Braves, Cardinals Seek to Turn Back a Rough June[/TITLE>

Both teams, having endured a difficult June, look to reverse their fortunes in a three‑game series that begins Tuesday, when the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Atlanta Braves.

Each club stands at 3–7 in the past ten games, and both will welcome a fresh start; the Braves are 9–13 and the Cardinals 12–12 in June.

Atlanta’s advantage in the National League East has collapsed from a 10.5‑game lead on May 22 to just three games over the Philadelphia Phillies.

In the NL Central, St. Louis fell from 4.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers on May 31 to seven games back, and sits just a half‑game ahead of the Padres and Marlins in the hunt for the final wild‑card berth.

The series opener features a pair of left‑handed starters: St. Louis’ Matthew Liberatore (3‑5, 5.56 ERA) will face Atlanta’s Martin Perez (6‑4, 3.00).

Atlanta has been in an offensive funk. During their current 4‑12 skid, the Braves have been shut out twice and have scored three or fewer runs ten times.

“Baseball is different from every other sport,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “We play almost every day for seven months, so you’ve got to push past that. Keep your head down, keep working, and we’ll get through it.”

Key contributors have struggled: Austin Riley went 4‑for‑21 on the West Coast road trip, dropping his average to .209 and has not homered since May 20. Ha‑Seong Kim is on an 0‑for‑24 streak, hitting .068. Drake Baldwin hit a home run in his first at‑bat after returning from the injured list, but is 2‑for‑43 since his comeback, with his average falling from .303 to .255.

Over the weekend, the Cardinals faltered at the plate, scoring only three runs in a three‑game series against Miami.

“When we’ve won, we’ve built momentum from key hits and large swings,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol explained. “We’ve struggled to do that consistently, which has brought us to where we are.”

Two Cardinals are working to revive their offense. Ivan Herrera has gone 22 games without a hit and Alec Burleson’s on‑base streak ended on Sunday’s 2‑1 win, snapping a four‑game losing streak.

Second‑baseman JJ Wetherholt, a rookie, has just returned to form with back‑to‑back multi‑hit games, bringing his season total to 23 hits.

The Braves have steadied their rotation around veteran Perez. With No. 2 starter Spencer Strider out for the foreseeable future, Perez has become a reliable arm: since rejoining in mid‑May, he is 4‑2. His four‑game winning streak ended Wednesday against San Diego when he allowed three runs in four innings, his shortest outing of the season.

Liberatore has struggled in his last four starts, going 0‑2 with a 10.34 ERA in June, and was dominated by Arizona on Wednesday, surrendering six runs in 5 1⁄3 innings.

This is the first meeting between the Braves and Cardinals this season; the Braves won the 2025 series 4‑2.

—Field Level Media

Source link