Liberatore pitches Cardinals to 4-1 win over Braves and doubleheader split after 6-2 loss in opener

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matthew Liberatore pitched six shutout innings in a spot start and Alec Burleson hit a go-ahead, two-run double to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Atlanta Braves 4-1 Wednesday for a day-night doubleheader split.

Jarred Kelenic had three hits, including his eighth home run, and three RBIs as the Braves won the opener 6-2. Kelenic was 6 for 9 with four RBIs in the doubleheader and is hitting .362 (17 for 47) with four homers and 10 RBIs since being moved to the leadoff spot in the batting order following Ronald Acuña Jr.'s season-ending knee injury.

Liberatore (2-2) gave up two hits and struck out eight in his fifth start of the season. He got the spot start following Tuesday night's rainout.

Burleson put the Braves ahead 2-0 in the third off Bryce Elder (1-3), who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier in the day. An NL All-Star last season, Elder allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.

Michael Siani and Masyn Winn had two-out singles before Burleson lined the ball into the right-field corner for his 27th hit in June. Paul Goldschmidt and Brendan Donovan added run-scoring singles off Grant Holmes in the eighth.

Closer Ryan Helsley struck out Adam Duvall with two on for his major league-leading 28th save in 29 chances, his 28th in a row.

Kelenic had a run-scoring hit with two-out in the eighth off JoJo Romero after hitting a two-run homer in the sixth inning of the opener,

Reynaldo López (6-2) improved to 4-0 in his last five starts, allowing two runs and four hits in five innings.

After Ramón Laureano hit into a run-scoring forceout, Zack Short had a two-run single in a four-run second that included Kelenic’s RBI single. Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom half, and Alec Burleson had a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Kelenic’s homer was the first allowed by Kyle Leahy in 17 appearances and 28 1/3 innings this season.

TRAINERS ROOM

Braves: Orlando Arcia (dizziness) missed both games after being removed in the sixth inning Monday night. ... 3B Brian Anderson was put on the 10-day IL Tuesday with a bacterial infection, retroactive to Sunday. ... LHP AJ Minter (left hip inflammation) moved to Triple-A Gwinnett on his rehab assignment.

Cardinals: INF/OF Tommy Edman, working his way back from offseason right wrist surgery, sprained an ankle while fielding ground balls on Tuesday. ... OF Lars Nootbaar (oblique strain) took batting practice on the field for the first time Tuesday, and reported no ill effects. He could start a rehab assignment this weekend.

UP NEXT

Braves: LHP Chris Sale (10-2, 2.91) is to start Thursday as the Chicago White Sox. Chicago, his team from 2010-16, started RHP Drew Thorpe (1-1, 5.02)

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (6-6, 4.68 ERA) starts Thursday’s opener against visiting Cincinnati and LHP Andrew Abbott (6-6, 3.40).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Atlanta Braves' Jarred Kelenic watches his RBI single next to St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages during the eighth inning in the second game of a baseball doubleheader Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals' Brendan Donovan watches his RBI single next to Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud during the eighth inning in the second game of a baseball doubleheader Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages, left, celebrates with Ryan Helsley after the team's win over the Atlanta Braves in the second game of a baseball doubleheader Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, left, talks with catcher Wilson Contreras during the second inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Gibson throws during the second inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies turns a double play over St. Louis Cardinals' Brendan Donovan during the eighth inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson, right, is congratulated by Zack Short after scoring during the second inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

Atlanta Braves left fielder Forrest Wall catches a fly ball for an out against St. Louis Cardinals' St. Louis Cardinals Matt Carpenter during the second inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

Atlanta Braves' Jarred Kelenic crosses home plate after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Kyle Leahy returns to the mound after giving up a two-run home run to Atlanta Braves' Jarred Kelenic during the sixth inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

Atlanta Braves' Jarred Kelenic hits a two-run home run during the sixth inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

Atlanta Braves' Jarred Kelenic hits an RBI single during the second inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Scott Kane)

NANTERRE, France (AP) — One year after a French teenager with North African origins was killed by police — a shooting that sparked shock and days of rioting across France — his mother led a silent march Saturday to pay homage to her son.

It comes at a politically fraught time. Hate speech is blighting the campaign for snap parliamentary elections taking place this weekend, and an anti-immigration party that wants to boost police powers to use their weapons, and has historic ties to racism and antisemitism is leading in the polls.

Several hundred family members, friends and supporters gathered in the Paris suburb of Nanterre to remember 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk, who was shot dead at point-blank range by a police officer at a traffic check on June 27, 2023.

Within hours of his death, Merzouk, a delivery driver from a working-class neighborhood, became a symbol. For many across France, he was the embodiment of young French Black and North African men who, studies show, face police checks and discrimination more frequently than their white counterparts.

At Sunday's march, his mother Mounia spoke to the crowd then broke off in tears. Friends wore white t-shirts with Merzouk’s photo, and fellow residents of his housing project held a banner reading “Justice for Nahel.” The march ended at the spot where he was killed, and an imam sang and read a prayer.

There was no visible police presence, though organizers of the march recruited guards to ensure security for the event. Merzouk's mother asked politicians to stay away, to avoid politicking or tensions the day before France’s parliamentary elections.

On Sunday, French voters will cast ballots in the first round of snap elections for the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, that could lead to the country’s first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation.

French opinion polls suggest the National Rally party could dominate the next parliament after the July 7 second round and get the prime minister’s job. In that scenario, Centrist President Emmanuel Macron would retain the presidency until 2027 but in a sharply weakened role.

“This march, happening now, it is a powerful symbol," said Assa Traore, who has been fighting for justice since her brother Adama died in the custody of French police in 2016.

“It means that history can’t write itself without us. We, from the working-class neighborhoods, are the firsthand victims of these elections. We realized, from an early stage, that the National Rally and far-right parties were a danger for our country and will weaken it," said the 39-year-old with Malian roots who will march alongside Merzouk’s family.

Merzouk's death, which was captured on video, stirred up long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects and disadvantaged suburbs, many of whom are French-born youth with immigrant family backgrounds. Fueled by TikTok, riots spread with unprecedented speed before a mass police crackdown. The unrest caused, according to French authorities, more than $1 billion in damage.

The officer who fired the shot cited self-defense, and an extreme-right figure started a crowdfunding campaign for the policeman that drew $1.6 million before being shut down.

Citing security concerns, notably in housing projects and other impoverished areas in French suburbs or “banlieues,” the far-right National Rally wants to give a specific new legal status to police. If police officers use their arms during an intervention, they would be presumed to have acted in self-defense. Currently police officers have the same legal status as all French citizens and have to prove they acted in self-defense.

The left-wing coalition New Popular Front, meanwhile, wants to ban the use of some police weapons and dismantle a notoriously tough police unit.

“People fear the victory of the National Rally. But, we, people from working-class neighborhoods, are afraid every day that our sons, brothers, or husbands will be killed. Racism and racial profiling are our daily life," Traore said.

Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

Follow AP's coverage of elections worldwide at https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/

FILE - Flowers lay at the tomb of Nahel Merzouk on July 5, 2023 in a cemetery in Nanterre, a Paris suburb. One year after the French teenager with North African origins was killed by police, a shooting that sparked shock and days of rioting across France, his mother is leading a silent march Saturday, June 29, 2024 to pay homage to her son. (AP Photo/Cara Anna, File)