Ozzie Albies powers the Braves past the Cardinals 5-1 as López and the bullpen allow 2 hits

ATLANTA (AP) — Ozzie Albies homered and drove in two runs, and the Atlanta Braves held the St. Louis Cardinals to two hits in a 5-1 victory Wednesday night.

The win was just the fifth in 18 games for the Braves, who nevertheless have managed to hold onto first place in the NL East.

Reynaldo López (4-1) pitched five strong innings in his second start since returning to the rotation after losing his starting spot in April. He gave up one run on two hits with a walk and five strikeouts. The right-hander threw 68 pitches, 44 for strikes.

Atlanta's bullpen, which entered with a major league-best 2.76 ERA, tossed four perfect innings to secure the win. Dylan Dodd, Didier Fuentes and Dylan Lee set up closer Raisel Iglesias, who earned his 17th save.

Braves pitchers retired 20 batters in a row to end the game.

Albies' solo home run to right field in the third inning snapped a 1-all tie. He also had an RBI double in the first that knocked in Drake Baldwin from first base.

Atlanta tacked on three runs in the eighth. Michael Harris II and Austin Riley each had an RBI single. Mauricio Dubón drove in Albies with a sacrifice bunt.

Dubón took away a home run from Cardinals pinch-hitter José Fermín in the eighth to preserve a 2-1 lead.

St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy (3-7) gave up two runs and three hits in six innings. He hasn't won in his last nine starts even though he leads the team in ERA at 3.12 and has allowed two runs or fewer 12 times this season.

RHP Dustin May (5-6, 4.30 ERA) will close out the three-game series for St. Louis on Thursday. RHP Hurston Waldrep (0-0, 0.00) starts for Atlanta.

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Atlanta Braves Raisel Iglesias (26), right, is congradulated by teammate Austin Riley (27), left, at the end of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II (23) rounds third base during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Iván Herrera (48) rounds third base towards home during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta BravesWednesday, July 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

St. Louis Cardinals Michael McGreevy (36) throws a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

Atlanta Braves Reynaldo López (40) throws out the first pitch of the game during first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) scores a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik Rank)

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Hershey may be known as the “Sweetest Place on Earth,” thanks to its chocolate-drenched origins, but the Pennsylvania community is also home to Christian Pulisic — the most accomplished and famous player on a U.S. national team that's dreaming big as it co-hosts the World Cup.

The team advanced on Wednesday, defeating Bosnia-Herzegovina to set up a round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday.

“Hershey to me is everything -- it’s where my family is from, it’s where I grew up,” Pulisic recently said on his Instagram account as he promoted limited-edition Pulisic’s Milk Chocolate Bars by the Hershey Company that feature custom wrappers with his signature. “It’s where I learned how to play. It’s just home.”

Pulisic grew up in this south-central Pennsylvania community surrounded by farms and rolling countryside, where even the streetlights along Chocolate Avenue are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses. The community was founded in 1903 by Milton S. Hershey, the American businessman and philanthropist who also built homes for workers, a hotel and a theme park that Pulisic often visited with family.

More than 120 years later, the Hershey Company is still the economic engine of Chocolatetown, USA. But the “Man Behind the Chocolate Bar” now shares the hometown hero honor with the soccer player nicknamed “Captain America.”

Pulisic’s hometown roots run deep, and during the World Cup, his community has rallied around him as the U.S. plays some of its most exciting soccer ever.

“It’s pretty amazing that he came from Hershey and played for my club,” said Hershey High School rising freshman Cecelia Stefanelli who, on a recent afternoon, kicked a ball to score a goal on her father at a field where Pulisic played.

The Americans won their first World Cup elimination game in 24 years on Wednesday evening, defeating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in the round of 32 despite playing a man down for more than 35 minutes. They had a healthy Pulisic in action after the star missed the second group-stage game with a calf injury and played only 33 minutes as a sub in the final group match against Turkey.

“I’d love if USA won the World Cup; it’d make me happy,” said Stefanelli, a center back who also plays for the Pennsylvania Classics soccer club. Pulisic often credits the structure and coaches at PA Classics, where he played for eight years, with helping develop his skills. In 2021, he returned to the club for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new fields that he financed and helped design. It's now known as the Pulisic Stomping Grounds.

The club is located in Lancaster County, surrounded by chicken and dairy farms that give off a pungent odor of fermenting feed and manure.

On a recent day, Liam Gustafson and Moussa Oumarou juggled a soccer ball and passed it back and forth as they warmed up for training in front of a huge collage of photos of Pulisic that trace from his childhood training to starring for the U.S. at the World Cup.

“It’s really special to see someone from around here, where we live, playing in the World Cup,” said Gustafson, a 17-year-old forward who dreams of playing pro soccer and calls Pulisic his role model. “It’s really inspiring to see someone who paved the way, so that we can do that someday.”

The road to soccer was paved early as Pulisic followed in the footsteps of his parents. He was born in Hershey on Sept. 18, 1998, to Kelley and Mark Pulisic, both former collegiate soccer players at George Mason University. His father went on to play pro indoor soccer for the Harrisburg Heat. The family moved to England for a year while Pulisic’s mother completed a Fulbright Program teacher exchange and their 7-year-old rising star played for the Brackley Town youth team.

“Mark and Kelley could write a playbook on how to raise a humble, smart, kind superstar, while maintaining family relationships,” said Tara Seymour, a family friend and retired health and physical education teacher at Hershey Middle School. She met the family at a soccer camp and became close friends with Pulisic’s mother.

“She just quietly said to me one time, ‘We have never seen anything like this.’ This is a kid who could juggle the soccer ball hundreds of times when he was in elementary school,” Seymour said. Pulisic, she said, would practice in his backyard for hours, trying to emulate the moves of pros he saw on TV.

“He has an intensity that couldn’t be taught,” she recalled. “I think he had the opportunity to go pro earlier or go to Europe earlier and they held back just to make sure emotionally and maturity-wise he was ready.”

When the family returned to Hershey, Pulisic joined PA Classics at the age of 10. The club's president and co-founder Doug Harris said Pulisic's talent allowed him to play with older age groups, and he was often the smallest player on the field.

“I think if you were to pull kids in the world who want to achieve the level of Christian Pulisic, you’d have millions that would step up, raise their hand. They’re all gifted; they all can play,” Harris said. “But there’s something fundamental about what Christian has been able to do and I’d credit Mark and Kelley Pulisic with a lot of that.”

The Americans' only World Cup knockout win came on June 17, 2002, when they defeated Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 in South Korea. Pulisic has said the team's approach won't change in this round and the mood remains light despite the high stakes.

“It’s just special to be here,” he said. “You just don’t want it to end.”

Ahead of the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, PA Classics coaches Brittney Jakobson and Nick Jakobson took their children, Declan and Camden, to kick a ball at Pulisic’s former club. The Americans, they said, have a shot at winning the tournament. But their legacy goes beyond the trophy.

“Their goal is to inspire a generation and it’s really fun to see that happening in real time … to hear people going out and watching the games, to see people buying the jerseys,” Brittney Jakobson said.

“Pulisic, obviously, in the short term is a great kind of figure to follow,” said Nick Jakobson. “But he does very much encourage that it’s not just about him. It’s not about just these four years. It’s about the next eight, 12, 16. It’s forward-thinking, and they’re laying a good foundation for what we can build on.”

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Pennsylvania Classic coaches, Brittney Jakobson, left, and Nick Jakobson, right, look at a banner of U.S. national team soccer player Christian Pulisic with their children, Declan Jakobson, who wears an Argentina jersey, and Camden Jakobson, wearing a Portugal jersey, at the club were Pulisic honed his skills in Manheim, Pa., on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

Cecelia Stefanelli, a rising freshman at Hershey High School, kicks a ball to score a goal against father, Justin Stefanelli, at a field where U.S. soccer national team star, Christian Pulisic, played when he was in school, in Hershey, Pa., on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

A billboard featuring U.S. soccer player Christian Pulisic is pictured on the side of the Hotel Figueroa, Monday, June 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Pennsylvania Classic players Moussa Oumarou, left, and Liam Gustafson, right, juggle the ball before training at the club were U.S. national team soccer player, Christian Pulisic, honed his skills in Manheim, Pa., on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

Pennsylvania Classic co-founder and president, Doug Harris, looks at a banner of U.S. national team soccer player, Christian Pulisic, who was born in nearby Hershey, and honed his skills at the club in Manheim, Pa., on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)