Sanoja Surges as Marlins Clip Cardinals for 7th Series Win

The Miami Marlins continue to dominate through June. 

The Fightin’ Fish defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Saturday night for their seventh series win of the month. The Marlins have a winning record against the Cardinals for the first time since 2016. 

The Marlins (44-39) have won seven of their last eight games and are now tied with the San Diego Padres for the third and final National League wild card spot. Miami is an MLB-best 18-5 in June.

Javier Sanoja returned to the lineup with a clear mind and a heavy heart. The Venezuelan third baseman went 3-for-4 with a run driven a run scored, and a pair of stolen bases. In a postgame interview with the Marlins Radio Network, Sanoja said through a translator he told manager Clayton McCullough he was “ready to go,” while thinking of his countrymen who suffered through a pair of earthquakes that resulted in 900 deaths on Wednesday. 

“My mind is still on everybody and everything back in Venezuela,” Sanoja said. “But I’m here to help the team continue to get victories.”

Sanoja also addressed the support he received from his teammates during the weekend series. 

“It’s a family,” Sanoja said. “At the end of the day, we’re spending more time with one another than with our actual families. It’s a special bond that we have here.”

Kyle Stowers went 2-for-3 with two RBI singles in the first and third innings to put the Marlins ahead 2-0.

The Marlins went up 4-0 in the fourth inning on a pair of RBI singles by Sanoja and Xavier Edwards, who also finished with three hits. 

Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez went 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI single in the seventh inning to increase his Major League-leading batting average to .336 on the season. 

Masyn Winn drove St. Louis’ only run of the game on a one-out single in the sixth inning. JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker each collected a pair of hits for the Cardinals (42-38), who were in playoff position before dropping two against Miami. 

Ryan Gusto started the game with 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to drop his ERA to 5.06 on the season. John King, who previously pitched for the Cardinals last season, was credited with his sixth win of the season after 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. 

Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante (9-5) was charged with the loss after giving up five runs and a season-high 11 hits in 6.2 innings.

The Marlins will go for the sweep on Sunday with Tyler Phillips (1-2, 3.09 ERA) on the mound against the Cardinals and RHP Kyle Leahy (5-4, 4.24 ERA).

Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.

Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!