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 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."
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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.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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