Yadier Molina Late-Game Heroics Lead Cardinals to Game 4 Win vs. Braves in NLDS

The St. Louis Cardinals evened their National League Division Series matchup with the Atlanta Braves after earning a 5-4 extra-inning win in Game 4 to stay alive in the 2019 MLB playoffs.

Yadier Molina tied the game in the eighth with a bloop single off the glove of Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. He brought home the winning run in the 10th on a sacrifice fly to left after Adam Duvall was unable to throw out Kolten Wong at home.

Notable Performers

• Dallas Keuchel, SP, Braves: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• Ronald Acuna Jr., CF, Braves: 4-for-5, 1 2B, 1 3B
• Ozzie Albies, 2B, Braves: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI
• Dansby Swanson, SS, Braves: 2-for-3, 1 2B
• Dakota Hudson, SP, Cardinals: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Marcell Ozuna, LF, Cardinals: 2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 RBI
• Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Cardinals: 3-for-4, 2 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Ozuna, Goldschmidt Anchor Cardinals Offense

The Cardinals had nine hits. Five of those hits were split between Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna.

Molina will understandably grab the headlines because of his late-game heroics, but Goldschmidt and Ozuna were instrumental in the win. They gave the Cardinals an early lead with back-to-back homers in the first inning.

Paul Goldschmidt + Marcell Ozuna HR Combo

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Ozuna made it a 3-1 game in the fourth with a solo home run.

Together, the pair have been excellent all series.

St. Louis will probably need more balance in Game 5 in order to punch a ticket to the National League Championship Series.

Cardinals fans were likely feeling a bit uneasy when Carlos Martinez took the mound in the ninth. He surrendered six earned runs in his previous two appearances, and his meltdown in Game 3 gifted the Braves a win.

The St. Louis closer got the job done, and Miles Mikolas set the Braves down in order in the 10th to set the stage for Molina.

Braves Squander Golden Opportunities

All three of the Braves' runs came in the third inning, with Dansby Swanson scoring on an error by Matt Carpenter and Ozzie Albies hitting a two-run home run. Besides that, the offense was basically listless.

Atlanta's lineup fell particularly short in the late innings. Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a leadoff triple to start the seventh and got stranded at third. He led the ninth off with a double as well, only to see Albies, Freeman and Donaldson fail to bring him home.

Albies, Freeman and Donaldson combined to go 1-for-12 on the evening.

As a result, the Braves had to count on their bullpen to an unhealthy degree.

Even in the postseason, when managers have much shorter hooks for their starting pitchers, it didn't bode well for Atlanta when Dallas Keuchel lasted 3.1 innings.

Braves relievers combined to finish 14th in FIP (4.39) in the regular season, per FanGraphs, and the team had already used two of its best bullpen options, Mark Melancon and Max Fried, in each of the first three games.

The quartet of Luke Jackson, Darren O'Day, Sean Newcomb and Josh Tomlin held the Cardinals scoreless over four innings. Shane Greene couldn't hold a 4-3 lead in the eighth, and Julio Teheran dug himself into a hole when Wong doubled to open the 10th.

What's Next?

The series moves to Atlanta for Game 5 on Wednesday. The winner will advance to the National League Championship Series, which begins Friday.