Nathan Church hit a two-run homer to ignite a seven-run rally and help the visiting St. Louis Cardinals to a come-from-behind, 11-5 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday in the rubber game of their three-game series.

The Cardinals sent 11 men to the plate during the seventh-inning uprising and erased a 5-3 deficit to hand the Braves their 14th loss in 19 games. St. Louis has won three of its last four.

Church tied the game with a two-run shot, his seventh of the season, against Tyler Kinley (4-3). Church had two hits in the series, both of them home runs.

The Cardinals followed with RBI singles from JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera and Jordan Walker, an RBI double by Lars Nootbaar and a run-scoring fielder’s choice from Masyn Winn.

The winning pitcher was Gordon Graceffo (6-1) for a spotless sixth.

Atlanta’s Hurston Waldrep was making his first start of the season after undergoing elbow surgery in spring training to remove loose bodies. He worked 5 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on five hits and one walk, striking out four.

It was a wild first inning as the Cardinals jumped ahead on Jordan Walker’s three-run homer, his 19th, that hit the top of the wall in left field and bounced into the seats. It ended a 14-game homerless streak for Walker, the longest of his season.

The Braves then responded with a five-run outburst in the bottom half. Mauricio Dubon delivered a bases-loaded RBI single. Dominic Smith followed with a liner that hit pitcher Dustin May’s right ankle on the follow-through and caromed into shallow right field, clearing the bases. The game was halted while trainers examined the right-hander, who stayed in the game.

Mike Yastrzemski followed with a sacrifice fly to deep center field and Jim Jarvis singled. That caused manager Oliver Marmol to lift May in favor of Justin Bruihl, who retired Drake Baldwin, the 10th batter in the inning.

Alec Burleson hit a solo homer for the Cardinals in the ninth, his 14th.

–Field Level Media

Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez left Thursday’s game against the visiting Los Angeles Angels after getting hit in the head by an errant throw.

Rodriguez walked with one out in the bottom of the first inning before Dominic Canzone hit a grounder to Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel. He tried to throw to second base to start an inning-ending double play, but the ball hit Rodriguez in the back of the batting helmet just as he started his slide. The ball ricocheted into center field and Rodriguez pumped his fist and yelled toward his teammates in the dugout before bending over with his hands on his knees.

Mariners head athletic trainer Kyle Torgerson and manager Dan Wilson came onto the field and chatted with Rodriguez and third-base coach Carlos Cardoza for a couple of minutes before Rodriguez stayed in the game.

Rodriguez returned to center field in the top of the second but was seen talking with Torgerson again while sitting on the bench in the bottom of the inning and left with the trainer and headed for the clubhouse.

Victor Robles replaced Rodriguez in center when the Mariners took the field in the third.

–Field Level Media

Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason has agreed to a five-year, $81.5 million contract to return to the team, according to multiple reports on Thursday night.

Eason, 25, is a restricted free agent. He earned $5.7 million for the 2025-26 season in the final team option year of his rookie deal, per ESPN, which first reported the contract agreement. The fifth year of the new contract is a player option, per The Athletic.

He averaged 10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and a career-high 25.8 minutes in 60 games (career-high 34 starts) last season. Eason averaged 13.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.5 steals and 32.5 minutes in six playoff games (four starts).

For his career, Eason averages 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 23.6 minutes in 221 regular-season games (55 starts) since 2022.

Houston selected Eason with the 17th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft.

–Field Level Media