MIAMI — In the inning after their one-run lead disappeared two pitches into the bottom of the sixth inning, a mistake by the Miami Marlins with two outs in the seventh inning gave the St. Louis Cardinals a lane to regain what they had just lost.

Making the most of additional scoring opportunities in the frames that followed added to it.

Tied 3-3 with two outs in the seventh inning after the Marlins pushed across a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, a fielding error by Marlins right fielder Dane Myers allowed Ivan Herrera to reach second base. Alec Burleson's line-drive single in the at-bat that followed capitalized on the defensive miscue to give the Cardinals a lead they would not give back.

In the innings that followed, RBIs from Pedro Pages and Nolan Gorman, who hit a two-run homer in the ninth, padded the Cardinals' lead to help them to an 8-3 win over Miami at loanDepot Park. The win snapped the Cardinals' losing streak at five consecutive games.

Limited to 4 1/3 or fewer innings in each of his previous five starts heading into Monday’s series opener, Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore completed five innings in an outing for the first time since July 5. Liberatore allowed three runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out five batters on 75 pitches and saw his velocity hold through four innings before it dipped in the fifth inning.

The lefty was removed from his start after giving up back-to-back double to the first two batters he faced in the sixth inning. Monday’s start marked the first time Liberatore pitched in the sixth inning since completing six innings on June 29 in Cleveland.

Liberatore was relieved by Matt Svanson, who completed two scoreless innings and stranded the only base runner he inherited from Liberatore. JoJo Romero pitched a scoreless eighth inning and benefited from a double play started by Gorman after his throwing error allowed the first batter of the inning to reach base.

Jorge Alcala pitched a scoreless ninth inning to seal the Cardinals’ first win since Tuesday vs. the Colorado Rockies.

Liberatore leaves as velocity dips

Working with diminishing velocity in recent starts, Liberatore once again had his velocity drop as he got through the middle innings of his start in Miami.

Liberatore’s fastball vs. the Marlins often hovered around 94 mph as he neared 60 pitches by the fifth inning. When he returned to the mound in the fifth inning, the lefty’s fastball sunk to a low of 89.9 mph in his final full inning. He got it back up to 93 mph during the sixth inning but the back-to-back doubles, one on a curveball that reached 88.2 mph and the other on a curveball that touched 74.9 mph, signaled the end of his night just two pitches into the frame.

On the night, Liberatore’s fastball averaged 92.9 mph and peaked at 94.5 mph, per Statcast.

Chasing Perez and taking a lead

Down by a two runs after Liberatore allowed a solo homer to Eric Wagaman in the fifth inning, the Cardinals continued to drive Perez’s pitch count in the fifth inning. The ability to do so led to traffic on the base paths and created a three-run inning that provided the Cardinals to a one-run lead.

With Perez at 61 pitches through four innings, an eight-pitch at-bat from Pages drew a one-out walk and Nathan Church reached base on an error by second baseman Maximo Acosta as Perez’s pitch count reached 75.

A single by Lars Nootbaar drove in the Cardinals’ first run. A walk by Herrera, the fourth the Cardinals drew vs. Perez, on six pitches loaded the bases and led to the righty’s exit after 86 pitches and 4 1/3 innings.

Facing right-hander Ronny Henriquez, Burleson plated Church with an infield single on a ground-ball first baseman Wagaman could not corral. In the at-bat that followed, Willson Contreras flied out to center field for a sacrifice that allowed Nootbaar to tag from third and score.

Contreras turns two

When the Marlins tied the game and threatened to regain their lead, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol turned to Svanson to work with a runner in scoring position. The rookie right-hander who has provided some consistency in relief got through the inning with sharp defense by Contreras.

After Svanson induced a groundout to the first batter he faced, the righty allowed a single to Myers on a sinking line drive to right field Nootbaar picked on a hop to keep Augustin Ramirez from scoring from third base as he retreated to the bag.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough dug into his bench and called on lefty Liam Hicks to hit in place of Wagaman. Hicks saw two pitches and lined the second to first base, where Contreras, who was positioned in front of the bag, caught the ball and spun around to place a tag on Myers before he could dive back to the bag.

Church flashes leather

In his second game in the majors following a debut Sunday vs. the New York Yankees, Church showcased the defensive skill set that earned him a 60-grade fielding tool on Baseball America’s scale of 80.

On a line drive Derek Hill hit to the warning track with a 99.4 mph exit velocity, Church raced to the gap in right-center field to make grab on the warning track on ball that tailed away from him. Church lunged at the baseball to snag it with his glove as he reached the warning track. His momentum led him to slide feet first toward the wall as he secured the final out of the second inning.

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