Braves again overcome Cards’ tough challenge

Two weeks ago, the Braves had to come up with a top-notch pitching

effort to beat the Cardinals 2-1. Saturday, they needed to overcome a 2-0

deficit to topple those same Cardinals, 4-2, in a seven inning affair in

Majors Division play.

The Cardinals opened up a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Ryan

Magney doubled and scored on a passed ball, and rode the pitching of

Tyler Borkovetz, who held the Braves scoreless until the fourth inning.

In the fourth, DJ Hubers’ RBI single scored Ryan Olson and in the

fifth, the Braves tied the game at 2-2 when Todd Locken crushed a 2-2

pitch over the right field fence.

Kevin Powers then held the Cardinals scoreless with three innings of

relief work, which included just one hit along with three strikeouts.

The score stayed tied until the seventh when, with two outs, Kevin

Radle walked, reached third on Locken’s third hit of the game and scored

the winning run on Andrew Compton’s single up the middle. Locken later

scored on a passed ball.

The win was the second of the week for the Braves, who also routed the

Dodgers, 12-1. Compton, Powers and Kyle Sutheimer each had two hits

during an 11-hit attack, and David Delaney and Sean McDaniels contributed

key RBI hits.

Powers (three innings, five strikeouts) led the way on the mound as

he, Locken and McDaniels silenced the Dodgers on one hit while combining

for nine strikeouts.