Sloppy fifth inning sinks Cardinals in 7-2 loss to Marlins

The St. Louis Cardinals could not overcome a sloppy fifth inning on defense in a 7-2 loss Monday to the Miami Marlins.

The Cardinals committed two errors and allowed the game-winning run on a wild pitch in that inning. The Marlins capitalized on errors from Matt Carpenter and Jack Flaherty, which sparked them to seven unanswered runs in the comeback victory.

Before the fifth inning, Dylan Carlson continued his recent spring surge and drove in the game’s first two runs. The rookie led off the second with a towering home run, his second in as many games at Roger Dean Stadium.

Carlson then connected for a bloop single in the fourth that extended the Cardinals’ lead to 2-0. He improved his spring batting average to .294 with a two-hit day. Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt also finished with two hits, working a nine-pitch at-bat in the first inning for a double.

Jack Flaherty started strong with four scoreless innings, but he ran into trouble in the fifth. The Marlins led off with back-to-back singles from Lewis Brinson and Jazz Chisholm.

The next hitter, Joe Dunand, hit a ground ball to second baseman José Rondón, who threw the ball to Matt Carpenter, who held onto the ball for enough time to get an out at first. Carpenter then dropped the ball, allowing Brinson to score as he rounded third base.

In the next at-bat, Magneuris Sierra tapped a routine grounder to Flaherty, who overthrew Carpenter at first base. Chisholm scored the game-tying run while Sierra ended up at third base.

The mistakes piled up as Sierra scored the go-ahead run on a Flaherty wild pitch. A few pitches later, with the bases cleared, Marlins pinch-hitter Peyton Burdick poked an insurance home run just over the right-field wall.

Flaherty worked out of the fifth with a 4-2 deficit, then returned briefly in the sixth. After striking out Jorge Alfaro, Flaherty allowed a double to Brinson that ended his outing. In total, Flaherty allowed four runs (three earned), five hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings. He was stretched out to 90 pitches and also struck out five.

Tyler Webb cleaned up the sixth inning and also worked a scoreless seventh.

Cardinals relief pitcher Giovanny Gallegos struggled in the eighth. He walked two of his first three hitters, then allowed three runs to score between a triple from Connor Scott and single from Victor Victor Mesa. Gallegos was lifted after 25 pitches, working 2/3 of an inning.

The Cardinals play the second of three straight games in Jupiter, Florida, on Tuesday, hosting the Washington Nationals. The game will air on FOX Sports Midwest at 12 p.m. CT.