Nolan Arenado drives in 4, Miles Mikolas solid as Cardinals beat skidding Marlins 6-4

ST. LOUIS -- — Nolan Arenado drove in four runs, Miles Mikolas threw six solid innings on two days' rest, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Miami 6-4 on Monday night, extending the Marlins' skid to four games.

Mikolas (6-5) gave up three runs on seven hits. He threw three perfect innings Friday night against Washington in a game that was halted by rain.

“No, it wasn't any different,” Mikolas said. “I was good to go. I liked my tempo. I thought my stuff was working good. There's a few pitches I wish I had back. The offense really showed up today and that was great.”

Manager Oliver Marmol set aside any qualms about starting Mikolas.

“He talked us into it,” Marmol said. “He really wanted it. It was very impressive. He felt really good. He was pretty adamant about taking the ball today. He gave us a really solid outing.,”

Dylan Carlson drove in the other two runs and scored three for the underachieving Cardinals, who have won six of eight but remain last in the NL Central, tied with Pittsburgh.

“It felt really good to contribute and help the team win,” Carlson said. “This was a good win.”

Before the game, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said change was coming to St. Louis, suggesting the team may trade veterans for prospects ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.

Pinch-hitter Nolan Gorman doubled with two outs in the sixth against reliever Dylan Floro (3-5). Carlson broke a 3-3 tie with an RBI single, and Arenado followed with a two-run double. Arenado is batting .340 (17-for-50) with 14 RBI in his last 14 games.

“I’m just trying to slow the game down,” Arenado said. “I haven’t been that great with guys in scoring position. It feels good to come out today and drive in some runs. I’ve been better lately. Guys have been getting on base and it’s been great.”

Jordan Hicks allowed three hits in the ninth but escaped for his eighth save, helped by a double play. He got Jesús Sánchez to ground out with two runners on to end it.

Veteran reliever Ryan Tepera allowed a run in the seventh in his first appearance for St. Louis. He was pulled with the bases loaded and two outs for Giovanny Gallegos, who got Bryan De La Cruz to ground out. Gallegos stayed in and pitched a scoreless eighth.

“I wanted to put the ball in play there,” De La Cruz said through a translator. “My objective was where there was no defense. Things happen. You've got keep moving forward. It was a good hit ball. We've started off on the wrong foot in the second half but there's more opportunities coming.”

Sánchez homered in the sixth off Mikolas to make it 3-3. De La Cruz homered in the first for the Marlins.

Arenado had an RBI single in the third and a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Miami's Luis Arraez went 1-for-5 with an RBI single in the fifth as his major league-leading batting average dropped to .378.

“It's four games after the break,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “We've got 60-something games left. We're not done yet. There's a lot of work to do yet. We've got some stuff to clean up and we'll be all right.”

ROSTER MOVES

The Cardinals signed the 35-year-old Tepera, an 11-year veteran who entered with a 19-20 record and a 3.59 ERA in 371 games. He was released by the Los Angeles Angels in May and by Texas on Friday. St. Louis designated LHP Génesis Cabrera for assignment.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Edward Cabrera (right shoulder impingement) may be activated as early as Tuesday.

Cardinals: OF Tyler O’Neill (lower back strain) could be activated as early as Tuesday. ... RHP Adam Wainwright (right shoulder irritation) and RHP Ryan Helsley (forearm strain) were each scheduled to throw off a mound Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals LHP Jordan Montgomery (6-7, 3.23 ERA), who exited his last start on July 7 with hamstring tightness in the fifth inning, is set to start Tuesday. The Marlins had not announced a starter.

------

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP--Sports