The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 at loanDepot park on Tuesday. Right-hander Dustin May delivered a solid outing, allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings. Marlins outfielder Jakob Marsee hit his first home run of the season in a dramatic first inning.
Dustin May attacked the strike zone early, landing first-pitch strikes or inducing fouls in each of his five strikeouts. The 28-year-old right-hander threw 97 pitches, giving up a leadoff homer to Jakob Marsee in the bottom of the first before settling in. May finished with a 5.84 ERA and has now pitched into at least the sixth inning in three straight starts, including this one against the Marlins. His only deep count came against Connor Norby, whom he struck out with a 96.8 mph four-seamer on a full count. Manager Oliver Marmol praised May pregame, saying, “He’s a different animal. He really is. His stuff plays better... when he’s ahead his stuff just plays at a higher degree. He’s done a much better job of that.” In the top of the first, Nathan Church homered for the Cardinals. The title mentions it, but details are sparse. Jakob Marsee's first inning at-bat was eventful. After fouling off a 96.9 mph sinker from May and losing his bat into the protective netting above the Cardinals dugout, a young St. Louis fan retrieved it to cheers from the crowd. On the next pitch, a 96.5 mph four-seamer, Marsee lined a ball to right field that Jordan Walker retrieved and threw to third, initially calling Marsee out. Umpires ruled it a home run after review, upheld by replay. Statcast measured the projected 351 feet at 110.9 mph exit velocity and 20-degree launch angle, tying the game 1-1. Marsee, scuffling with a .149/.279/.207 slash line and three extra-base hits in 23 games, extended his on-base streak to 10 games.
