The St. Louis Cardinals edged the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Sunday afternoon, riding an early burst of power from Bryan Torres and a strong pitching performance from Kyle Leahy to snap a four-game skid and avoid a home sweep.
St. Louis Cardinals struck first in the second inning when Masyn Winn opened with a single off Miami starter Tyler Phillips. Moments later, Bryan Torres delivered the decisive blow, launching a two run home run his third of the season to give St. Louis a 2-0 advantage.
That early cushion proved to be just enough.
Miami Marlins starter Kyle Leahy settled in after the homer, keeping Miami off the board until the fifth inning. He carried a no-hitter into that frame before the Marlins finally broke through with back-to-back doubles from Owen Caissie and Graham Pauley, trimming the deficit to 2-1.
Leahy finished his outing with a line of one run allowed on just two hits across five innings, walking three while striking out key hitters in tight spots. From there, the Cardinals’ bullpen took over and closed the door piece by piece.
JoJo Romero recorded four outs in relief before Ryne Stanek worked out of a seventh-inning jam by inducing an inning ending double play. George Soriano followed with a clean eighth, striking out two, setting the stage for Riley O’Brien, who secured his 20th save in 24 chances by retiring the side in order in the ninth.
On the Marlins’ side, Phillips was sharp after the early damage. Following Torres’ homer, he retired 12 consecutive batters before JJ Wetherholt led off the sixth with a single. However, St. Louis could not capitalize, as Iván Herrera grounded into a double play and Alec Burleson ended the inning snapping Burleson’s 25-game on-base streak and halting Herrera’s 22-game streak as well.
Phillips ultimately allowed two runs on six hits over a season-high 7 1/3 innings. He exited with runners on the corners in the eighth, but Miami reliever Cade Gibson escaped further damage when catcher Joe Mack picked off Nathan Church at third base, followed by a strikeout of Wetherholt to end the threat.
Despite the loss, Miami (44-40) remains one of the hottest teams in baseball, having gone 18-6 in June and winning seven of its last eight series. St. Louis (43-38), meanwhile, salvaged the finale and prevented what would have been the franchise’s first home sweep at the hands of Miami in 30 years.
Looking ahead, the Marlins will send Sandy Alcantara (8-4, 4.01 ERA) to the mound Monday in Colorado, while the Cardinals turn to Matthew Liberatore (3-5, 5.56 ERA) on Tuesday in Atlanta.
