​St. Louis faced scorching conditions on Sunday as the Cardinals edged past the Miami Marlins, with Kyle Leahy and Bryan Torres delivering the key moments in a survival-itself game at Busch Stadium. The official temperature was 92 degrees, but the heat index climbed to 106, making every inning a test of endurance. St. Louis drew first blood in the bottom of the second when Masyn Winn started the frame with a single and Bryan Torres followed by turning a 95 mph sinker into a back-quick homer over the right-field wall, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
Leahy turned in one of his best outings of the season, working five innings, fanning five, and issuing three walks while keeping the Marlins off the board until the fifth. Owen Caissie started the Marlins’ rally with a double, and Graham Pauley followed two pitches later with a ground-rule double that trimmed the lead to 2-1. The Cardinals bullpen held firm, with JoJo Romero delivering 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Ryne Stanek finishing the seventh by inducing a grounder that Masyn Winn turned into an easy double play.
George Soriano came on in the eighth for the Marlins, but his stuff kept the Cardinals at bay as the visitors never mounted a serious threat. One of the day’s notable moments for Miami came from Tyler Phillips, who worked into the eighth before leaving the game as the Cardinals mounted a rally. With two on and one out in the eighth, Nathan Church and Pedro Pagés delivered back-to-back hits to put runners on the corners for JJ Wetherholt, but a pickoff by Marlins catcher Mack deflated the Cardinals’ scoring chances; Wetherholt struck out to end the inning, though he had collected two hits to calm a 0-for-15 slump.
Riley O’Brien entered to close, navigating the heat and pressure as he retired a pair of batters on flies and groundouts, sealing the 2-1 victory for St. Louis. The win gave the Cardinals the day off on Monday for travel before embarking on a challenging road trip, starting with a game against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. Matthew Liberatore is slated to return as the Cardinals’ starter for that matchup, while the Braves’ starter position remains to be determined.