Disaster! Cardinals pitching throws away determined effort by offense, blows lead to Miami

MIAMI — The Cardinals’ pitching staff keeps racking up and creating debts even the most determined offense cannot overcome.

A tornadic Nolan Arenado, a kinetic Willson Contreras, and even a timely blast from rookie Jordan Walker rallied the Cardinals three times and then delivered a lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning.

And then — crash — another sinkhole.

A spelunking season that seems intent on exploring undiscovered depths for the Cardinals found a new one Wednesday night as a routine groundball became a nightmare. With the tying run at second base, closer Jordan Hicks got a ball bounding casually back to the mound. He turned to throw to first and, with the Marlins runner gamely dashing around third behind his back, Hicks hesitate and threw high. The ball and the game sailed away.

The Marlins scored two runs on that error to steal a 10-9 victory at loanDepot Park.

Garrett Hampson had the savvy dash around third that distracted Hicks, and Yuli Gurriel scored the winner while the Cardinals all stared at the ball trickling down into right-field foul territory — where Hicks had thrown it. The Marlins set a franchise record with their 51st win before the All-Star break.

The Cardinals have lost 51.

The Cardinals trailed by five runs after two innings and tied the game. They trailed by a run after the third inning and found a way to tie the game. They trailed by two, cut that lead in half, and then trailed by a single run going into the ninth inning. Contreras did his best to outrun the trends to get the game to Walker. Contreras hit a meek groundball and dashed for first base, diving headfirst into the bag ahead of the Marlins closer A.J. Puk’s attempt to toe-tap it.

With two outs and Contreras still at first, Walker worked the count full against Puk. He saw five four-seam fastballs in the six-pitch at-bat and hammered the last one 444 feet to a landing two stories above left-center field.

Walker’s two-run bolt gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game.

It was gone within a few minutes and one error.

Matthew Liberatore’s abbreviated start gave the Cardinals an early chance to open up auditions for the next starter to join the rotation.

Liberatore’s bid lasted one out. Dakota Hudson followed, brought some balance to the game during his 2 2/3 innings. But he also let the tie game the Cardinals claimed for him out of his grasp as soon as he got it, and he walked three batters to complicate his innings. Steven Matz, a rising favorite to return to the rotation after the All-Star break if not before, pitched a steady 2 1/3 innings, but runs that proved to be the difference in the game came against him, one scoring after he yielded the mound to reliever Chris Stratton. The three pitchers used in the game who could be starters for the Cardinals did as the rotation so often has this season — put the team behind and helped keep it there.

The Marlins, powered by Bryan De La Cruz’s three hits and Jorge Soler’s three runs, scored their first eight runs on 10 hits and five walks against the Cardinals’ three pitchers who have been starters.

The Cardinals got the tying run to third base in the eighth inning with one out and could not connect with the ball in play that would change the game.

Dylan Carlson drew his second walk of the game, took third for a second time on a single from Brendan Donovan, and the Cardinals had the right players in the right places with the right matchup for a tie. Miami lefty Tanner Scott, unable to retire the left-handed hitting Donovan, faced the right-handed hitting and reigning MVP Paul Goldschmidt. The at-bat would last seven pitches and feature a 98.7-mph fastball from the left side that Goldschmidt fouled off.

The next pitch, a plunging 91.5-mph slider, Goldschmidt nicked.

He struck out on a foul tip, failing to advance Carlson.

Scott struck out Lars Nootbaar on three pitches to leave two runners stranded and preserve the one-run lead. The Cardinals had Giovanny Gallegos warming and Hicks waiting — an advantage out of the bullpen. But they had no lead or tie game to hold.

The brevity of Liberatore’s start over the weekend against the Yankees — all of 56 pitches and 4 1/3 innings — gave the Cardinals the opportunity to have him return and fill the open start Wednesday after three days of rest.

His routine gave them reason.

“I don’t think what we saw out of him coming out of the ’pen was ideal,” manager Oliver Marmol explained before the game. “He’s routine-based, and if he’s going to be on the club it’s as a starter at the moment.”

He was not long for that role Wednesday.

The rookie lefty did not get an out until the sixth batter he faced. Thirteen pitches into the first inning and the Marlins had four hits, three runs, and a runner awaiting his invitation home from scoring position. The Marlins sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning, but only seven faced Liberatore because he was gone after an RBI single to increase their lead to four runs. The success and assertiveness the lefty has at Class AAA Memphis has not translated with the effectiveness and confidence of his stuff in the majors.

The one-out start was the shortest of his career and the shortest for a Cardinal based on his performance — not injury or pitch count limits since 1998. Cleveland’s Manny Ramirez hit a grand slam on June 24, 1998, that bounced Mark Petkovsek after seven runs and one out.

The first four hits from the first four Marlins to face Liberatore all went to the left side of the field, keeping Arenado hopping before the first out of the inning.

He dove to his left to try and steal a single.

He dove to his right trying to tackle a double.

When it was his turn to do some hitting, he just drove the ball everywhere.

In Arenado’s first four at-bats he had three doubles and a fly ball that was caught by an outfielder leaping into the center-field wall. It was Arenado’s second double that reanimated the Cardinals from what’s become their standard situation after the first inning — behind in the score.

Brendan Donovan opened the third inning with a leadoff single. Lars Nootbaar followed a batter later with a walk. Both scored when Arenado drilled a double to right-center gap. That cut the Marlins’ 5-0 lead down to three runs. That’s when the rally ignited. Arenado scored on Willson Contreras’ double, and Nolan Gorman followed that with a two-run homer off starter Bryan Hoenig to completely erase the deficit.

Gorman ended a zero-for-10 spell with his 17th homer.

Six batters into the third inning and the Cardinals had overcome a five-run deficit to tie the game, to give them a whole new outlook. It was like they restarted the computer to fix a glitch and present the latest pitcher on the mound with a chance to start clean, to compete anew.

There was joy in Mudville.

With a 5-5 game in his hand, Hudson delivered the first pitch of the bottom of the third.

Jacob Stallings sent it soaring over the left-field wall.

The Cardinals’ game, gutsy rally after two days and two innings of looking up at the Marlins was gone within a single pitch. It was a sinker that was a floater until it was a goner.

Hudson rebounded and retired the next three batters he faced to get the Cardinals through the third inning and bring the game to another potential starter for the team. The trick was going to be resetting the score for Matz. Once again the offense had a response. As soon as the lineup had a chance to answer the new 6-5 deficit, it did.

Thrust into the lineup shortly before first place as a replacement for Tommy Edman (wrist), Carlson drew a leadoff walk. He took third on Donovan’s second single of the game. That allowed him to score on a double play groundout hit by Paul Goldschmidt. Once again the hole dug by the pitching had been covered by the offense and a seesaw 6-6 game headed into its second half.