ST. LOUIS -- It hasn't taken long for Braves rookie second baseman Ozzie Albies to show why he's been considered one of the game's top young prospects.
On Friday night, playing in his first road game, Albers' three-run home run in the sixth inning helped spark a comeback attempt, though Atlanta ultimately fell short in an 8-5 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
"It felt great," Albies said of his second career homer.
Albies is rated as the No. 19 prospect in baseball by MLBPipeline.com, as well as the No. 2 second-base prospect -- behind only Yoan Moncada of the White Sox, the top-rated overall prospect -- and the Braves' No. 2 prospect in their loaded farm system.
The 20-year-old switch-hitter entered Friday's game, the ninth of his career, batting just .167 with one home run and three RBIs. He came through with a second-inning single off righty starter Adam Wainwright and then his three-run homer, off lefty reliever Brett Cecil, in the sixth.

The two hits gave Albies his first multihit game and the three RBIs doubled his career total.
"For me, I had a little rough week hitting balls straight at people," he said. "But I have to keep fighting, keep staying positive. I have to stay under control and play the game and just have fun with it."
When he was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on Aug. 1, Albies was hitting .285 with 21 doubles, eight triples, nine homers, 41 RBIs, 21 stolen bases, 67 runs scored and a .330 OBP in 97 games.
The early impressions of Albies, after less than two weeks with the Braves, have been positive.
"It's good," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "He's holding his own. We're just going to keep running him out there. He's had a little impact here in a short period of time. We see what he's capable of. It's going to be beneficial for us to just keep playing him and let him get that experience."
Teammate Matt Adams said he's been impressed with Albies' composure during his first stint in the Majors.
"He's got the makeup of a star," Adams said. "He goes about his business the right way, he works hard and nothing seems to faze him too much. He keeps a pretty even keel with his emotion and he just goes out there and plays the game the right way."