NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cardinals wipe away four-run hole in 8th

Miami Marlins Manager Don Mattingly is ejected by home plate umpire Andy Fletcher during the first inning of Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Miami Marlins Manager Don Mattingly is ejected by home plate umpire Andy Fletcher during the first inning of Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

MIAMI — Still out of the starting lineup, Dexter Fowler helped the St. Louis Cardinals to a big finish.

Fowler singled home the tie-breaking run as a pinch hitter with one out in the ninth inning, and the Cardinals rallied from a late four-run deficit for their fifth consecutive victory by beating the Miami Marlins 6-5 Tuesday.

The game was tied when rookie Magneuris Sierra reached on an infield single with one out in the ninth, and he continued to second on an errant throw to first by A.J. Ramos (1-2). Fowler followed with a sharp single to right field, and the speedy Sierra slid home ahead of Giancarlo Stanton’s throw.

Fowler was held out of the starting lineup for the fifth game in a row because of a lat injury.

“The boys are out there grinding,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve been on the shelf, but I’ll take being out there to contribute anyway I can.”

The game-winning RBI was Fowler’s third this year.

Sierra, recalled Sunday from Class A Palm Beach, has helped pick up the slack. The 21-year-old scored twice and had two hits to hike his average to .357.

“I feel so happy,” he said. “It’s like winning the World Series.”

The Cardinals overcame a 5-1 deficit with four runs against Kyle Barraclough in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Matt Adams had an RBI single, and Jedd Gyorko’s tworun single off Brad Ziegler tied the game.

“They were determined to make something happen,” Manager Mike Matheny said. “That’s just showing heart — heart and fight.”

Trevor Rosenthal (1-1) pitched around a leadoff walk in the eighth. Seung Hwan Oh pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save in nine chances.

The Cardinals’ winning streak is their longest this season and has vaulted them into the NL Central lead. They have won eight in a row on the road.

Miami lost its fifth series in a row.

“We’re in a little funk,” Barraclough said. “There’s not just one thing you can blame. Everyone has to snap out of it and just move on.”

Adam Wainwright shut out the Marlins for the first four innings but failed to make it through their four-run sixth. Derek Dietrich hit a two-run double and scored twice for Miami.

The Marlins’ Dan Straily allowed one run and left after seven innings with a four-run lead but remained winless since April 11.

The Marlins lost without Manager Don Mattingly, who has seen fewer than three innings of the series’ first two games. He was ejected by plate umpire Andy Fletcher in the bottom of the first inning, after being tossed following the second inning Monday.

Fletcher first ejected center fielder Christian Yelich for protesting after being called out on strikes. Mattingly then came onto the field to argue and also got tossed.

“You’re always going to protect your player,” interim manager Tim Wallach said. “You hate to see Yeli get thrown out that early.”

Mattingly shook up his lineup, dropping leadoff batter Dee Gordon to the No. 9 spot. The tweak came into play in the fifth when Straily, batting eighth, laid down a suicide squeeze bunt with one out to drive home the Marlins’ first run.

Straily didn’t try to bunt until the count reached 3-2, and pulled it off with the infield in to score Dietrich.

“The self-proclaimed best bunter on the pitching staff,” Straily said.

Conley took the loss Monday against the Cardinals and is 2-3 with a 7.53 ERA. RHP Jose Urena will take his place in the rotation.

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