ST. LOUIS -- In their final home game before next week’s Independence Day celebration across America, the Cardinals were looking to close the homestand with some fireworks.
The Cardinals had scored just eight runs amid a four-game losing skid entering Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins. Not since José Fermín’s shot into the visiting bullpen on Wednesday night had the Cardinals hit a home run.
The team needed someone to put a charge into the offense.
Bryan Torres had been an ancillary figure amid the sluggish homestand, taking just two plate appearances prior to drawing the start in left field Sunday.
Perhaps more opportunity is in the future for Torres, who broke the Cardinals out of their power drought with a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning. Torres’ third blast of the season was enough for the Cardinals in their 2-1 victory at Busch Stadium as St. Louis avoided a sweep thanks to a solid tightrope act by the pitching staff.
Under an excessive heat warning with ‘feels like’ temperatures in the triple-digits, Kyle Leahy stacked another solid outing to keep the Cardinals competitive into the late innings.
Despite three early walks to inflate his pitch count, Leahy settled in to navigate five innings of one-run ball. The damage for Miami came on consecutive doubles in the fifth.
Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church took a less-than-linear route on a well-struck Owen Caissie liner that snuck over his head before Graham Pauley smacked a ground-rule double just inside the right-field line to plate Caissie.
Aside from that small rally, Leahy gave the Cardinals everything they needed, allowing just two hits while racking up five strikeouts.
To follow Leahy, manager Oliver Marmol sent a rested group of leverage relievers to the mound in succession, with JoJo Romero, Ryne Stanek, George Soriano and Riley O’Brien delivering four scoreless innings to cement the victory.