Arenado's game-ending 3-run homer in 10th lifts Cardinals to 5-2 win over Marlins

ST. LOUIS -- — Nolan Arenado’s three-run homer in the 10th inning lifted the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-2 win over the slumping Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.

Arenado’s homer off A.J. Puk (4-4) was his first game-ending homer since Aug. 14, 2019 and the fourth of his career.

“We’re just playing good baseball right now,” Arenado said. “It was something that we expected from ourselves early on, but, you know, we’re playing good ball right now and that’s a good team over there with some really good arms and good players and we just found a way to battle today and get a win.”

Arenado is hitting .333 (6 for 18) with two homers in his last five games.

“Right now, he’s doing whatever he wants at the plate and it’s impressive,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “But to have him up right there, you have a pretty good feeling that the game is going to be over.”

JoJo Romero (2-0) pitched a perfect 10th for the Cardinals, who have won four straight games.

The Marlins have lost five straight, matching a season high from May 2-6.

“I don’t think it’s a mental thing,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “I think that they go about their routine and their work the same way. We were winning games that we’re losing now. I mean, it’s just kind of that part of the season where you know, you have winning streaks, you have losing streaks. It’s just kind of how you bounce back and how you get out of these things.”

Cardinals starter Jordan Montgomery threw 92 pitches in his first appearance since a July 7 start was cut short by right hamstring tightness. He allowed one run and six hits, struck out five and walked two.

Marlins starter Edward Cabrera was dominant in his return from the 15-day injured list as he recovered from a right shoulder impingement felt at Seattle on June 13. Cabrera, who was on a pitch count, went five-plus innings, allowed just one run on two hits. He struck out five and walked three.

“For him to get five was impressive just coming off the injury,” Schumaker said. “He had 85 or so pitches to work with and was doing really good.”

Jon Berti had three hits and scored twice for the Marlins.

Cabrera didn’t allow a hit through our innings before Alec Burleson led off the fifth with an infield single and the only hard hit ball he allowed came on his last pitch of the night on Brendan Donovan’s 388-foot homer to lead off the sixth.

“It’s always tough when you face a guy coming right back from the (injured list) because you know they’re really fresh,” Arenado said. “I’ve never had experience facing him except in spring training one time, but he was really good today so we’re a little lucky to get that win.”

Berti led off the fifth with a triple and scored on Luis Arraez’s sacrifice fly.

Donovan tied it 1-1 with his career-high 11th homer.

Berti led off the seventh with a single and scored on a Jorge Soler single. Nolan Gorman’s double in the bottom half scored Dylan Carlson from first to tie the game at 2-all.

Montgomery was able to pitch out of a two-on jam in the second, aided by a diving catch by centerfielder Lars Nootbaar to rob Dane Myers of a potential run scoring hit.

“He’s super talented out there,” Montgomery said of Nootbaar. “They made a bunch of good catches. A lot of good plays, defense was incredible tonight.”

Nootbaar’s hitting streak ended at 11 games, but he walked in the first to reach safely in 15 straight, which ties a career best set last season.

ROSTER MOVE

The Marlins optioned LHP Robert Garcia to Triple-A Jacksonville to make room for Cabrera on the roster.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: OF Avisaíl García (left back tightness) began a rehab assignment at Double-A Pensacola on Tuesday.

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (right shoulder irritation) and RHP Ryan Helsley (forearm strain) threw off a mound Tuesday. UTL Tommy Edman (right wrist inflammation) will swing the bat on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

The Marlins will send RHP Sandy Alcantara (3-8, 4.64 ERA) in the series finale against the Cardinals and Dakota Hudson (1-0, 1.80 ERA) on Wednesday. Alcantara is 1/3 with 1.24 ERA in five career starts against his former team. Hudson will make his first start of the season in what projects to be a bullpen game for St. Louis.

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