St. Louis 4, Miami 3
When: 7:10 PM ET, Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Where: Marlins Park, Miami, Florida
Temperature:
Indoors
Umpires:
Home -
Adam Hamari, 1B -
Tripp Gibson, 2B -
Mark Carlson, 3B -
Brian Gorman
Attendance:
21759
By The Sports Xchange
MIAMI -- It was hard to tell what hurt Carlos Martinez more -- a monster home run he gave up to Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton or a hit-by-pitch he took at the plate.
The homer cost him two runs, and the HBP left him with a swollen right shoulder.
To his credit, Martinez bounced back from both blows, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a come-from-behind 4-3 win over Miami on Tuesday night at Marlins Park.
With the score tied at 3 in the seventh inning, Cardinals first baseman Xavier Scruggs hit a leadoff single. Martinez tried to bunt him over but was hit by a pitch, sending him to the dirt in immense pain.
"I needed a couple of minutes," said Martinez, who remained in the game and pitched the bottom of the seventh. "But then I was OK. I didn't want to leave the game."
Marlins reliever Sam Dyson (3-3), who hit Martinez, also clipped Randal Grichuk to load the bases. After shortstop Jhonny Peralta struck out, third baseman Mark Reynolds came through with the game-winning infield single.
Fittingly, after the pain Dyson had inflicted with the two HBPs, Reynold's hard single struck Dyson on his right foot.
"Hech (Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria) was in good position," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said. "Unfortunately, the ball hits Dyson, and we don't get an out."
Martinez (8-3) then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning. For the game, he allowed eight hits, one walk and three runs, striking out nine.
Reliever Kevin Siegrist pitched a scoreless eighth, and closer Trevor Rosenthal pitched a scoreless ninth for his 22nd save of the season.
St. Louis (46-24), which has the best record in baseball, has won eight of its past 11 games.
The Marlins (30-42), who just returned from a 1-4 road trip, have won seven of their past nine home games, including Tuesday's loss.
Stanton tied his own record for the longest homer in the majors this season, hitting a 484-foot blast in the first inning. The only ball Stanton has ever hit further was a 494-foot homer in 2012 in the high altitude of Denver.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said the ball hit on Tuesday by Stanton -- who leads the majors with 26 homers and 66 RBI -- was highly impressive.
"That ball was a missile," Matheny said. "That was one of the furthest balls I've ever seen hit. It was only 484 feet because the glass (beyond the left-field fence) stopped it."
Stanton's homer was preceded by a two-out single off the bat of left fielder Christian Yelich.
"It was a slider, relatively down the middle," Stanton said of the pitch he hit. "But it doesn't matter. The game is nine innings."
The Marlins made it 3-0 in the second. Center fielder Marcell Ozuna hit a leadoff double to the corner in right and scored on a single up the middle by Hechavarria.
St. Louis tied the score with three runs in the fourth. Right fielder Jason Heyward hit a solo homer to right, and Scruggs – starting just his second game of the season - tied it by pulling a two-run double to left. Scruggs went 3-for-4 on the day.
Said Stanton of the Cardinals, "They're not in first place by luck."
NOTES: Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter (back tightness) did not start. … This series features five of the eight would-be NL All-Star starters, according to the latest voting tabulations, released Tuesday: 2B Dee Gordon and RF Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins and SS Jhonny Perralta, 3B Matt Carpenter and LF Matt Holliday of the Cardinals. Holliday (quadriceps) is set to return from the disabled list later this month. … Stanton moved up from fourth to second in the voting. … Two Cardinals are second in the All-Star voting: C Yadier Molina and 2B Kolten Wong. … Marlins RHP Jose Fernandez (elbow surgery) reached 98 mph in a Class A minor-league game on Monday. He plans to make his final rehab start on Saturday and return to the big leagues on July 2. … Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (strained right forearm) is set to come off the disabled list and start Thursday's series finale. … Marlins RHP Jarred Cosart (vertigo) is expected to come off the DL this week.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
St. Louis
|
9 |
1 |
13 |
.265 |
18 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Miami
|
10 |
1 |
15 |
.286 |
17 |
11 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |