In games where the St. Louis Cardinals hit homers and pitch well Baker Mayfield Jersey Browns , they generally walk off the field with a win.

But on nights where they can’t connect with the long ball, they don’t consistently make up for it with situational hitting or defense. Friday night’s 5-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves was another example of that trend rearing its ugly head.

After failing to cash in leadoff walks in the bottom of the first against Braves starter Julio Teheran, St. Louis simply couldn’t crack the code. It eventually caught up with the Cardinals as they were held to one run for their second straight game.

For St. Louis (42-38) to even the series Saturday night at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals will have to do a better job of converting runners in scoring position into runs while not giving up extra outs defensively. The Cardinals’ three errors Friday night marked their 17th multi-error game in 80 games.

St. Louis is on a pace to commit more than 130 miscues this year, continuing a three-season trend of below-average defense. Permitting good teams like Atlanta (46-34) four or five outs in an inning is a recipe for disaster.

The Braves started a 10-game road trip with a positive result. Third baseman Johan Camargo was the offensive star, going 3-for-5 with two runs and a two-run double off Jordan Hicks in the eighth that broke open a 1-0 game.

“Baseball is all about its ups and downs,” Camargo said. “For me, it’s all about maintaining the focus and just staying the path.”

Atlanta essentially heeded Camargo’s credo, bouncing back from consecutive series losses against last-place teams Baltimore and Cincinnati. It will turn to left-hander Max Fried (0-2 Bears Roquan Smith Jersey , 4.09 ERA) on Saturday to secure a series win.

Fried is replacing veteran right-hander Brandon McCarthy, who was put on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with a knee injury. A former first-round pick of San Diego, Fried will make his first start since going five innings and giving up one earned run on May 28 in a no-decision against the New York Mets.

It will be the second career appearance against the Cardinals for Fried, who last year tossed a scoreless inning in relief against them.

Right-hander Luke Weaver (4-6, 4.59) will look for his second straight win for St. Louis. Weaver shrugged off a rough first inning Sunday in Milwaukee to grab an 8-2 win, fanning a season-high nine over 5 2/3 innings while yielding two runs off five hits and two walks.

Weaver needed 32 pitches to make it through a two-run first inning, but started finding the range with his off-speed pitches. That made his fastball play bigger, and he rolled through the middle innings while the Cardinals bombed Jhoulys Chacin out of the box with five runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth.

“The first inning, it was like Authentic Orlando Brown Jr. Jersey , ‘Here we go again.’ It means a lot for him to right the ship,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny told mlb.com.

Weaver, who snapped a seven-start winless streak in Milwaukee, will make his first career appearance against the Braves.

David Johnson is back in the fold with the Arizona Cardinals.

The question about whether the dynamic running back would continue his holdout was answered in a hurry when he was among the players returning from injuries to show up for the early portion of training camp.

Johnson, who figures to be the centerpiece of the Arizona offense under new coach Steve Wilks, did not take part in the team's mandatory minicamp in a contract dispute.

But he reported Sunday and was in Monday's first workouts. The entire team reports to camp Friday with the first practice Saturday. Rookies, quarterbacks and players coming off injuries report early. They will work out this week at the team's practice facility before moving to the other side of suburban Phoenix for the full training camp at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

Johnson told azcardinals that contract talks are progressing and that he will leave it to his agents to work things out.

"I'm here to play football," he told azcardinals, the team's web site. "I trust my agency Ty Montgomery Packers Jersey , Sportstars, and I know they'll get it done when the time comes."

Johnson said his decision to report to camp was "about being here for the team, the players, my brothers, so that's what we decided."

He was optimistic about a deal getting done.

"The Cardinals want me to play for them for a long time, and I want to be here for a long time," Johnson told azcardinals. "So definitely things are going in a positive way."

Johnson is entering his fourth NFL season. A third-round draft pick out of Northern Iowa, Johnson had an All-Pro season two years ago, when he led the NFL in yards from scrimmage. He set an NFL record by topping 100 yards in each of the first 15 games of the season.

But he fractured his left wrist in the season opener a year ago and didn't play again.

Now Ben Gamel Seattle Mariners Jersey , Johnson said he's in the best shape of his life. Videos he posts on twitter showed him working out .

Johnson participated in every offseason workout before watching from the sidelines at the final OTA session. He was a no-show the entire mandatory minicamp.

A contract agreement seems to be coming but any work on it done now would be without general manager Steve Keim, who is suspended by the team for five weeks for his DUI arrest.

Johnson is scheduled to make $1.9 million this season on the contract he signed as a rookie. That's far below what a player of his caliber would get on the open market. Le'Veon Bell makes $14.5 million under the franchise tag. Devonta Freeman and LeSean McCoy will make $8 million this year as part of large, long-term deals.

But coming off an injury season complicates the contract situation. Johnson aims to be a better version of his 2016 self, with his sights set on 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving.

Prolific on twitter, Johnson announced his own return .

"It's in Gods hands now," he wrote. "Prime and ready to prove it! #ImBack."

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