Ozzie Albies powers the Braves past the Cardinals 5-1 as López and the bullpen allow 2 hits

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ATLANTA (AP) — Ozzie Albies homered and drove in two runs, and the Atlanta Braves held the St. Louis Cardinals to two hits in a 5-1 victory Wednesday night.

The win was just the fifth in 18 games for the Braves, who nevertheless have managed to hold onto first place in the NL East.

Reynaldo López (4-1) pitched five strong innings in his second start since returning to the rotation after losing his starting spot in April. He gave up one run on two hits with a walk and five strikeouts. The right-hander threw 68 pitches, 44 for strikes.

Atlanta's bullpen, which entered with a major league-best 2.76 ERA, tossed four perfect innings to secure the win. Dylan Dodd, Didier Fuentes and Dylan Lee set up closer Raisel Iglesias, who earned his 17th save.

Braves pitchers retired 20 batters in a row to end the game.

Albies' solo home run to right field in the third inning snapped a 1-all tie. He also had an RBI double in the first that knocked in Drake Baldwin from first base.

Atlanta tacked on three runs in the eighth. Michael Harris II and Austin Riley each had an RBI single. Mauricio Dubón drove in Albies with a sacrifice bunt.

Dubón took away a home run from Cardinals pinch-hitter José Fermín in the eighth to preserve a 2-1 lead.

St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy (3-7) gave up two runs and three hits in six innings. He hasn't won in his last nine starts even though he leads the team in ERA at 3.12 and has allowed two runs or fewer 12 times this season.

RHP Dustin May (5-6, 4.30 ERA) will close out the three-game series for St. Louis on Thursday. RHP Hurston Waldrep (0-0, 0.00) starts for Atlanta.

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