Ichiro held hitless, Marlins drop second straight to Cardinals
MIAMI (AP) -- Down by eight runs in the middle of the game, the Miami Marlins rallied behind Martin Prado.
Just not quite enough.
Prado's three-run homer capped a five-run comeback in the fifth inning before the Marlins fell to the St. Louis Cardinal 11-6 on Friday night.
"For a moment after I hit it, you felt the energy in the stadium," Prado said. "The people got into the game."
"I know we got a tough loss today, but we're showing signs that we are going out for 27 outs, no matter what. We've lost a couple of important games for us but there's nothing we can do about it now," he said.
Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went 0 for 4 to remain at 2,998 career hits.
After the Marlins closed to 9-6, Tommy Pham hit a two-run homer in the sixth for the Cardinals.
"You can't say it's a back-breaker because anything is possible, but when you give it right back, it's tough on your club," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
Kolten Wong had three hits and drove in two runs and Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a two-run homer for St. Louis.
The Cardinals have won four of five and lead the Marlins by one game in the NL wild-card standings.
The Marlins have dropped the first two in the four-game series.
"They're all big series," Mattingly said. "That's the way you have to look at them."
Mike Leake (8-8) won despite giving up six runs and seven hits in five innings.
Jose Urena (1-3) allowed eight runs in 4 1-3 innings in what is expected to be his final start in the Marlins' rotation after Miami acquired starters Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea from San Diego earlier in the day.
Hazelbaker homered off Urena in the second. It was their first encounter since the two were involved in a bench-clearing brawl in a minor league game on June 27.
In that game, Urena's pitch went sailing near Hazelbaker's head, prompting the two to square off and punches were thrown.
"That history, you don't forget about that stuff," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "That means something to guys when they get the opportunity to compete."
St. Louis scored three in the second and six more in the fifth for a 9-1 lead.
Suzuki threw out Wong at home in the fourth inning after making a running catch near the left-field line and throwing a 240-foot strike at the plate for the double play.
PRADO'S GROOVE
Prado went 2 for 4 and is hitting .485 (16 for 33) with two home runs and nine RBIs over his last nine games to raise his average to .327.
"Martin has been locked in all year but now all of a sudden, he's kind of showing some power," Mattingly said. "It kind of changes his dimension."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: 1B Justin Bour (right ankle) was scheduled to begin a rehab stint with Triple-A New Orleans with hopes of joining the big league club on Monday in Chicago in a series against the Cubs.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Jaime Garcia (7-7, 3.97) will take the mound Saturday. He is coming off two back-to-back productive starts, allowing three earned runs over 10 2-3 innings.
Marlins: RHP Colin Rea (5-5, 4.98) will make his Miami debut on Saturday. Rea is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals.
