Cards' defensive miscue results in walk-off win for Marlins

MIAMI -- St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham and left fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker were in agreement: One of them should have caught the hit that ended Sunday's game.

Their pursuit of the ball was not as well coordinated. Pinch-hitter Derek Dietrich dropped a walk-off RBI triple between the two outfielders, and the Miami Marlins beat the Cardinals 5-4 for a split of their four-game series.

The score was tied with two out in the ninth when Adeiny Hechavarria -- who had made a costly throwing error earlier -- singled off Matt Bowman (1-3). Dietrich then hit a drive into the left-field gap, and Pham's try at a sliding backhanded catch failed, allowing Hechavarria to score without a play.

Pham said he got his glove on the ball but didn't go after it full bore because Hazelbaker was also in pursuit.

"I couldn't dive, because if I'd have dove, I'd have dove right into him," Pham said. "So I had to slide. If I'd have dove, I would have killed myself.

St. Louis Cardinals' Carlos Martinez wipes his face after allowing a double by Miami Marlins' Marcell Ozuna in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 31, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

"It should have been caught by one of the two of us."

Hazelbaker agreed.

"That ball has got to be caught," he said. "We've talked about it."

The Marlins scored three runs with two out in the first inning, and two came on Marcell Ozuna's double that deflected off the glove of a lunging Hazelbaker.

The teams finished their season series with Miami leading St. Louis by one game in the NL wild-card race.

Andrew Cashner allowed one earned run in six innings in his Marlins debut. Cashner, the centerpiece of a seven-player trade Friday with San Diego, walked none and allowed four hits, including a homer by Greg Garcia.

Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz left the game in the first with a bruised right hand after being hit by a pitch. Diaz, who is hitting .312 with 14 homers, is to undergo further examinations Monday.

Carlos Martinez hit Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton in the bottom of the first. There were no subsequent incidents, but Cashner took a postgame jab at the Cardinals.

"I kind of thought they hit [Giancarlo] on purpose," Cashner said. "That's kind of the Cardinal way."

Cashner, who has a history of similar episodes with the Cardinals, noted he hit Diaz with an 0-2 pitch.

"It's never a spot where I want to hit a guy," he said.

Diaz said he had no hard feelings toward Cashner.

"He simply tried to pitch me inside," Diaz said in Spanish. "It's part of the game. I don't think it was anything personal."

And Martinez said he wasn't trying to hit Stanton.

"I was just trying to throw inside," Martinez said through a translator. "It's just things that happen in the game."

Cashner was in line for the victory until the Cardinals made it 4-all with two runs in the eighth off Fernando Rodney, and the tying run scored on an ugly error by shortstop Hechavarria. Stephen Piscotty hit a two-out double with a runner at first, and when Hechavarria's wild throw to the plate landed in the stands, the umpires waved Piscotty home.

The Cardinals' Yadier Molina doubled to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.

Trainer's room

Cardinals: Infielder Jhonny Peralta (thumb) began a rehab assignment Sunday at Class A Palm Beach, and infielder Matt Carpenter (oblique) began a rehab assignment at Class AA Springfield.

Peralta might be ready to fill in for Diaz at shortstop beginning Tuesday, Matheny said.

Up next

Cardinals: Right-hander Adam Wainwright (9-5, 4.16) is scheduled to start Tuesday at Cincinnati against Dan Straily (6-6, 3.84). Wainwright is 8-10 with a 4.44 ERA in 25 games against the Reds.