And that bullpen, in the forms of Max Fried, who was the Braves’ leading winner with 17 as a starter, and Mark Melancon, pounded on Thursday, preserved that 3-0 lead as the Braves drew even in the best-of-five series which will resume on Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, with Game 4 to follow on Monday afternoon.
Melancon, who gave up four runs of his own and one for another pitcher on Thursday, also drew some boos when he entered. The former Pittsburgh All-Star allowed one-out singles to Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna in the ninth but fanned Yadier Molina on a high fastball and then Kolten Wong on a curveball in the dirt.