MIAMI _ Most days when Marlins ace Jose Fernandez gets the ball in Little Havana, he's the unquestioned star of the game, his typical statistical excellence especially so at Marlins Park.
Thursday night against the Cardinals, Fernandez wasn't even the best player from his own hometown. That would be 25-year-old Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz, a surprise National League Rookie of the Year contender and a childhood teammate of Fernandez, who drove in three runs and score two more to help St. Louis edge Miami, 5-4.
Diaz and Fernandez, born two years apart in the city of Santa Clara, played for the same youth baseball team in Cuba. Now their major league clubs are competing against each other for a shot at postseason glory, tied for the second NL wild-card spot with three games to play this weekend.
Fernandez was not his usual self Thursday. He allowed five runs (all earned) on six hits and two walks in five innings, though he did strike out nine Cardinals _ including seven with curveballs.
A handful of pitches turned a potentially dominant start into an ugly one. The first came in the third inning, when Fernandez threw Diaz the same pitch _ type (fastball), speed (95 mph), location (up and in) _ twice. Diaz turned on the second offering, sending it over the wall in left-center for a two-run home run. Matt Holliday added a solo shot two batters later, flicking a first-pitch fastball the other way to right field.
It was the first time Fernandez has given up two home runs in one inning, and the first time he's given up two home runs in a home game.
The Cardinals added two runs in the fifth. Diaz doubled to score Jeremy Hazelbaker (triple), and Matt Adams singled to score Diaz.
The Marlins managed little through the first five innings against St. Louis righty Michael Wacha (six innings, three runs). Their only hit was a Giancarlo Stanton double, a ground ball that rolled _ quickly _ all the way to the left-field corner.
Miami broke through with three runs in the sixth. Chris Johnson's double brought home Adeiny Hechavarria before Martin Prado's homer added two more. An inning later, J.T. Realmuto scored on Hechavarria's ground out.
Dee Gordon, in his first game back from an 80-game PED suspension, finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Derek Dietrich went 0-for-2 and is hitting 0.93 (4-for-43) since the All-Star break.
Ichiro Suzuki doubled for career hit No. 2,998 in the seventh. Manager Don Mattingly said Thursday afternoon he wasn't sure when Ichiro would next start a game.
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