Rain washes away Cards, Marlins

~ St. Louis begins a pivotal three-game series today with the division-leading Reds

MIAMI -- The weather Sunday was great for fantasy football, not so good for Cardinals-Marlins baseball. The two teams waited out rain in vain for more than four hours before the game finally was postponed.

How did the Cardinals kill time?

"Mock drafts, card games and a lot of toe tapping," second baseman Aaron Miles said.

The game started 55 minutes late, then was halted with two out in the top of the first inning and no score. The postponement came after a wait of 3 hours, 7 minutes.

The Cardinals aren't scheduled to return to Florida, and no makeup date was announced. The most likely choice is Sept. 20, but that would mean the Cardinals would play the final 31 days of the regular season without a day off.

"The game has to be played," Marlins president David Samson said. "We've just got to find a date to do it."

St. Louis, which fell two games behind the NL Central-leading Reds, begins a three-game series today at Cincinnati. The Cardinals will stay with the rotation they had scheduled, meaning Chris Carpenter starts the first game in Cincinnati.

Jeff Suppan warmed up Sunday but never took the mound. Florida starter Sean West, who faced three batters, said he went to the batting cage six or seven times during the long delay to play catch and keep loose.

"This weather stinks," West said. "Very frustrating."

Florida's new ballpark with a retractable roof is on schedule to open for the start of the 2012 season. The Marlins long lobbied for such a home because of the frequent summer rain in South Florida. The countdown of home games remaining in their current home is displayed on the left-field wall.

"Every fan I spoke to today, I just said to them, 'Hang in there, 103 more games to go,"' Samson said.

Notes: Cardinals 2B Skip Schumaker (left wrist) was out of the lineup for a fifth consecutive game but may be available Monday. ... Marlins 1B Gaby Sanchez (right hamstring) and CF Cody Ross (neck) were out of the lineup for the third game in a row.