ST. LOUIS _ Paul Goldschmidt, who was supposed to get the day off, instead came into Wednesday's game in the ninth inning and then hit a monstrous blast in the 11th inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins.
Goldschmidt hit a 2-2 pitch from Adam Conley 453 feet to left field, clearing the bleachers above the Marlins bullpen. It was his 14th home run of the season and his fifth career walk-off homer.
Daniel Ponce de Leon left after six innings with a 1-0 lead and a shot at his first big-league win, but the Marlins strung together three singles in the eighth to tie the game and send it to extra innings, tied at 1-1.
Ponce de Leon allowed just two hits in six innings, striking out six. He was relieved by Carlos Martinez, who retired the side in order in the seventh and then got the first two batters he faced in the seventh, though the second, Yadiel Rivera, sent Harrison Bader to the track in center to make the catch.
Two pinch hitters, Jorge Alfaro and Austin Dean, then singled, with Dean's a broken-bat grounder to short that Paul DeJong couldn't barehand for a play at first. Miguel Rojas then singled to right to tie the game. Andrew Miller came on for Martinez and got the out to get out of the inning.
The Cardinals looked to have the game in hand in the 10th when they loaded the bases with no one out. The Marlins brought in center fielder JT Riddle as a third infielder on the left side of second base, one of five overall. Reliever Sergio Romo struck out Bader on three pitches, then got Marcell Ozuna to hit a ground ball to Riddle near second, who started an 8-4-3 double play to end the inning.
After managing only one hit through five innings, the Cardinals got to a tiring Trevor Richards in the sixth inning to take a 1-0 lead.
Dexter Fowler fisted a looper into shallow left field to drive in Bader, who was pinch running for Jose Martinez, who got things started with a single to center.
Through five innings, the teams had combined for two hits, one for each team. Curtis Granderson had a ground-rule double with one out in the first and finished the inning there. The Cardinals didn't have a hit until Tommy Edman led off the fifth with a single to center. He got as far as third base with two outs when Matt Carpenter struck out looking.
Richards struck out eight Cardinals through five innings.
But in the sixth, he got into trouble. Martinez singled to center with one out and Bader pinch ran. Rangel Ravelo got his first big-league hit, a single to left to move Bader to third. And then Fowler, on Richards' 108th pitch, drove Bader in.
Through five innings, Ponce de Leon allowed only one base runner after Granderson's double, a leadoff walk to Granderson in the fourth. But he got Brian Anderson to hit into a double play and faced just one batter over the minimum through five innings. In the sixth, Miguel Rojas had a two-out double but Ponce de Leon struck out Granderson to get out of the inning.
