The Miami Marlins secured a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night at loanDepot park. Contact hitter Xavier Edwards made his first career start in the cleanup spot and delivered a game-tying RBI double. Manager Clayton McCullough's unconventional lineup choice paid off in the series opener.
Manager Clayton McCullough surprised observers by placing switch-hitting leadoff specialist Xavier Edwards fourth in the batting order for the first time in his career. Typically a table-setter, Edwards had occasionally hit lower against left-handed starters in 2026, but this marked a new role behind 2025 All-Star Kyle Stowers, who returned for his second game off the injured list in the No. 2 spot. The Marlins trailed 1-0 with no hits through three innings against right-hander Michael McGreevy. Edwards grounded out in the second but responded in the fourth with two outs and Stowers on second, lining a four-seamer to the left-center gap for an RBI double that evened the score at 1-1. Agustín Ramírez gave Miami the lead in the fifth with a solo home run to left-center. St. Louis tied it in the sixth on Ramírez's passed ball. Otto Lopez, who entered with the highest fWAR among qualifying major league shortstops at 1.2, regained the advantage with an RBI double in the bottom of the frame. Edwards drew a walk afterward but was thrown out at home trying to score on Liam Hicks' RBI single, which briefly eluded Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II.
