Braves begin 3-game series against the Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals (43-38, third in the NL Central) vs. Atlanta Braves (49-33, first in the NL East)

Atlanta; Tuesday, 7:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (3-5, 5.56 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 70 strikeouts); Braves: Martin Perez (6-4, 3.00 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 60 strikeouts)

LINE: Braves -163, Cardinals +133; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves host the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday to open a three-game series.

Atlanta has a 49-33 record overall and a 24-14 record in home games. Braves pitchers have a collective 3.42 ERA, which ranks third in MLB play.

St. Louis has a 43-38 record overall and a 20-17 record on the road. The Cardinals have the eighth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .246.

The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting this season between the two clubs.

TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Harris II has 13 doubles and 14 home runs for the Braves. Mauricio Dubon is 13 for 41 with four doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.

Jordan Walker leads the Cardinals with a .290 batting average, and has 16 doubles, 18 home runs, 24 walks and 58 RBIs. JJ Wetherholt is 13 for 43 with two home runs and three RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 3-7, .205 batting average, 3.87 ERA, outscored by 14 runs

Cardinals: 3-7, .249 batting average, 5.73 ERA, outscored by 24 runs

INJURIES: Braves: Robert Suarez: 15-Day IL (elbow), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Kyle Farmer: 10-Day IL (forearm), Spencer Strider: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sean Murphy: 60-Day IL (finger), Spencer Schwellenbach: 60-Day IL (elbow), AJ Smith-Shawver: 60-Day IL (elbow), Danny Young: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee), Joey Wentz: 60-Day IL (knee)

Cardinals: Ryan Fernandez: 15-Day IL (back), Ramon Urias: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.