MIAMI -- To say the Cardinals are the gold standard when it comes to team defense would be an understatement. St. Louis became the first club to win five individual Gold Glove Awards last November. Miami, which boasts Gold Glove-winning catcher Jacob Stallings and another three former finalists, knew this ahead of Tuesday’s 5-1 loss at loanDepot park.

A combination of Cardinals stellar plays and an early Marlins miscue sunk the home team in the battle between Spring Training neighbors. Facing the Cardinals means fewer extra outs given away.

“They're good at what they do, we're good at what we do,” shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “We have a pretty good defensive team as well. We know they've got a couple of Gold Glovers over there, but I think our focus is on our team, and I feel like we can do different things to win games, too.”

Below are a handful of defensive plays that affected Tuesday’s outcome.

Bottom of the first: Gold to gold
Nine-time Gold Glover Nolan Arenado thwarted a potential Marlins rally with one of his signature moves. With a pair of runners on and two outs, Avisaíl García laced a grounder with an expected batting average (xBA) of .480 down the third-base line. Arenado fielded it on the backhand, took a few steps with his momentum, then threw across his body to Gold Glove first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who stretched and kept his foot on the bag for the out.

“Nothing is surprising from our defense,” said Adam Wainwright, who gave up just a Bryan De La Cruz homer across 5 2/3 innings. “That’s why we have the best defense in the league. They are incredible every night. Nolan ran two or three miles and threw that ball and the play of the whole thing was [Goldschmidt] going completely parallel and keeping his foot on the bag. That was amazing, and it’s just so fun to watch these guys work defensively.”

Top of the second: Rushing the throw
With a runner on second and two outs, Yadier Molina grounded up the middle into the shift. Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. ranged to his left, then made a spin move before throwing over to first with Molina jogging up the line. The ball bounced in front of first baseman Garrett Cooper, who couldn't make the pick, and allowed the inning's second run to score. Chisholm entered the game with three Outs Above Average and two Defensive Runs Saved, so his first error of the season came as a surprise. It forced Jesús Luzardo (4 1/3 IP, 4 ER) to throw an additional eight pitches.

Top of the third: Too hot to handle
Following a leadoff double by Goldschmidt, the Marlins overshifted on the left side of the infield. When Tyler O'Neill sent a sharp grounder (108.2 mph exit velocity) between Rojas and Chisholm, neither made a move on the do-or-die play, scoring Goldschmidt to make it a 3-0 ballgame.

Top of the fifth: Cutting down a run
With the infield in and a pair of runners in scoring position, Rojas ranged to his left on Albert Pujols' grounder. He spun and delivered a perfect throw home to Stallings, who applied the tag to keep the score at 4-0. A 2020 NL Gold Glove finalist, Rojas has 21 career DRS at shortstop.

Bottom of the seventh: Double trouble
Trailing 5-1, the Marlins had the makings of a rally when Stallings singled to lead off the frame and Rojas hit a ball with a 106.4 mph exit velocity and xBA of .570. But counterpart Paul DeJong turned Rojas’ hard-hit grounder into a fielder’s choice. Jesús Sánchez, who recorded his first assist of the season when O’Neill tried stretching his RBI hit into a double, tested Gold Glove center fielder Harrison Bader’s arm (87.7 mph) and was thrown out. Instead of two runners in scoring position with one out, the Marlins had just Rojas at third with two outs. Cooper struck out swinging to end the frame.

“We talked about it,” manager Don Mattingly said. “It's one of those in that situation of the game, the score tells you you kind of have to be safe. He understands that now. But you know, guys are aggressive, they're trying to take extra bases, but we always ask them to play the game, play the scoreboard.”