The St. Louis Cardinals got a strong start from Dustin May and timely hitting to defeat the Miami Marlins 5-3 Tuesday night.
May earned the win, allowing two runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out multiple batters. After giving up a leadoff home run to Jakob Marsee, he settled in and kept the Marlins in check.
Nathan Church provided a key swing for St. Louis, hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning to extend the lead. Alec Burleson also drove in two runs, delivering an RBI single in the first and adding another RBI on a fielder’s choice in the third.
Masyn Winn continued his hot stretch at the plate, going 2-for-4 and scoring a run to extend his hitting streak.
The Cardinals added their final run in the fifth when Burleson doubled and later scored on a two-out single by Nolan Gorman.
Miami made things interesting late, cutting the deficit to 5-3 in the eighth inning on a two-run single by Heriberto Hernández. However, the Cardinals bullpen held firm the rest of the way.
Riley O’Brien closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning to earn his seventh save in eight opportunities.
With the win, St. Louis takes the series lead and will go for the series victory Wednesday in the rubber game.
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