Johnson, Marlins send Cards to fifth loss in six games
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| Regular Season Series |
| Series tied 3-3 (as of Wed 9/16) |
| Tue 6/9 |
@FLA 4, STL 3 |
Recap |
| Wed 6/10 |
STL 13, @FLA 4 |
Recap |
| Thu 6/11 |
STL 6, @FLA 5 |
Recap |
| Mon 9/14 |
@STL 11, FLA 6 |
Recap |
| Tue 9/15 |
FLA 2, @STL 1 |
Recap |
| >Wed 9/16 |
FLA 5, @STL 2 |
Box Score |
| · Complete Schedule: Cardinals | Marlins |
| Scoring Summary |
| FLA | STL |
 | 1st | D Uggla grounded into fielder's choice to right, N Johnson scored, J Cantu out at second, H Ramirez to third. | 1 | 0 |
| 1st | J Baker singled to center, H Ramirez scored, D Uggla to second. | 2 | 0 |
| 1st | C Ross singled to center, D Uggla scored, J Baker to third, C Ross to second advancing on throw. | 3 | 0 |
| 2nd | J Cantu hit sacrifice fly to left, J Johnson scored, C Coghlan to third, H Ramirez to second. | 4 | 0 |
 | 6th | J Lugo singled to left, Y Molina scored, J Lugo to second advancing on throw. | 4 | 1 |
| 8th | C Ross singled to left, D Uggla scored. | 5 | 1 |
| 9th | A Pujols hit by pitch, B Ryan scored, M DeRosa to third, R Ludwick to second. | 5 | 2 |
| · View complete Play-By-Play |
| Game Information |
| Stadium | Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO |
| Attendance | 43,020 (97.8% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:00 |
| Weather | 83 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 12 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mike Winters, First Base - Jerry Layne, Second Base - Tony Randazzo, Third Base - Chris Guccione |
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS -- Josh Johnson showed why he's one of the top starters in the majors on Wednesday.
Even without his best stuff, the right-hander was good enough to shut down the
St. Louis Cardinals.
Johnson struck out nine in six effective innings to lead the
Florida Marlins to a 5-2 victory over the Cardinals.
Fast Facts
• Joel Pineiro had his shortest outing in 14 home starts this season as the Cardinals lost for the fifth time in their last six home games.
• Josh Johnson improved to 6-0 in day games this season and 11-1 for his career.
• Albert Pujols was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the ninth, giving him 31 RBIs in 17 plate appearances with the bases juiced this season.
-- ESPN Stats & Information
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.
Florida (78-68) moved within four games of wild card-leading Colorado, which was at San Francisco on 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," said Nunez, who had hit only two batters in his previous 68 innings. "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 22-28 against the
New York Mets and Minnesota.
Joel Pineiro (14-11) gave up four runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings for St. Louis.
Eight of Florida's first 10 batters reached safely.
John Baker and Ross had RBI singles and
Dan Uggla also drove in a run in the first with a fielder's choice.
Johnson helped himself in the second, leading off with an infield single before eventually coming home on
Jorge Cantu's sacrifice fly.
Julio Lugo had an RBI single in the sixth for St. Louis, which has scored two or fewer runs in four of its last five losses.
"I'm not worried at all about our offense," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "Good pitching stops good hitting. I really like this club we have."
Game notes Florida rookie
Chris Coghlan singled in the second inning, giving him an NL-best 83 hits since the All-Star break. ... The first 17 hits in the game were singles. ... The teams split the six-game season series. ... St. Louis closer
Ryan Franklin, who blew his last two save opportunities, pitched a scoreless ninth inning. ... The Cardinals were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
Marlins 5, 
Cardinals 2