Hot-hitting Marlins pursue another win over Cardinals

The Miami Marlins, who lead the majors with a .286 batting average in the seventh inning or later, will look for their third straight win on Wednesday night when they host the St. Louis Cardinals.

Miami, which has gone 13-6 over its past 19 games, will start Bryan Hoeing (1-2, 3.72 ERA). The right-hander, though, has been much more effective as a reliever (1-0, 1.56 ERA over 17 1/3 innings). As a starter, he is 0-2 with a 5.48 ERA in five outings covering 21 1/3 innings.

The good news for Hoeing on Wednesday is that his home numbers have been stellar (0-0, 0.87 ERA). On the road, he is 1-2 with a 7.00 ERA.

Hoeing is surely hoping he gets half the support the Marlins provided on Tuesday, when they routed the Cardinals 15-2. The 15 runs were a season high for Miami.

"It's a collective effort," Marlins first baseman Garrett Cooper said of his team's mini streak. "It's great to see."

Miami is led in OPS by its two All-Stars -- second baseman Luis Arraez (.917) and outfielder Jorge Soler (.868). Arraez also leads the majors with a .387 batting average, and Soler tops the Marlins in homers (22) and RBIs (49).

Arraez is a two-time All-Star, and this is the first such honor for Soler.

"It's great being recognized by your peers," Soler said through an interpreter.

The Cardinals, who had not announced their starting pitcher for Wednesday, have lost five of their past seven games.

St. Louis sits in last place in the National League Central, a performance that has been so bad that the team has to at least consider being sellers later ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

The Cardinals also learned on Tuesday that they will be without right-hander Adam Wainwright for the near future. The 41-year-old veteran will be placed on the injured list due to a shoulder discomfort.

Wainwright has struggled this season, as he is 3-4 with a 7.66 ERA and a 1.99 WHIP in 11 starts. In his past two outings, losses to the Chicago Cubs on June 24 and to the Houston Astros on Thursday, he gave up a combined 13 runs on 17 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Wainwright said of the shoulder ailment, "It's stuff that I thought I could get through. I don't want to use it as an excuse. The results are not where I wanted to be. It's not fair to the team to keep doing that three times in a row with no chance to win. I don't want the story to be that every time that I pitch."

While Wainwright previously announced he will retire after the season, he added of the current setback, "No, that's not the end. ... I've come back from much worse. My arm was broken in '18, and I came back and pitched almost five years more now."

Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong said of Wainwright, according to MLB.com, "It's a tough stretch he's going through, and we ... want to just support him the best we can. He means so much to every guy in here because he's (made) such a personable touch to each and every one of our careers. We think he's a legend, and he deserves the chance to come back."