Cards fall to 1-5 on homestand

~ St. Louis' rally in the ninth inning came up short on a double play

ST. LOUIS -- Josh Johnson showed Wednesday why he's one of the top starters in the majors.

Even without his best stuff, the right-hander was good enough to shut down the St. Louis Cardinals.

Johnson pitched six effective innings to lead the Florida Marlins to a 5-2 victory over the Cardinals.

Cody Ross had three hits and drove in two runs for Florida, which has won 10 of 14 to stay in the playoff race. Ross extended his hitting streak to 11 games, the longest current streak in the NL, and was 5 for 12 in the series.

Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick reacts after being hit by a pitch during the ninth inning Wednesday. (JEFF ROBERSON ~ Associated Press)

Florida (78-68) moved within four games of wild card-leading Colorado, which was at San Francisco late Wednesday night.

"This is a resilient team," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "They forget bad losses quickly and go on to the next game."

Johnson (15-4) gave up nine hits but allowed just one run in his 23rd quality start of the season. He struck out five and walked none, improving to 3-1 with a 3.14 ERA in his last five starts.

"They made good contact with the ball," Johnson said. "I'd throw good pitches and they'd get hits. It was one of those days where I didn't walk anybody. That was huge for me today."

The Cardinals rallied in the ninth. Jason LaRue walked with one out and Mark DeRosa followed with a double to left. Gonzalez then replaced Brian Sanches with closer Leo Nunez, whose wildness got the Marlins into more trouble.

Nunez hit Ryan Ludwick and Albert Pujols to force in a run before coaxing Matt Holliday into a game-ending double play for his 22nd save in 28 opportunities.

"I really focused on throwing the fastball low and away," Nunez said. "I just wanted to get the ground ball and I got it."

Central-leading St. Louis fell to 1-5 on its nine-game homestand and lost back-to-back series for the first time since June 22 to 28 against the New York Mets and Minnesota.