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 Right fielder Jason Heyward homered for the third consecutive game,
and second baseman Kolten Wong also went deep, leading St. Louis to
a 6-1 win over Miami on Wednesday night at Marlins Park.
Wong said the Cardinals were not fazed by the big dimensions of
Marlins Park.
"If you hit the ball good, anyone can hit it out of the park," said
Wong, whose two-run blast in the third inning gave the Cardinals a
lead they never relinquished. "As soon as I hit it, I knew the
possibility of it going out was pretty good."
Wong's homer, which went off the facing of the upper deck, and
Heyward's shot, which came in the seventh inning, were hit off
Marlins right-hander Mat Latos (2-5). Both Wong and Heyward are
left-handed hitters who pulled pitches to right field for their
ninth homers of the season.
The Cardinals improved the best record in baseball to 47-24.
Both teams had seven hits, but the Cardinals were much more
efficient, leaving just one runner on base.
Miami (30-43) was led by Stanton, who homered for the second game in
a row. He hit his 12th homer in June, tying the franchise record for
most in any month, a mark set by Dan Uggla in May 2008. Stanton also
hit 12 homers in May 2012.
Stanton, who homered to center field on the first pitch he saw in
the second inning, leads the majors with 27 homers and 67 RBIs. He
reached 27 home runs faster than any player in Marlins history, not
that it matters to him as the Marlins' losses mount.
"We're not getting hits with runners on base, in bigger situations,"
Stanton said. "We're not putting them together, back to back."
Stanton, though, almost went deep again in the seventh. He hit a
line drive to right field that went off the fence, missing a homer
by a few feet. He got a single on that hit and finished with three
of Miami's seven hits.
Marlins manager Dan Jennings pointed out that Stanton led off four
different innings, a sign that the batters ahead of him in the
lineup were not getting on base.
In fact, the Marlins' first three batters went a combined 1-for-12
with no walks, leaving little in the way of opportunities for
Stanton in the cleanup position.
"You have to get people on in front of (Stanton) the way he's
swinging the bat right now," Jennings said. "He crushes that home
run. Then the (single) off the wall and the single up the middle --
he swung the bat great.
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"But we have to start swinging up and down the lineup."
Third baseman Matt Carpenter hit a run-scoring single in the eighth
for the Cardinals' final run. That meant that all six St. Louis runs
were driven in by left-handed hitters.
Carpenter's hit drove in starting pitcher Jaime Garcia (3-3), who
scored from second on the play but pulled up lame just before he
crossed the plate, sustaining a cramp.
On the mound, Garcia worked seven innings, allowing five hits, no
walks and one run to lower his ERA to 1.69. He has walked just two
batters in his past six starts and likely would have a better record
except that the Cardinals were shut out in three of his seven
appearances this season.
"He pitched terrific," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of
Garcia, who is 7-for-7 in quality starts this year. "He gave up a
couple of hard-hit balls to Stanton, but he limited the damage."
NOTES: Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter (back tightness) was in the
lineup after missing one game. Mark Reynolds, who started at third
base Tuesday, returned to first base. Xavier Scruggs, who had three
hits while starting at first Tuesday, returned to the bench. ...
Marlins manager Dan Jennings said RHP Dan Haren will pitch Thursday,
rookie LHP Justin Nicolino on Friday and RHP Tom Koehler on
Saturday. ... Miami RHP Jarred Cosart (vertigo) will be activated
Thursday and sent to the bullpen for the first time in his career.
... Marlins C J.T. Realmuto, who batted second Tuesday for the first
time in the majors, was moved down to sixth Wednesday. ... Marlins
1B Michael Morse (finger) was moved up from Double-A to Triple-A in
his rehab and is close to a return. ... Marlins RHP Bryan Morris
(back) has shown "electric stuff" in his rehab, according to
Jennings, and he could return this week.
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