The Cardinals, who lead the NL in home runs, hit another two to back starter Mike Leake. Two-run blasts by Jeremy Hazelbaker and Tommy Pham highlighted what was a huge night by the bottom half of the Cardinals' order. Just ahead of Hazelbaker, five-hole hitter Yadier Molina tallied three hits. Behind Pham, Wong had a three-hit night and finishing a homer shy of the cycle.
Urena, making his third start of the season, gave up a career-high eight runs while struggling with his command. He walked four, hit another two batters and was charged with five of the six runs the Cardinals scored during a fifth inning in which 11 batters came to the plate. The six runs matched a season high for the Cardinals in an inning.
That 9-1 lead was hardly secure, however, as the Marlins answered with five runs off Leake in the bottom half of the fifth. A three-run homer by Martin Prado capped the inning. That frame ended with a strikeout of Ichiro Suzuki, who remains on 2,998 career hits after an 0-for-4 night. Fans awaiting an Ichiro milestone were treated to a highlight on defense, though, as the 42-year-old outfielder nailed Wong at the plate on a fourth-inning throw that Statcast™ tracked at 91.6 mph.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Sweet revenge: Facing Urena for the first time since the two tangled in a Minor League brawl a month ago, Hazelbaker crushed a homer off Urena's 2-1 changeup to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead in the second. Urena threw a pitch near Hazelbaker's head during a June 27 Triple-A game, and Hazelbaker reacted by charging the mound and initiating a benches-clearing brawl. Both players were ejected. After Hazelbaker's homer on Friday, Urena hit two of the next four batters he faced.
Prado finds seats again: Prado is one of the Marlins' top situational hitters, and this series, the veteran third baseman also is showcasing some power. For the second straight game, Prado delivered a home run that helped get his team back in the game. With two outs in the fifth inning, Prado blasted a three-run shot to left off Leake that pulled Miami to within 9-6 after St. Louis built an eight-run advantage in the top of the inning. Prado now has five home runs and 41 RBIs. On Friday night, after Miami fell behind, 5-1, Prado connected on a two-run shot to left.
Bounceback blast: Pham, who was hit on the right wrist by a Urena pitch in the second inning, showed no ill effects of the plunking as the night went on. He singled home a run in the fifth and then drilled a seventh-inning fastball from reliever Nick Wittgren 420 feet for his seventh homer of the season. According to Statcast™, the homer came off Pham's bat at 108 mph.
Urena's rough start: On a day the Marlins acquired starters Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea from San Diego, Urena had a chance to make his case to remain in the rotation. But the 24-year-old labored through the roughest start of his career. The eight runs allowed were a career high. The game got away from him in the six-run fifth. It was a slow-rolling single to third by Matt Holliday that put everything in motion. From that point, Urena never recovered. Previously, the right-hander had given up as many as five runs twice in his career, with the most recent on Aug. 6, 2015, at Atlanta.
Jenifer Langosch has covered the Cardinals for MLB.com since 2012, and previously covered the Pirates from 2007-11. Read her blog, follow her on Twitter, like her Facebook page and listen to her podcast.
Joe Frisaro has covered the Marlins for MLB.com since 2002. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro and listen to his podcast.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Cardinals outslug Marlins, jump them in standings
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