There has been no June gloom for the Miami Marlins, who are hoping this month’s success serves as a springboard to postseason glory.
The Marlins look to continue their winning ways when they face the host St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Miami improved to major league-best 17-5 in June by opening the three-game series with a 4-0 victory on Friday.
Max Meyer allowed two hits in seven innings on Friday to win his ninth consecutive decision to start the season for Miami.
“(Meyer) has given everybody trouble this year; he’s had a really nice year,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He pitched us tough. Lot of off-speed stuff and secondary stuff in hitters’ counts, which we knew going in but still had trouble combating.”
Miami infielder Graham Pauley was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville prior to Friday’s game and provided an immediate boost with a tie-breaking RBI double in the eighth inning. Jakob Marsee added a two-run single in the ninth.
“I think it just shows how deep our lineup is and how much faith we have in each other,” Marsee said. “It’s fun to see. I mean, obviously (Pauley) has been working and he gets this opportunity to come back up and it’s awesome to see him come through.”
St. Louis is searching for some of its own momentum after losing three straight games and six of its last eight.
Saturday’s pitching matchup features a pair of right-handers as the Cardinals’ Andre Pallante (9-4, 3.59 ERA) faces Miami’s Ryan Gusto (0-2, 6.00).
Pallante, 27, won his fifth straight decision last Monday, pitching six innings of one-run ball in a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After posting a 5.31 ERA in 31 starts last season, Pallante has limited opponents to two or fewer runs in six of his past seven outings.
“You give him enough opportunity to show what he’s capable of doing, but also enough opportunity to allow him to grow,” Marmol said. “Now we’re seeing a guy that goes out there and does a really nice job every outing.”
Pallante is 1-2 with a 2.92 ERA in seven career games (two starts) versus Miami, including 1-1 with a 3.65 mark in two starts last season.
The Cardinals opted to keep Pallante on normal rest and have him start in place of right-hander Dustin May, whose turn in the rotation is being skipped. Marmol said the team wants to give May (lower back tightness) extra rest this week.
Gusto will take the mound for the Marlins after giving up one run over 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the San Francisco Giants last Sunday.
Gusto, 27, was pleased with his outing after striking out six batters with two walks.
“The focus is on trying to use my whole arsenal of pitches,” Gusto said. “That’s different from how I was pitching earlier this year for sure. Being aware of the counts I’m going into and the scouting reports. Getting used to my personal cues on how to execute every pitch.”
Gusto is set to make his first career appearance against St. Louis.
–Field Level Media
