St. Louis Cardinals Recap: Carlos Martinez leads club to 4-3 win

Cards’ righty tosses seven solid frames in win

Carlos Martinez tossed seven strong innings as the St. Louis Cardinals topped the Miami Marlins in South Beach Tuesday night, taking the opener of the three-game set.

Taking advantage of a struggling opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals held on for a 4-3 win in the series opener Tuesday night against the Miami Marlins, with Trevor Rosenthal nailing things down for his first save in over a week.

With the score tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh, veteran Mark Reynolds stepped up in a big way, lining a full-count pitch off Miami right-hander Sam Dyson to score Xavier Scruggs, who proved to be the winning run.

Reynolds, who is filling in for the injured Matt Adams, went just 1-for-4, but it was a big hit as he came through in the clutch for St. Louis yet-again.

Miami (30-42) got an early home run from slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton in the first, when the phenom launched his 26th homer of the season to give the Fish an early edge.

An RBI single from Adeiny Hechavarria in the second against St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez pushed the Marlins’ lead to 3-0, but it would not hold.

Martinez (8-3, 2.89) settled down from there, striking out nine, allowing three earned in seven innings of work. Kevin Siegrist pitched the eighth before turning things over to Rosenthal in the ninth.

St. Louis (46-24) got its first three runs in the top of the fourth against Miami starter Jose Urena.

First, it was outfielder Jason Heyward who launched his eighth home run of the year, a solo shot, to pull the Cardinals within two. Scruggs followed later in the inning with a two-run single that tied things up 3-3, setting up the game-winning hit by Reynolds.

Scruggs went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while Yadier Molina added two hits in the win as well.

What’s Next:

The Cardinals will take on Miami again Wednesday night with first pitch at Marlins Park set for 6:05 p.m. CT.

Left-hander Jaime Garcia (2-3, 1.76) will be opposed by veteran Matt Latos (2-4, 5.37).

Next: Has Jamaal Charles Lost a Step?