JUPITER, Fla. • Outfielder Oscar Mercado, in his first game wearing a Cardinals uniform, singled twice, scored a run and made a strong catch in right field Friday. But the Cardinals lost their exhibition baseball opener to the Miami Marlins 6-4.
The Marlins’ win had a decided St. Louis flavor as John Burroughs product Scott Van Slyke, son of Cardinals and Pittsburgh outfielder Andy Van Slyke, smacked two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in five runs. Van Slyke, a non-roster player, hit his four-run homer off lefthander Jordan Schafer in a five-run Marlins seventh.