Injury-plagued Braves take on Cardinals, Sonny Gray before the break

The injury-battered Atlanta Braves are looking forward to resting during the All-Star break.

They absorbed another injury hit Friday when third baseman Austin Riley suffered a strained right abdomen that landed him on the 10-day injured list Saturday. The Braves also will go into the break with back-to-back bullpen games due to the depletion of their starting rotation.

But they have won three of four games heading into Sunday afternoon's road game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Atlanta won 6-5 on Friday, then 7-6 on Saturday after recalling Nacho Alvarez Jr. from Triple-A Gwinnett to replace Riley.

"We just keep battling through things like that," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "I mean, we've done it for over a year now. So I hate it for Austin, too, because he's swinging the bat pretty good. It's one of those things."

On the plus side, outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. remained in action while dealing with a lower back concern. He changed his mind and opted out of the Home Run Derby on Monday, but he remained in the Braves' lineup while promising he will play in the All-Star Game on his home field in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Acuna is 6-for-17 with three homers, two doubles and four RBIs in his past four games. He moved from his usual leadoff spot to No. 3 on Saturday with Riley sidelined. Alvarez Jr. went 2-for-4 with a run in Riley's place.

The Braves' starting pitching scenario was complicated by the need to cover six innings in relief Friday before the back-to-back bullpen starts. They used six pitchers Saturday.

They will roll out a string of relievers again Sunday. To make room for pitcher Joey Wentz, whom they claimed on waivers on Friday, Nathan Wiles was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

The Braves had not named their opener as of Sunday morning.

The Cardinals shuffled their pitching rotation to give right-hander Sonny Gray (9-3, 3.51 ERA) the opportunity to start Sunday ahead of the break.

Gray earned a 4-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday in his most recent start. He allowed the two runs on five hits in five innings while striking out six and walking one.

He threw just 70 pitches due to rain that delayed the start of the game for 2 hours, 19 minutes and scrambled his pre-game preparation.

"I clearly didn't have my best stuff or anything close to it tonight after the long delay," Gray said after the start.

Gray is 1-3 with a 3.86 ERA in seven career starts against the Braves.

Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado aggravated his sprained right index finger Friday. Thomas Saggese replaced him in that game and started in his place Saturday.

"I've never dealt with something like this," Arenado told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "My finger hurts, and it's kind of irritating everything else. It is something I usually haven't dealt with. I'm trying to figure it out a little bit. Maybe rest. Go from there."

Outfielder Lars Nootbaar is another St. Louis player looking forward to the break. He has been battling rib cage soreness and exited Saturday's game after five innings.

"He'll be down tomorrow," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after the game.

The Cardinals made a roster move before Saturday's matchup to add a fresh arm to the bullpen, recalling Gordon Graceffo and returning Matt Svanson to Triple-A Memphis.

--Field Level Media