ATLANTA -- As someone who has taken to journaling in recent months to better channel his frustrations and log what he’s feeling when he’s swinging the bat well, Cardinals slugging second baseman Nolan Gorman had no shortage of content over the first half of the MLB season.

Asked for a typical entry into that journal that would sum up a stretch where he smashed 17 home runs but also struck out a MLB most 129 times, the usually mild-mannered Gorman pulled no punches.

“Good, bad and ugly -- everything,” said Gorman, who smashed an early two-run homer in Saturday’s Game 2 as the Cardinals defeated the Braves 9-5 to earn a doubleheader split. “There were some good times and there were a lot of really bad times -- not what I would expect for myself. But it's in the past, and I can't worry about that anymore.”

The Cardinals, who squandered a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 in 10 innings in Game 1 earlier in the day, led 5-1 and 6-2 early in the night game. However, they had to sweat out the victory after the Braves mashed four homers -- two of them from former Cards outfielder Marcell Ozuna -- off staff ace Sonny Gray. Three of those homers came in the bottom of the sixth when the Braves got within a run of catching the Redbirds.

Gorman hit an 83.7 mph slider from Braves starter Bryce Elder 407 feet for a two-run home run that gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. The homer came just minutes after Braves slugger Austin Riley had a two-run homer wiped off the scoreboard upon a video review.

Cardinals rookie shortstop Masyn Winn opened Game 2 with a triple, giving him a three-base hit in both games of the doubleheader.

Brendan Donovan hit a solo homer and a two-run single for the Cardinals, who had seven total hits with one out in the second inning and 14 knocks for the game.

Alec Burleson, the Cardinals' hottest hitter for weeks, had three hits and three RBIs to extend his streak to five straight games with an RBI.

Gray got roughed up by the Braves, but he did last seven innings. Gray yielded five earned runs on eight hits (including four homers), but he also struck out 10 and didn’t walk a batter.