Braves end 6-game losing skid

St. Louis — The Braves gave up two runs in the third inning Saturday, but they didn’t give up altogether. That alone was improvement over recent performances.

But there was more. Much more.

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Tom Gannam/FRE

Braves’ Brian McCann scores from second on a single by Martin Prado as St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina applies the late tag in the sixth.

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After going to the eighth inning with the score tied against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Braves erupted for five runs in the last two innings of an 8-4 win that snapped a six-game losing skid.

“We needed a win bad,” said Jeff Francoeur, whose two-out, bases-loaded hit in the ninth drove in the final two runs and erased the Cardinals’ comeback hopes. “I think everybody is going to be able to relax and have a good dinner tonight.”

The Braves bounced back from one of their worst-ever beatings Friday, an embarrassing 18-3 defeat in which they gave up 26 hits.

“We deserved to win that game [Saturday],” said third baseman Chipper Jones, who said he was “proud” of the recently maligned Braves for playing so hard after some recent sloppy games.

Mike Gonzalez got the last four outs to convert his sixth save this season and his 36th in a row since he last blew a save in 2004.

There was a 49-minute rain delay in the top of the ninth inning, and the Braves scored their three runs when reliever Russ Springer entered after the delay. Manager Bobby Cox elected to bring back Gonzalez, who had thrown one pitch to get the last out in the eighth.

Yunel Escobar had three hits and Buddy Carlyle pitched two strong relief innings for the Braves, who won for just the second time in 13 games.

After Greg Norton’s two-run, two-out pinch hit in the eighth, the Braves added insurance runs in most improbable fashion: With a 14-pitch walk by Kelly Johnson against Springer with two outs and bases loaded in the ninth, then the hit by Francoeur, who had been a staggering 3-for-25 with bases loaded.

“I haven’t been doing the best with two strikes, so to have that at-bat was nice,” said Johnson, who fouled back eight consecutive pitches on a 3-2 count before a walk that put the Braves ahead 6-4. “I’m incredibly happy with it.”

“Tremendous at-bat,” Jones said. “I told him it was the at-bat of the year.”

Francoeur said: “I was just sitting on-deck amazing at what he was doing.”

The stage was set for Johnson and Francoeur because of the hustle of Martin Prado and a crucial mistake by Cardinals second baseman Felipe Lopez.

With two outs and two runners on base in the ninth, Prado hit a grounder to Lopez, who doubled-pumped and hesitated before throwing to first base. Prado ran hard the whole way and just beat the throw for what was ruled an infield hit.

There were some boos heard from a Busch Stadium crowd that almost never boos its beloved Cardinals.

“Prado’s play — he didn’t take anything for granted,” Jones said. “He busted his butt.”

Cox said, “That was huge. And Prado [is playing with] a groin pull.”

Added Jones: “When the score’s 15-1, it’s easy to get down and try to get the game over. It was good to see the guys still putting out the effort to do what it takes to win a [close] game.”

The late runs overshadowed the hit by Norton, who gave the Braves a 5-3 lead. Mark Kotsay had doubled to start the eighth. and Johnson drew a one-out walk.

Francoeur struck out before Norton came through with a hit to center.

The Cardinals answered quickly in the bottom of the inning against suddenly struggling reliever Will Ohman, who faced three batters and surrendered a run on two doubles by Joe Mather and Felipe Lopez.

Cox replaced with Ohman with Jeff Bennett, who induced a groundout by Yadier Molina. Then the manager turned to his closer, and Gonzalez got pinch-hitter Aaron Miles to pop out with the potential tying run at third.

Albert Pujols continued to menace the Braves, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, his 27th home run and three RBIs, after going 3-for-3 with three RBIs Friday in an 18-3 Cardinals rout to open the series.

Pujols pulled within four points of National League batting leader Chipper Jones (.360), who called Pujols the best all-around hitter in the game.

“No doubt,” Jones said. “Albert can do anything he wants at the plate. He’s the best I’ve seen.”