Marlins mash 17 hits, blow out Cardinals

[June 07, 2018]  Derek Dietrich drove in three runs and Lewis Brinson homered twice as the Miami Marlins defeated the host St. Louis Cardinals 11-3 on Wednesday night.

Dietrich went 4-for-5, including a two-run homer, as part of Miami's season-high, 17-hit attack. Starlin Castro went 4-for-6 with three doubles, and J.T. Realmuto went 3-for-4 with a triple and two doubles. Brinson also had three hits.

Cardinals rookie shortstop Yairo Munoz had a rough night, making three errors. He had just four errors in his first 25 major league games.

St. Louis second baseman Jedd Gyorko made his pro debut as a pitcher. With the game out of hand, he pitched the ninth inning and allowed Brinson's second homer, a solo shot.

Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen was staked to a 6-2 lead but failed to earn the win because he couldn't finish the fifth inning. He allowed six hits, two walks and two runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Marlins reliever Drew Rucinski (1-0) was the beneficiary of Chen's lack of efficiency, allowing just one run in 2 1/3 innings to earn his first major league win. Rucinski, 29, made his major league debut in 2014, and this was his 11th appearance.

Jack Flaherty (2-2) took the loss, allowing eight hits, one walk and six runs, four earned in five innings.

Flaherty, who struck out six, got in trouble in the third, allowing a leadoff single to Castro followed by Dietrich's seventh homer of the year. Miami added one more run in the inning as Realmuto doubled and scored on a Brian Anderson groundout.

Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez (38) hits a RBI double during the third inning against the Miami Marlins at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals cut their deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the third. Tommy Pham singled and scored from first on a double by Jose Martinez.

St. Louis scored again in the fourth as Harrison Bader's double turned Brinson around in center field. Bader advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a Munoz sacrifice fly.

Dietrich started Miami's decisive rally in the fifth with a leadoff single. After a walk to Justin Bour, Anderson drove in a run with a double. A Munoz throwing error allowed Bour to score, and JT Riddle capped the rally with an RBI single.

Miami added two more runs in the sixth, and the rout was on from there.

--Field Level Media

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