ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals spent the entirety of Friday’s muggy ballgame playing catch-up, only to give Atlanta a good chase before falling short by going silent for six innings.

The Cardinals scored in a pair of bursts at Busch Stadium to cut into Atlanta’s early lead, and despite maintaining some offensive pressure throughout the game could not eke out that one or two final runs to either tie or take the lead. Atlanta flew in from Sacramento on Thursday night and landed around 4:30 a.m. St. Louis time Friday. Their offense would eventually go to sleep as well — with Cardinals relievers reciting the lullaby — but it was enough early to hold on for a 6-5 victory.

The Cardinals finished the game 5 for 16 with runners in scoring position, and chance with two runners on and no outs in the seventh inning proved to be their last.

Atlanta’s Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save.

In his final start of the first half — the first he’s spent as a full-time starter — lefty Matthew Liberatore could not calm the Atlanta lineup. Leadoff hitter and All-Star Ronald Acuna Jr. ripped a leadoff double and an RBI single in the first two innings. Sean Murphy tagged Liberatore with two home runs that traveled a combined 877 feet. Liberatore did not get a strikeout in his three innings of work. He did allow six runs on nine hits.

So constant was the parade of offense in the early innings, the teams combined for 18 hits before they had collected 18 outs.

The starters left the bullpens 36 outs to gather.

A handful of defensive plays helped shape the game with the Victor Scott II throwing a runner out at home from center field to stop Atlanta from widening its lead in the third inning. Scott was at the wrong end of the other play when he was picked off in the eighth inning to unplug a potential Cardinals rally.

Arenado leaves game

The same finger that caused Nolan Arenado to miss two games in Pittsburgh during a recent road trip is why he left Friday night’s game abruptly after the sixth inning. Arenado was removed due to a sprained right index finger. In Pittsburgh, he had difficulty gripping a baseball and throwing it at full strength, and holding a bat was uncomfortable when it rested on the finger.

In the past week, Arenado has missed games with the injured finger and sore shoulder — both of which limited his ability to play in the field.

The Cardinals announced the reason for his exit during the game.

The severity of the injury would be determined later Friday or Saturday.

Arenado was not the only All-Star third baseman to leave in the midst of the game. Atlanta’s Austin Riley was lifted for a pinch hitter in the fourth inning. Riley, who had an RBI single in the first inning, was removed from the game due to what a ballpark official described as “lower abdominal tightness.” The timetable for his return was not given with the All-Star break set to begin Monday.

Bullpens hold firm

By the end of the third inning, both starters were about to excuse themselves from the game and both teams had combined for 11 runs and 18 hits. When the bullpens got involved, the scoring screeched to a halt.

First into the mix for the Cardinals was right-hander Riley O’Brien, who retired the top of Atlanta’s lineup in order for the first time all night. O’Brien struck out two All-Stars to stymie the Braves from scoring in a fourth consecutive inning, and then he tiptoed around three baserunners in the fifth inning to also keep them scoreless. O’Brien faced nine batters and struck out four of them to buy time for the Cardinals’ rally.

Matt Svanson followed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

He did not allow a hit.

The combination of Svanson and O’Brien stonewalled the Braves for 4 2/3 innings and gave the Cardinals ample time to squeeze out one more run to tie the game. It didn’t happen because the Braves’ bullpen was equally stingy. Enyel De Los Santos pitched two scoreless innings and struck out Cardinal to bridge the lead to Atlanta’s back-end relievers.

Murphy launches Atlanta’s early lead

When the Cardinals set out into the marketplace to acquire the catcher who would follow Yadier Molina behind the plate, they had two top targets — Murphy (by trade) and Willson Contreras (via free agency). The Cardinals felt the Athletics’ asking price for Murphy was high, and pivoted quickly to signing Contreras after an in-person meeting with him went so well.

Atlanta pulled off the deal with the A’s that the Cardinals did not, and as a subplot to the move involved Milwaukee, who acquired Willson’s younger brother, William.

The two catchers the Cardinals considered were both on the field Friday night — and while neither caught in the game, both delivered RBIs as part of the early point-counterpoint rallies. Murphy, to be completely accurate, delivered RBIs.

The Braves’ designated hitter in the game socked two home runs off Liberatore, and both traveled more than 430 feet. By the time all of the games were going in the majors, Murphy’s two homers were two of the five farthest hit for the evening. His two-run shot in the first inning was the climax of a three-run opening volley by Atlanta. The homer soared 437 feet.

In the third inning, Murphy led off with Atlanta holding a 4-2 lead.

He worked Liberatore through a 13-pitch at-bat. Murphy fouled off five consecutive 2-2 pitches before watching a ball for a full count. Murphy then fouled off two more pitches before crushing a 95-mph fastball to straightaway center field. The ball traveled 440 feet and lifted Atlanta to what was a 6-2 lead by the end of the third inning.

It did not last.

Cardinals nibble, then chomp into lead

There were more runs to be had in the first and second inning, and the Cardinals made up for that in the third.

A leadoff single and a one-out double answered Atlanta’s initial rally, and when Contreras lined an RBI single to left the Cardinals had nibbled the Braves’ lead down to one run by the end of the first inning. Back-to-back singles opened the second inning, and catcher Pedro Pages opted with his .209 average to guarantee he advanced the runners by dropping a bunt. Scott outran an infield single to load the bass with one out.

They would stay that way for the next two outs.

But the Cardinals’ chances did not wilt.

For the third consecutive inning, they got a leadoff hit when Alec Burleson bounced a rulebook double into the stands to start the third inning. Two walks spaced around two outs loaded the bases behind Atlanta starter Grant Holmes. That brought Pages back to the plate for a second consecutive inning with at least two teammates on base.

There would be no bunt this time.

Pages lifted a two-run single to right field that scored Burleson and Lars Nootbaar. Nolan Gorman took third on the base hit, and that put him in position to score the third run of the inning. Scott delivered that to narrow the Braves’ lead to, 6-5.

And there it froze once the bullpens got involved.

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