ST. LOUIS (AP) Nolan Gorman hit a three-run homer and had four RBIs to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Mami Marlins 6-4 on Wednesday for just their second series sweep this season.

Nolan Arenado’s RBI single and Gorman’s 19th homer built a 4-0 lead in the first off NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, and the Marlins’ losing streak reached a season-high six.

“Those are all really really good at-bats up and down the lineup,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Again, very productive. They’re stringing it together against a really tough arm.”

Gorman added a run-scoring single in the seventh against Huascar Brazobán, and another run scored on third baseman Jon Berti’s throwing error.

“I don’t think there’s any panic in there,” Marlins manager Skip Shumaker said. “We just had a tough road trip and we’re going to have a couple of these streaks, unfortunately losing streaks, winning streaks, during a course of a 162.”

St. Louis had just one previous sweep this season, from May 12-14 at Boston. The Cardinals have won a season-high five in a row, moving ahead of Pittsburgh and out of the NL Central cellar.

“This is, you know, the team that we started with, for the most part and this is kind of what we expected, you know, from the start,” Gorman said. “Obviously, it didn’t go that way, but it’s good to see it come together.”

Alcantara (3-9) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings, dropping to 0-3 in his last four starts. Miami arrived after losing three games at Baltimore and went winless on a trip of six or more games for the first time since August 2019.

“I just feel so bad you know, because like everything happened in that one inning,” Alcantara said. “After that you try to concentrate and try to attack the strike zone and try to go deep in the game.”

Zack Thompson (2-2), pitching for the first time in 20 days, allowed three hits in two scoreless innings. Chris Stratton got his first save since April 22, 2022, after allowing an RBI double to Luis Arraez, who had two hits and is batting .376.

“Luckily, I didn’t get lost on the run-in, but it felt great,” Thompson said jokingly. “It’s not easy to stay ready, but just treat every day like today’s the day and keep going out there getting my work in and just being ready to go in when my name is called.”

Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson allowed two runs and five hits in three innings.

“He did fill up the zone, which is what we needed,” Marmol said. “So, pitch count was driven up a little bit. We wanted to keep him right at 65 today, but he did his job with his three innings.”

Jesús Sánchez hit a two-run single in the third and Bryan De La Cruz homered in the eighth against Ryan Tepera, who made his second appearance since signing with St. Louis.

Berti had three hits for the second straight game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: Third base coach Jody Reed sustained a broken leg in the third inning after getting hit by a foul ball off Sánchez’s bat. OF Avisaíl García (left back tightness) went 0 for 3 as a designated hitter Tuesday as he began a rehab assignment with Double-A Pensacola.

Cardinals: RHP Drew VerHagen (right hip impingement) is scheduled to start a rehab assignment Thursday at Double-A Springfield. OF Tyler O’Neill (left lower back strain) is expected to be activated from the 60-day injured list on Thursday.

UP NEXT

Marlins: LHP Braxton Garrett (5-2, 3.90 ERA) starts Friday in an opener of a three-game series against visiting Colorado. Garrett has allowed three runs or fewer in eight of his last 10 starts.

Cardinals: LHP Steven Matz (0-7, 4.86 ERA) will start the opener of a four-game series Thursday night at the Chicago Cubs and RHP Marcus Stroman (10-6, 2.88 ERA). Matz threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief the last time he faced the Cubs, on June 24 in London.

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