A quality start from Miles Mikolas was for naught, as the St Louis Cardinals bullpen blew their eighth lead of the season in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, April 23.

The matinee at Truist Park was a pitchers’ duel, as Mikolas pitched six innings of shutout ball, allowing six hits and two walks but striking out a pair. Braves starter Bryce Elder also went six innings, allowing an RBI double in the first inning to Nolan Arenado for his own earned run on five hits. He also allowed three walks while fanning two. The Arenado double turned out to be the Cardinals’ only run, as the offense went two-for-seven with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners.

That didn’t give much of a cushion for the bullpen, who struggled to get outs. John King only recorded one out as he was charged with the blown save, giving up an RBI single to Michael Harris II in the seventh. JoJo Romero took the loss, also recording just one out before Eli White launched a three-run home run over left field to give the Braves the series win.

The Cardinals are now 10-15, having won just two games on the road thus far on the year, and are now last in the NL Central. They’ll have Thursday off before returning to Busch Stadium to host the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night. Matthew Liberatore will get the start, with first pitch at 7:15 p.m.