Marlins Take Series as Cardinals Drop Second Straight, 5-1

The Cardinal Chronicle
Marlins Take Series as Cardinals Drop Second Straight, 5-1
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals needed a win Saturday night.

They did not get one.

After being shut out in the series opener Friday, the Cardinals again struggled to create offense and fell to the Miami Marlins, 5-1, at Busch Stadium. The loss gave Miami the first two games of the three-game set and left St. Louis trying to avoid a sweep in Sunday’s finale.

This was not the same kind of loss as Friday night’s 4-0 shutout, when Michael McGreevy gave the Cardinals six scoreless innings and the offense never showed up.

This one looked different.

The result felt the same.

Miami put steady pressure on Andre Pallante from the first inning, kept adding on, and never allowed the Cardinals to turn the game into a real late-inning threat. St. Louis had seven hits, loaded the bases once, and had traffic in multiple innings, but the Cardinals could not land the big swing.

That has become the problem.

The Marlins struck quickly in the first. Xavier Edwards struck out to open the game, but Otto Lopez followed with a triple to right field. Kyle Stowers then singled to right, scoring Lopez and giving Miami a 1-0 lead before the Cardinals came to bat.

Pallante avoided further damage when Heriberto Hernández grounded into a double play, but the writing was on the wall. Miami was aggressive, and the Cardinals were immediately playing from behind.

St. Louis went quietly in the bottom of the first, then had a chance to answer in the second when Lars Nootbaar worked a walk. But Jordan Walker struck out, Masyn Winn flied out, and Bryan Torres lined out to right to end the inning.
Miami added another run in the third. Joe Mack singled, Xavier Edwards reached on a bunt single, and after Lopez grounded into a double play, Stowers came through again with a ground-ball single to center. Mack scored, and the Marlins led 2-0.

The Cardinals had their first real chance in the bottom half.

Jimmy Crooks and Nathan Church both struck out to open the inning, but JJ Wetherholt singled to left, Iván Herrera singled to center, and Alec Burleson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The tying run was in scoring position. Walker was at the plate. Busch Stadium had a chance to get back into the game.
Walker struck out swinging.

The Cardinals had loaded the bases and came away with nothing.
That was the first big missed opportunity.

Miami made it hurt in the fourth.

Jakob Marsee doubled to right field, and after Griffin Conine moved him to third, Javier Sanoja singled to right, scoring Marsee to make it 3-0. Sanoja then stole second and scored when Edwards singled to left. In a span of a few hitters, the Marlins had stretched the lead to 4-0 and put the Cardinals in a deeper hole.
Pallante was not awful, but he was not sharp enough either.

He gave St. Louis 6 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on 11 hits, walking one and striking out four. He threw 98 pitches and did not give up a home run, but Miami kept stringing together contact. The Marlins did not need one huge swing. They built their offense the hard way — singles, doubles, pressure and enough timely contact to keep the Cardinals chasing.

That kind of offense can wear down a starter.

It wore down Pallante.

The Cardinals finally broke through in the sixth. Walker walked, Nootbaar singled to center, and Winn followed with a single to right, scoring Walker and cutting the deficit to 4-1.

For a brief moment, there was a little life.

But José Fermín grounded into a double play, with Nootbaar cut down at third, and Crooks grounded out to end the inning. The Cardinals had their first run, but again, they could not extend the threat.

Miami answered in the seventh.

Sanoja singled with one out, and Edwards doubled to left. Pallante got Joe Mack to bounce into a double play earlier in the inning, but after Edwards’ double, Matt Svanson entered and Otto Lopez singled to right, scoring Edwards and making it 5-1.

That run meant more for the game's momentum than for the score.
Whenever the Cardinals threatened to rally, Miami immediately responded. Each time St. Louis put runners on base, the threat fizzled out. The Marlins executed with more precision, leaving the Cardinals chasing all evening.

The final offensive line tells most of the story.

Miami scored five runs on 12 hits. Edwards went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Lopez went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI. Stowers went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Sanoja added two hits, a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

That is production up and down the order.

The Cardinals scored one run on seven hits. Wetherholt had two hits. Nootbaar had two hits and a walk. Herrera singled. Walker singled and walked, but also struck out twice and left runners aboard. Winn drove in the only St. Louis run.

Burleson was hit by a pitch but went hitless. Crooks and Church combined to go hitless with four strikeouts.

It was not enough.

Again.

Ryan Gusto did not go deep for Miami, but he kept the Cardinals off the board through 3 1/3 innings. John King, Lake Bachar and Anthony Bender handled the rest, with Bachar allowing the only Cardinals run and Bender closing the door.

The Marlins bullpen did what the Cardinals’ offense could not overcome.

For St. Louis, Justin Bruihl worked a clean inning late, striking out one, but by then the game had already settled into Miami’s control. Svanson allowed the inherited run to score in the seventh, and the Cardinals never got closer than three runs after the sixth inning.

This loss drops the Cardinals into a familiar and frustrating place.

They are getting enough starting pitching some nights to stay competitive. They are getting scattered hits. They are getting occasional traffic. But the offense is not turning chances into enough runs, and the margins are getting thinner by the day.

Friday night, the Cardinals were held to three hits and no runs.

Saturday night, they had seven hits but only one run.

That is two games, one run total, at home, against a Marlins club that came into St. Louis playing confident baseball and has looked like the sharper team through two nights.

The Cardinals' offense has to start hitting.

They have to cash in the bases-loaded chances. They have to stop letting opposing clubs score first and then control the game. They have to give their pitchers a margin bigger than a needle’s eye.

Saturday’s game was not a blowout, but it was decisive enough.

Miami scored early, added on, answered when St. Louis finally pushed across a run, and took care of the late innings. The Cardinals had chances but lacked execution.

That is how a series gets lost.

The Cardinals will try to salvage the finale on Sunday. At this point, it is less about style and more about stopping the slide before a bad homestand turns into something heavier.

The Marlins have already taken the series.

The Cardinals need to make sure they do not leave with everything.

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Photo Credit: Andre Pallante, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB