Cardinals pitchers blank Marlins to win 3-0, avoid sweep
MIAMI - Nolan Arenado homered, Jack Flaherty pitched shutout ball for his second straight start and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins 3-0 on Thursday night to avoid a series sweep.
St. Louis dropped the first three games of the series. Two were one-run defeats, including a 10-9 walk-off loss Wednesday night.
Flaherty (6-5) struck out five, walked two and allowed nine hits. He also threw six scoreless innings against the New York Yankees on July 1 and has lowered his ERA from 4.95 to 4.27 in the two starts.
Chris Stratton replaced Flaherty at a season-high 111 pitches in the seventh after Miami loaded the bases on a pair of two-out singles and a walk. Stratton got Jesús Sánchez to hit into an inning-ending forceout.
Giovanny Gallegos pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. One night after his throwing error allowed a Marlins win, Jordan Hicks got three outs for his sixth save.
Miami was 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position through the first seven innings.
Marlins rookie Eury Pérez (5-3) struck out seven, walked two and gave up three hits in six innings. He was replaced by Dylan Floro after Pérez matched a season-high with 93 pitches. In his previous start on July 1, Pérez lasted just one-third of an inning against Atlanta, giving up six runs and seven hits in an eventual 7-0 loss.
Arenado's two-out solo homer off Pérez in the sixth went 405 feet to right-center and put St. Louis ahead 1-0. It was Arenado's 17th home run of the season and tied him with Nolan Gorman for the team lead.
Luis Arraez had his 12th three-hit game of the season and his first multi-hit game of the series. His MLB-leading average is .389.
Marlins rookie Dane Myers has a hit in each of his first three major league games, including multi-hit games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Alec Burleson singled on a ground ball to right in the seventh, which scored Gorman and made it 2-0.
Gorman had a leadoff double in the seventh and drove in Lars Nootbaar in the eighth with a double.
Miami had 30 runs in the first three games of the series. That was after the Marlins managed seven runs in a three-game series against Atlanta.
ALL STARS
Arraez and designated hitter Jorge Soler were recognized pregame for their 2023 All-Star nods. Arraez will be the NL's starting second baseman. Soler is tied for sixth in the league with 22 home runs.
ROSTER MOVE
The Cardinals optioned left-hander Matthew Liberatore to Triple-A Memphis and called up rookie right-hander Kyle Leahy from Memphis. Liberatore was lifted Wednesday night after giving up five hits, a walk and four runs against the first seven batters he faced.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cardinals: Tommy Edman had an MRI on his right wrist Thursday but came in as a defensive replacement in the eighth. Edman was a late scratch Wednesday after experiencing pain in his wrist during pregame batting practice, though he entered in the ninth as a defensive replacement. ... First baseman Paul Goldschmidt had the day off.
Marlins: CF Jonathan Davis had surgery Thursday to repair the meniscus in his right knee. Manager Skip Schumaker said his recovery timeline is three-to-six months.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: St. Louis will play a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox before the All-Star break. LHP Jordan Montgomery (6-7, 3.28) will start Game 1.
Marlins: Miami will host Philadelphia in a three-game series before the All-Star break. RHP Sandy Alcantara (3-7, 4.93) will start Game 1.
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