MLB Scores: Marlins 7, Cardinals, 6

The Miami Marlins traveled to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals in the first game of a three game weekend series. This game was the first game since the All-Star Break, and it was a seesaw affair. The lead changed hand five times, before the Marlins finally hung on to win the game 7-6, and Miami is now just 0.5 games behind the New York Mets for the second wild card spot in the NL. St. Louis is 1.5 games behind New York for the second wild card. The Marlins got on the board first, but not until the fourth inning. First baseman Chris Johnson doubled to left, which scored All-Star Marcell Ozuna, and the Marlins had the 1-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last long, as the Cardinals had an answer in the bottom of the fourth inning. Stephen Piscotty homered to center, which tied the game at one apiece. A few batters later, Tommy Pham homered to left, scoring Yadier Molina and Jedd Gyorko, and St. Louis quickly gained the 4-1 lead. The Marlins would begin their come back in the sixth inning, when Johnson grounded out to pitcher Jaime Garcia, which scored Giancarlo Stanton, and the Marlins trimmed the deficit to 4-2. In the next inning, Trevor Rosenthal plunked Stanton, which scored Cole Gillespie, and Miami only trailed by one run.

Ozuna reaffirmed why he was an All-Star starter, when he singled to center, scoring J.T. Realmuto and Christian Yelich, and the Marlins all of a sudden had the 5-4 lead. The lead didn’t last long again, as Pham continued his domination of Marlins pitchers when he homered to center, which tied the game at six. Randal Grichuk hit a solo jack to left field, which gave St. Louis the 6-5 lead, but knowing how this game was going, it wouldn’t be enough for the victory. Martin Prado singled to right, which scored Ichiro, and the Marlins tied the game at six.

Pinch hitter Miguel Rojas came up big in the ninth inning, as he singled to left, which scored Ozuna, and gave the Marlins the decisive 7-6 lead. That would be enough for the Marlins, as Fernando Rodney got the win, while A.J Ramos recorded the save for the Marlins. Seung Hwan Oh will get the loss, as he allowed the game winning run in the ninth.

Wei-Yin Chen got the start for the Marlins, and he pitched six innings, allowing four runs while striking out five batters. Jaime Garcia got the nod for the Cardinals, and he pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four runs while striking out two batters. The Marlins finished with 13 hits in the game, and Ozuna, Stanton, and Prado got the chunk of that total, as they all got two hits. The Cardinals recorded 10 hits, which included four home runs. Miami (48-41) and St. Louis (46-43), will meet again at Busch Stadium tomorrow.

Source: FanGraphs

Hero of the Game: Tommy Pham (0.59)

Goat of the Game: Trevor Rosenthal (-0.48)

Play of the Game: Miguel  Rojas singles to center, Marcell Ozuna scores (.369)