ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals reached the midway point of the season with a thud on Saturday at Busch Stadium, suffering an 11-4 loss to the Braves that left St. Louis still sifting through a series of questions as it moves into the second half sitting three games above .500.
Two questions, in particular, surfaced in front of a sellout crowd at Busch Stadium, as the Cardinals watched starter Luke Weaver stumble once again and their offense go silent against a rookie left-hander making his sixth career start. That offense, which entered the day ranked 11th in the National League with 341 runs scored, hardly threatened Max Fried, who twirled 6 2/3 scoreless innings for his first win this season.