Nothing separated the teams after the second inning. Bryan Torres made sure that was enough. His two-run homer to right in the bottom of the second gave St. Louis a lead it would not relinquish, and the Cardinals held on for a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins at Busch Stadium before 37,779 fans.
Torres finished 1-for-3 with 2 RBI, his homer the only scoring St. Louis needed. It was his third home run of the season, pushing his season RBI total to 7. Masyn Winn, who scored on the play, went 1-for-3 as well. Kyle Leahy worked 5.0 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts to earn his sixth win of the season against four losses, carrying a 4.09 ERA. Riley O'Brien closed it out with a scoreless ninth — 1 strikeout on 15 pitches — recording his 20th save of the year.
Torres connected with Winn aboard in the second, sending a 364-foot drive to right that put St. Louis up 2-0. Miami did not answer until the fifth, when Owen Caissie scored on Graham Pauley's ground rule double to cut the deficit to one. That was as close as the Marlins would get.
Tyler Phillips absorbed the loss despite a workmanlike outing. The Miami right-hander went 7.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits with no walks and 1 strikeout on 97 pitches. He falls to 1-3 on the season with a 3.02 ERA. The Marlins managed only 4 hits on the night, and their three-game winning streak was snapped.
St. Louis improved to 42-37 with the victory, though the Cardinals had dropped three straight entering the game. Miami fell to 43-39 and remains third in its division.