Jesús Sánchez provided all the offense the Miami Marlins would need, launching a two-run homer in the third inning, and Miami’s pitching staff made it stand up in a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.
The victory capped another strong stretch for the Marlins, who have now won 10 of their last 13 games and 17 of their last 22 on the road.
Cal Quantrill (4-8) delivered five scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out three. His biggest moment came in the fifth inning when, with the bases loaded and two outs, he struck out Brendan Donovan swinging to preserve Miami’s slim lead.
After Quantrill departed, Tyler Phillips kept the Cardinals off the board through 2 1/3 innings of relief. In the eighth, Ronny Henriquez entered with runners at first and second and one out, and struck out both Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado to escape the jam. Calvin Faucher then pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 10th save of the season.
The game’s only runs came in the third inning. Xavier Edwards led off with a single, and two pitches later Sánchez drove a fly ball over the center-field wall off Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (6-8).
Otto Lopez finished with two hits for Miami, while St. Louis struggled to take advantage of its chances, going 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. The Marlins have now won five consecutive series and are 15-18-2 in series play this season.
The Cardinals head to San Diego for a series beginning Friday night, but had not announced a starting pitcher. Nick Pavetta (10-3, 2.81 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the Padres. Meanwhile, the Marlins return home to host the New York Yankees; neither team had announced a starter.
