Before the month of June began, there was little to suggest that the Miami Marlins would go on a tear that would see them move squarely into the National League wild-card race.
The surprising Marlins look to continue their month-long surge when they aim for a three-game sweep of the host St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.
Miami recorded a 5-1 victory on Saturday for its fourth straight victory. Javier Sanoja had three hits, an RBI and two stolen bases for the Marlins, who improved to major league-best 18-5 in June.
Miami is a season-high five games over .500 after beginning the month with a 26-34 record.
“We’re one team, one unit, all pulling together, all doing our part,” Sanoja said. “From the clubbies, to the coaches, to the players, we’re all doing our part to help this team get the victories on the field.”
Miami shortstop Otto Lopez is batting a major league-best .336 after hitting a triple and an RBI single on Saturday. The Marlins outhit St. Louis 13-7 and won for the eighth time in their last nine games.
St. Louis has lost four straight games and seven of its last nine. Miami’s pitching staff has stymied the Cardinals, who have scored just one run in the two setbacks.
“We’re taking some good at-bats, but obviously we’re not swinging like we were (last week) against Kansas City,” Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar said, referring to the team scoring 23 runs in three games versus the Royals. “That’s part of the game and part of the swing of a 162-game season.”
Sunday’s pitching matchup features a pair of right-handers as the Cardinals’ Kyle Leahy (5-4, 4.24 ERA) faces Miami’s Tyler Phillips (1-2, 3.09).
Leahy, 29, is seeking his first victory since beating the Royals on May 16. He turned in a solid outing last Tuesday, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The former reliever allowed three hits and came close to pitching past the seventh inning for the first time in his career.
“That’s the goal,” Leahy said. “What a starter does is pitch deep into the game and give your team a chance to win. I wish I could have finished the seventh, for sure. I don’t like ending on a walk. That’s never fun.”
Lopez has one hit in five at-bats against Leahy, who is 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA in five career games (one start) versus Miami. He allowed four runs over five innings in a 4-1 road loss to the Marlins on April 22.
Miami will counter with Phillips, who allowed two runs over six innings in a no-decision against the Texas Rangers last Monday.
Phillips, 28, bounced back after giving up eight runs over four frames in a road loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on June 16.
“Tyler was terrific,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “(The Rangers) were very aggressive early on him, and I think that played well for Tyler because he was in the zone with a variety of pitches and was able to keep them off the barrel for the most part.”
Phillips is set to make his first career start against St. Louis. He has not allowed a run in two previous relief appearances covering 5 1/3 innings without a decision.
–Field Level Media
