ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Friday night at Busch Stadium III, using late-inning singles to overcome a one-run deficit.

Atlanta took a 1-0 lead in the fifth when Austin Riley singled to center, scoring Mike Yastrzemski. St. Louis answered in the sixth on Jordan Walker’s line-drive single that brought home JJ Wetherholt. The Cardinals grabbed the lead in the eighth with another run.

JoJo Romero (1-2) earned the win with relief work, and Riley O’Brien notched his 23rd save. Danny Young (0-1) took the loss.

Atlanta out-hit St. Louis 3-5 but could not capitalize. Braves starter Chris Sale tossed three scoreless innings with five strikeouts, and reliever Victor Mederos added two hitless frames with three strikeouts. For the Cardinals, the offense managed five hits, enough to support their bullpen.

Attendance was 26,609, with a game time of 2:23. The Braves dropped to 54-39, while the Cardinals improved to 49-44. The two teams continue their series Saturday.