MIAMI -- He got his first Major League hit on Sunday after being called up that day from Class A Advanced Palm Beach, and on Monday, in his second Major League start, Cardinals center fielder Magneuris Sierra added two hits and two runs in a 9-4 win over the Marlins in the first game of a three-game series at Marlins Park.
Sierra, St. Louis' No. 7 prospect, singled in the Cardinals' three-run second inning and scored when starting pitcher Carlos Martinez (2-3) slapped a three-run double for his first hit of the season. Sierra singled and scored again in a four-run fourth on another RBI hit from Martinez, who drove in four runs to go along with a six-inning, seven-strikeout stint.
"He looked like himself; a guy we've been able to see a little bit of, obviously not in the National League, but in Spring Training," manager Mike Matheny said. "I see a guy that affects and impacts a game much how we watch [Marlins second baseman] Dee Gordon. A guy who has the ability to disrupt, get on base."
It became necessary to call up an outfielder when the Cardinals lost three (Stephen Piscotty, William Fowler and Jose Martinez) to injury since Thursday. Sierra isn't expected to remain with the club once those players return, but he's making the most of his time while he's here.
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Sierra was the organization's Minor League Player of the Year in 2014 after leading the Gulf Coast League in batting (.386). He led all Cardinals Minor Leaguers with 161 hits last season and was batting .272 with four triples for Palm Beach in 20 games before being called up. He joined Jose Pujols (2001) as the most recent St. Louis player to debut at the age of 21.