Ian Anderson allowed one run in five innings, Austin Riley homered and drove in three runs, and the Braves beat the struggling St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 on Tuesday night.

Anderson (7-5) gave up eight hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

Anderson had allowed a combined 11 earned runs in back-to-back losses as his ERA climbed to 5.31. He worked on his mechanics in side sessions after allowing seven runs in two innings of a 14-4 loss at Philadelphia on Thursday.

Anderson escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, getting an inning-ending groundout from Dylan Carlson. He was welcomed by an appreciative manager Brian Snitker in the dugout.

Riley hit a two-run homer, his 21st, and William Contreras also went deep in the first inning as Atlanta took a 5-0 lead. Matt Olson drove in two runs with two hits, including a first-inning single after Ronald Acuna Jr. singled and stole second.

The Cardinals have lost three straight and five of six. They remain three games behind division-leading Milwaukee in the NL Central.

The Braves moved within 2 1/2 games of the first-place New York Mets in the NL East. They have won the first two games of the four-game series.

Cardinals rookie right-hander Andre Pallante was pulled in the fourth after allowing consecutive run-scoring doubles to Olson and Riley, who finished with three hits. Pallante (2-4) allowed career highs of seven runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings - his shortest of six starts.

Miles Mikolas (5-6, 2.61 ERA) will make his first start against Atlanta since 2019 when he faces Braves LHP Max Fried (8-2, 2.66) on Wednesday night. Mikolas is 1-2 with a 2.61 ERA in five career appearances, including four starts, against Atlanta. Fried is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals.