Daniel Castro, Julio Teheran lead Braves over Cardinals 4-0

The Atlanta Braves got big nights from Daniel Castro and Julio Teheran as they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 Friday night at Turner Field.

Castro put the Braves on the board in the third inning when he jumped on an inside pitch from Jaime Garcia and drove it into the left field stands for his second homer of the season to put Atlanta in front 1-0. That appeared to rattle Garcia a bit as Nick Markakis and Adonis Garcia followed with back-to-back singles. That set the stage for A.J. Pierzynski who doubled to deep right scoring Markakis to put Atlanta up 2-0.

Julio Teheran ran into trouble in the fifth as the Cardinals loaded the bases with no one out. Jon Jay entered the game to pinch hit for Garcia and bounced back to Teheran to start a 1-2-3 double play. Teheran then struck out Thomas Pham to end the threat and the inning.

Castro struck again in the eighth and his opposite field double plated Freddie Freeman to make the score 3-0. One batter later, Markakis plated Castro with an run scoring single to left. Arodys Vizcaino pitched around a walk to close things out in the ninth.

Castro finished 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored on the night. Markakis went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Pierzynski's third inning double raised his average to an even .300 for the season.

Teheran picks up his 11th win of the season after allowing five hits over six shutout innings. He struck out six while walking just one batter. Danny Burawa and Edwin Jackson each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Atlanta.

Jaime Garcia takes the loss after allowing two runs and six hits over four innings. Garcia struck out five and walked two. Castro's home run was just the sixth allowed by Garcia this season.

The series continues on Saturday with Shelby Miller facing his old club and looking to snap a 24-start winless streak.