Wednesday’s Game Report: Marlins 4, Cardinals 1
By Rob Rains
Kyle Leahy’s conversion from relieving to starting isn’t going as well as he would have liked.
Leahy gave up four runs over five innings on Wednesday as the Marlins defeated the Cardinals in their series finale and the final game of the six-game road trip to Houston and Miami. After sweeping the Astros, the Cardinals lost two of three to the Marlins.
It was the third loss for Leahy in his five starts, and he has not pitched past the fifth inning in any of those games. His ERA rose from 5.21 to 5.63.
The Cardinals did not offer Leahy any offensive support as they were shut out on just three hits through the first eight innings.
Here is how Wednesday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The only run for the Cardinals came on Ivan Herrera’s home run leading off the ninth inning, his third of the season … The other hits were a single by Pedro Pages in the third inning and a double by Nolan Gorman and a single by Nathan Church in the seventh. Gorman was only able to advance to third on the two-out hit, and both runners were stranded when Thomas Saggese hit into a force out. Church’s single was their only hit in four at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Leahy allowed eight hits and three walks over his five innings, recording two strikeouts. Three of the hits and a walk and hit batter came when the Marlins scored twice in the second. They added single runs in the fourth and fifth … Gordon Graceffo worked around singles by the first two hitters he faced in the sixth to record a scoreless inning and Matt Svanson worked a 1-2-3 seventh. Ryan Fernandez also pitched around two hits in the eighth.
Key stat: The Cardinals struck out nine times in the game, and fanned 34 times in the three games against the Marlins. They struck out at least nine times in all six games of the road trip.
Worth noting: Three regulars – Masyn Winn, Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker – all had the day off … With the Cardinals scheduled to begin a stretch of 17 games on 17 consecutive days on Friday, it’s likely they will be adding a spot starter to their rotation at some point during the stretch. With Richard Fitts out for the season, the most likely candidate for that role is Hunter Dobbins, who is scheduled to make another rehab start on Saturday for Memphis. Dobbins is 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA in his first four rehab starts in Triple A.
Up next: After Thursday’s day off, the Cardinals will open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners on Friday night at Busch Stadium. It’s their only games at home before heading to Pittsburgh next week for four games against the Pirates.
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