Rain washed out the Cardinals’ series finale against Arizona on Thursday, and more clouds hang over Busch Stadium tonight as the Miami Marlins come to town. First pitch is set for 8:15 PM ET — and if the sky cooperates, a Cardinals rotation scrambled by the weather finally hands Michael McGreevy the ball.
How to Watch: Marlins vs. Cardinals
- First pitch: 8:15 PM ET, Friday, June 26
- Ballpark: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
- TV: Cardinals.TV presented by bet365 & KMOV-4 (St. Louis) | Marlins.TV (Miami)
- Radio: KMOX 1120 AM/104.1 FM & WIJR 880 AM (En Español); Marlins on 560 AM WQAM & WAQI 710
- Pitching matchup: Max Meyer (MIA, 8-0, 2.80) vs. Michael McGreevy (STL, 3-6, 3.35)
- Weather watch: Cloudy with scattered rain chances in the 20% range, falling through the evening — the tarp should stay rolled, but keep an eye on the sky
Max Meyer arrives undefeated, an 8-0 record with a 2.80 ERA and 102 strikeouts — Miami’s most reliable arm. McGreevy, bumped a day by Thursday’s washout, counters for a Cardinals club holding a slim NL Wild Card cushion. And a footnote in geography: these two clubs share a spring home at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, so they know each other well before the lights ever come on.
Miami Marlins catcher Joe Mack (left) talks with starting pitcher Max Meyer (23) before throwing to the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)
While You Wait Out the Forecast: A Game You Forgot
If the rain does come, here’s a Cardinals-Marlins game from 1994 you might not remember — one that proves these two have played through far worse than a drizzle.
It was May 22, 1994, a Sunday at Joe Robbie Stadium. The Cardinals had won four straight, including the first two games of this series. What unraveled in the bottom of the second turned into one of the ugliest — and strangest — afternoons of the decade.
Florida Marlins base runner Orestes Destrade, left, charges St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Allen Watson, center, on the mound after being hit by a pitch, causing the benches to clear during the second inning at Miami’s Joe Robbie Stadium, May 22, 1994. Also pictured is Cardinals’ catcher Terry McGriff. When Destrade came up to bat the Marlins had hit three home runs against Watson in that inning. (AP Photo/Alex Rosato)
Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals players clear the benches during the second inning when Marlins batter Orestes Destrade charged Cardinals pitcher Allen Watson after being hit by a pitch at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, May 22, 1994. The Marlins hit three home runs against Watson in the inning, a club record. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Florida Marlins batter Orestes Destrade, center, charges St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Allen Watson on the mound after being hit by a pitch, causing the benches to clear during the second inning at Miami’s Joe Robbie Stadium, May 22, 1994. Also pictured is Cardinals’ catcher Terry McGriff. When Destrades came up to bat the Marlins had hit three home runs against Watson in that inning. (AP Photo/Alex Rosato)
Three Homers, One Punch
Cardinals lefty Allen Watson, a struggling 23-year-old former first-round pick, served up a two-run homer to a young Carl Everett — the first of Everett’s career — then back-to-back blasts to Rich Renteria and Jeff Conine. Three home runs in a single inning, all to deep left, a Marlins club record. Florida led 7-2, and Watson lost the plot.
He drilled Marlins slugger Orestes Destrade in the back. Destrade — born in Cuba, raised in Miami, and fresh off four years starring in Japan before coming home to the expansion Marlins — charged the mound. Watson flung his glove, catching Destrade in the face and knocking off his glasses. The benches emptied; four players were ejected. An inning later, a fan dumped a beer on Cardinals reliever Rich Rodriguez, who’d been released by Florida that spring. Rodriguez threw his glove into the stands. Someone threw it back.
St. Louis Cardinals Mark Whitten, right, is congratulated by teammate Todd Zeile, left, after hitting a 3-run homer during first inning action against the Florida Marlins, Thursday, August 11, 1994 in Miami. In background is Marlins catcher Benito Santiago. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)
Florida Marlins catcher Mike Redmond can’t field the ball cleanly on a throw by left fielder Henry Rodriguez as St. Louis Cardinals’ Eric Davis scores the winning run on a single by J.D Drew in the 11th inning early Tuesday morning, Aug. 8, 2000, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 2-1, in a game delayed by rain for 2-hours and 14-minutes. Cardinals’ Mike Matheny (44) looks on. (AP Photo/Billy Smith II)
Hanley Ramiraz at bat against the St. Louis Cardinals in the rain during their baseball game in St. Louis, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/James A. Finley)
As rain falls, St. Louis Cardinals’ Albert Pujols, left, and Matt Holliday (7) are met by teammate Tony Cruz, right, after scoring on a single by Jon Jay in the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Florida Marlins in Miami, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Former St. Louis Cardinal Lou Brock walks out of the dugout during a rain delay in a spring training baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Jupiter, Fla., Saturday, March 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Now Here’s the Truth
The Marlins should have won. They led 9-6 in the ninth, two outs, nobody on. Then it collapsed: Jose Oquendo walked and took second on a wild pitch, pinch-hitter Mark Whiten doubled him home, Ray Lankford singled Whiten in, Luis Alicea singled for his fifth hit of the day, and Gregg Jefferies — playing through a bad thumb — sliced a two-run double down the right-field line. Five straight Cardinals reached with two outs, four runs scored, and St. Louis stole it 10-9 in front of a stunned crowd of 35,386.
“Guys were jumping around like we won a playoff game,” Jefferies said. Watson drew an eight-game suspension, Destrade four. The 1994 season would last only until August 11, when the strike shut everything down.
So they’ll play in the rain tonight. These two have played through far worse. “If you’ve got a sombrero, wear it.”
Sources: SABR Games Project | Baseball-Reference (box score)
