Cardinals 6, Marlins 1
MIAMI -- Jason Heyward homered for the third straight game, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night at Marlins Park.
The Cardinals, who have the best record in baseball at 47-24, also got a two-run homer from second baseman Kolten Wong in the third inning. That gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead over Miami (30-43) that the Cardinals never relinquished.
Wong's homer, which went off the facing of the upper deck, and Heyward's shot, which came in the seventh inning, were hit off Marlins starter Mat Latos (2-5). Both Wong and Heyward are left-handed hitters who pulled their pitches to right field.
It was the ninth homer of the season for both Wong and Heyward.
The Cardinals' power display overshadowed that of Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, who homered for the second straight game. His 12 homers in June tied a franchise record.
Stanton, who homered to center field on the first pitch he saw in the second inning, leads the majors with 27 homers and 67 RBIs. He reached 27 home runs faster than any player in Marlins history.
The Miami star almost went yard again in the seventh. He hit a line drive to right field that went off the fence, missing a homer by just a few feet. He finished with three of Miami's seven hits.
Third baseman Matt Carpenter hit a run-scoring single in the eighth for the Cardinals' final run. That meant that all six St. Louis runs were driven in by left-handed hitters.
Carpenter's hit drove in starting pitcher Jaime Garcia (3-3), who scored from second on the play but pulled up lame just before he crossed the plate, suffering from an apparent leg injury.
On the mound, Garcia worked seven innings, allowing five hits, no walks and one run to lower his ERA to 1.69. He has walked just two batters in his past six starts and likely would have had a better record except that the Cardinals have been shut out in three of his seven appearances this season.
NOTES: Cardinals 3B Matt Carpenter (back tightness) was in the lineup after missing one game. Mark Reynolds, who started at third on Tuesday, returned to first base. Xavier Scruggs, who had three hits while starting at first on Tuesday, returned to the bench. ... Marlins manager Dan Jennings said RHP Dan Haren will pitch Thursday, rookie LHP Justin Nicolino on Friday and RHP Tom Koehler on Saturday. ... Miami RHP Jarred Cosart (vertigo) will be activated Thursday and sent to the bullpen for the first time in his career. ... Marlins C J.T. Realmuto, who batted second on Tuesday for the first time in the majors, was moved down to sixth on Wednesday. ... Marlins 1B Michael Morse (finger) was moved up from Double-A to Triple-A in his rehab and is close to a return. ... Marlins RHP Bryan Morris (back) has shown "electric stuff" in his rehab, according to Jennings, and could return this week.