Cardinals hold on to edge Marlins

Aledmys Diaz #36 of the St. Louis Cardinals runs the bases after hitting a two run home run during the second inning of the game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on July 28, 2016 in Miami, Florida.

(July 28, 2016 - Source: Rob Foldy/Getty Images North America)

The St. Louis Cardinals (54-47) hold on to win at the Miami Marlins (55-47) 5-4 in the opener of their four-game series.

St. Louis struck first in the third inning. CF Jeremy Hazelbaker drew a leadoff walk and SS Aledmys Diaz homered him in with his 14th long ball of the season. With one out, LF Matt Holliday homered as well to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

The Cardinals extended their lead two innings later. Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a leadoff triple and Aledmys Diaz doubled to drive him in for St. Louis’ fourth run.

With one out, Matt Holliday hit a flyout to move Aledmys Diaz to third base. 1B Matt Adams followed with a single and Aledmys Diaz came home to put the Cardinals up 5-0.

Miami cut the deficit to two runs in the sixth inning. SS Adeiny Hechavarria hit a leadoff single and 1B Chris Johnson doubled to drive him in for Miami’s first run of the game. 3B Martin Prado followed with a one-out home run to add two more runs to the scoreboard.

One inning later, Miami scored another run. C J.T. Realmuto hit a one-out single and PH Ichiro Suzuki followed with a double. It was Ichiro’s 2,998th career hit. Adeiny Hechavarria grounded out next but J.T. Realmuto manged to come home for Miami’s fourth run of the game.

CL Seung-hwan Oh pitched a one-hit ninth to earn his seventh save of the season. He now posts a 1.69 ERA with a 0.84 WHIP on the season.

St. Louis’ SP Michael Wacha (6-7) worked 6 innings, allowing 4 hits and 3 earned runs while striking out 2. He has a 4.38 ERA with a 1.40 WHIP this year.

Miami’s Jose Fernandez (12-5) pitched 5 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 walks and 5 earned runs while fanning 9. His ERA and WHIP went up to 2.79 and 1.05, respectively.

Aledmys Diaz went 2-for-5 with 2 runs, 1 HR and 3 RBI. He is batting .313 and has 64 runs, 14 HR and 56 RBI this season.