at the plate, recording a pair of RBIs, while Contreras, Pagés and Nolan Gorman each had a pair of hits. Erich Fedde ended up with a no decision after his six-inning performance, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three.

The Cardinals are now 9-14, fourth in the NL Central. Andre Pallante will get the start for the second game in the series against Atlanta, with first pitch at 6:15 p.m.