St. Louis center fielder Victor Scott II, an Atlanta native, has made the most of his first trip home as a major-leaguer. On Wednesday, he will try to help the Cardinals win the rubber game of the three-game series against the Braves.
Scott, who grew up in Atlanta’s western suburbs about 30 minutes from Truist Park, had three hits on Monday and three more on Tuesday in his initial two games first against the Braves. In the series, he has three doubles, three RBIs, four runs and one stolen base.
The Cardinals evened the series with a 10-4 win on Tuesday, halting a five-game skid and ending the Braves’ four-game winning streak. The clubs won’t meet again until a mid-July series in St. Louis.
The series-ending pitching matchup features a pair of right-handers off to tough starts, St. Louis veteran Miles Mikolas (0-2, 7.64 ERA) and Atlanta’s Bryce Elder (0-1, 7.20).
Elder will be making his fourth start of the season. In his most recent outing, he received a no-decision against the Minnesota Twins on Friday after pitching five innings and allowing four runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Elder has had problems with baserunners (18 hits and five walks in 15 innings) and home runs (five).
Elder has made three career starts against St. Louis, going 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA. He was beaten by the Cardinals twice last season when he allowed eight runs over 11 innings.
Mikolas will be making his fifth start of 2025, and the Cardinals have yet to win a game that he started. He received a no-decision in his latest start, against the New York Mets on Friday, pitching 4 2/3 innings and giving up two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out one.
On the positive side, Mikolas has not allowed a home run in 17 2/3 innings this season.
“Just not hitting spots. Kind of stunk out there,” Mikolas said after his Friday game. “Bullpen was a little short-staffed, so today was not a good day for me to stink. I’ll work my tail off between starts to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Probably just try to toss this one in the bin and keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
In eight career appearances (seven starts) against Atlanta, Mikolas is 3-4 with a 3.77 ERA. He has allowed 10 home runs in 45 1/3 innings in those outings. Mikolas defeated the Braves last July when he allowed two runs over seven innings.
St. Louis second baseman Brendan Donovan sat out the Tuesday game after a rib popped out of place in the morning. His availability for the finale was uncertain. Donovan is batting .356, third best in the majors, with three homers and 13 RBIs in 23 games.
The Cardinals activated shortstop Masyn Winn from the injured list and put him in the starting lineup on Tuesday. He responded with a hit, a sacrifice fly and two RBIs. St. Louis cleared a roster spot for him by optioning outfielder Michael Siani to Triple-A Memphis.
The Braves announced starting pitcher Spencer Strider has a Grade 1 right hamstring strain. The right-hander sustained the freak injury while playing catch on Monday and had to be placed on the 15-day injured list. The move came after he made only one start in his return from an elbow operation.
“It (is tough),” Strider said. “I just feel like I’m taking up space here again. I’ll do everything possible to get back out there as soon as I can.”
On Tuesday, Atlanta recalled right-hander Nathan Wiles from Triple-A Gwinnett and optioned right-hander Michael Petersen. Wiles made his major league debut on Tuesday and allowed three runs in one inning.
–Field Level Media
