Miami never trailed. The Marlins put a run on the board in the first inning and kept adding, finishing with a 5-1 victory over St. Louis at Busch Stadium on Saturday. It was a game of steady accumulation — a run here, two there — that left the Cardinals with little room to respond.
Kyle Stowers was the catalyst. He went 2-for-3 with two RBI, singling home Lopez in the first and Mack in the third to push the lead to 2-0. Javier Sanoja added three hits in four at-bats, driving in one run, while Xavier Edwards went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Otto Lopez, hitting .333 on the season, scored once and drove in another, going 2-for-5.
The fourth inning extended the margin to four. Sanoja singled to right to score Marsee, and Edwards followed with a single to left that brought Sanoja home, making it 4-0. Miami added one more in the seventh when Lopez singled to right and Edwards scored, pushing the lead to 5-1. St. Louis managed its only run in the sixth, when Masyn Winn singled to right and Walker scored.
Andre Pallante absorbed the loss, falling to 9-5. He allowed 5 runs on 11 hits over 6.2 innings, striking out four, with a 3.93 ERA. Ryan Gusto, Miami's starter, worked 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out four. John King followed with 1.1 innings of hitless relief to earn his sixth win of the season against one loss.
Miami has won three straight and improved to 43-39. St. Louis dropped to 42-37, losing for the third consecutive time.