St. Louis @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 11, 2010 ) St. Louis 3, Atlanta 6

It took a little longer than they wanted, but the Atlanta Braves managed to win the game that put them back into first place in the National League East.

They will be looking to maintain their hold on that spot when they close out a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

The Braves looked like they had Saturday’s contest won when Jason Heyward homered in the seventh to give them a 3-2 lead. But the bullpen, which has been so reliable all season, crumbled in the next frame when Johnny Venters allowed the tying run.

The Cardinals held Atlanta off until the 12th, when Alex Gonzalez came up with runners on the corners and sent a three-run walk-off blast into the left-field seats.

That victory, combined with the Philadelphia Phillies’ loss, lifted the Braves back into a tie for first place in the NL East. Atlanta and the Phillies also share an NL wild card lead of two games over the San Francisco Giants, who also lost on Saturday.

St. Louis will need a miracle to get back to the postseason, trailing the Braves by 7 1/2 games in the wild-card race and falling seven back of the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. Cardinals fans can still cheer for Albert Pujols, who drove in all three runs on Saturday to take over the NL lead with 102 RBIs. He now leads the senior circuit in both homers and RBIs, though with his .309 batting average, it no longer looks like he’ll make a serious run at the triple crown.

The Braves will turn on Sunday to ace Tim Hudson, who has looked nothing like a Cy Young candidate of late.

The veteran right-hander had worked himself to the back of an impressive class of NL pitchers by the end of August, running his record to 15-5 with a 2.24 ERA after a 13-strikeout performance on August 28. September hasn’t been quite as kind, as Hudson has lost his last two outings while surrendering a total of eight runs – seven earned – in 13 1/3 innings.

A strong Hudson is key to Atlanta’s playoff plans, but St. Louis might not be the best team to spark a turnaround in performance. Hudson squandered a three-run lead in a no decision against the Cardinals back in April and has struggled against them in his career, going 3-2 with a 4.96 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in eight starts.

St. Louis will counter with a struggling pitcher of their own in right-hander Kyle Lohse. The 31-year-old is 1-3 since coming off the disabled list on August 15, allowing four or more runs in three of those outings for a 10.31 ERA.

Lohse opposed Hudson back in April and allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings of a no decision. He has had about as much success as his counterpart in his career matchups as well, owning a 2-1 career mark with a 4.70 ERA and 1.50 WHIP against the Braves.