Coverage of today's Cards and Marlins game can be heard on The Big 870AM/96.3 FM Newstalk WTIM beginning at 5:35pm. 

Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Giancarlo Stanton smacked a pair of homers and 
the  Miami Marlins  defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5, in the opener of a 
three-game set. 

Stanton  cracked a two-run and solo shot and also made a fantastic diving grab 
to  rob an extra-base hit from Kolten Wong along the right-field warning track 
in  the fifth inning  for Miami, which has won three of its last four games on 
the heels of a 2-6 stretch. 

"I  didn't think  he had a chance at it  ... he ran a long way for that ball," 
Marlins manager Mike Redmond said of Stanton's catch. 

Christian  Yelich was  3-for-4 with  an  RBI and  two runs  scored, while  Tom 
Koehler  (8-9)  struck out five  and allowed three runs  on eight hits and two 
walks over five-plus innings to notch the win. 

The Cardinals had the game-tying run at first base in the ninth after plating 
two  runs against Steve Cishek, but the submarine right-hander struck out Matt 
Adams to end the game and record his 30th save of the year. 

Matt  Holliday whacked a pair of doubles among his four hits to go with an RBI 
and  scored a  run and Jon Jay  smashed a two-run blast for the Cardinals, who 
have dropped four of their last six games. 

"Those guys have been playing unreal," Wong said of the Marlins. "It was tough 
for us." 

Shelby  Miller  (8-9) surrendered five  runs on eight  hits and two walks over 
five frames to garner the loss. 

After the Cardinals tied the game following a three-run top of the fourth, the 
Marlins  plated a pair in the home half and added another in the seventh to go 
ahead. 

Jarrod  Saltalamacchia hit a one-out single and Adeiny Hechavarria followed by 
lining  a triple  down the  right-field line  to bring  him home.  Hechavarria 
scored on Yelich's base hit up the middle two batters later. 

Yelich  began the  seventh with a bunt single and Jordany Valdespin's base hit 
put runners on first and second. During Stanton's at-bat, Sam Freeman uncorked 
a  wild pitch that went off the back wall and ricocheted right back to catcher 
A.J. Pierzynski. 

Pierzynski,  though,  threw the ball away  trying to throw out Yelich at third 
and  he  scampered home easily  to give the Marlins  a 6-3 lead. Valdespin was 
thrown out at home following Casey McGehee's comebacker back to the mound. 

Wong's  RBI triple  and Holliday's  run-scoring  infield single  in the  ninth 
capped the scoring. 

Earlier,  Stanton's two-run,  opposite-field  blast into  the Marlins  bullpen 
opened  the scoring in  the first and his moonshot onto the concourse in left- 
center in the third gave Miami a 3-0 advantage. 

St.  Louis got all three of those runs back in the fourth. Holliday doubled to 
lead  off  the  frame  before  Adams  and  Jhonny  Peralta  both  struck  out. 
Pierzynski's  base  hit into left  pushed across  Holliday and Jay followed by 
clubbing  his two-run blast  into the seats in right beyond the bullpen to tie 
the score. 

                                   Game Notes 

This was Stanton's 13th career multi-homer game and his first since May 23. He 
has  31 homers this  season, tying him with the Chicago White Sox's Jose Abreu 
and  Baltimore's Nelson  Cruz for  the  MLB lead  ... Miami  was 2-for-9  with 
runners in scoring position, while St. Louis finished 2-for-11.