MIAMI -- Ichiro Suzuki received a standing ovation stepping to the plate as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning Thursday, and when he doubled, the cheering became louder.There was even hooting and hollering in the Miami Marlins clubhouse for their teammate.I was icing, said ace Jose Fernandez, who had left the game. We were yelling and jumping with my hand in the ice.Suzukis hit was No. 2,998 and helped the Marlins score their final run, but they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4.St. Louis Aledmys Diaz homered, doubled and drove in three runs against childhood pal Fernandez, who fell behind 5-0, left after five innings and dropped to 26-2 at Marlins Park.Miamis Dee Gordon, the 2015 NL batting and stolen bases champion, returned from an 80-game suspension for failing a drug test and went 0 for 4.Suzuki drew closer to the 3,000-hit milestone even though he began the game on the bench for the sixth time in the past seven games during Miamis homestand. Manager Don Mattingly had no apologies about playing his 42-year-old fourth outfielder sparingly.I dont think hes searching to make this about him, Mattingly said. I think hes comfortable with the way were playing it.Even so, fans and teammates are eager for Suzuki to reach the milestone.Every time he comes up to hit I feel like a kid, Fernandez said. Its an honor to be a part of the history hes making. When he comes up to hit youre watching a god, one of the best who has ever done it.Diaz and Matt Holliday homered in the third inning against Fernandez (12-5), who had never previously given up more than one homer in a home game. His only other loss at Marlins Park came on opening day this year against Detroit.Michael Wacha (6-7) allowed three runs in six innings, and three relievers completed an eight-hitter. Seung Hwan Oh pitched around a one-out single in the ninth for his seventh save.Diaz and Fernandez were neighbors growing up in Santa Clara, Cuba, and the Cardinals enjoyed their reunion. Fernandez walked Jeremy Hazelbaker to start the third inning, and Diaz followed with his 14th homer.Two batters later, Holliday hit his 18th homer just inside the right-field foul pole, prompting a rueful grin from Fernandez. The outing was his shortest since May 4.Martin Prado hit a two-run homer for the Marlins.UNDER SIEGEMarcell Ozell hit comebackers off Wacha (right leg) and Oh (left buttocks). Both stayed in the game.BALK REVERSALThe umpires said they erroneously reversed a balk call, taking a Cardinals run off the board in the second inning.With runners at second and third and two out, Fernandez was about to intentionally walk No. 8 hitter Kolten Wong when third base umpire D.J. Reyburn called a balk. Fernandez protested, and after the four umpires conferred, they reversed the call and decided there was no balk.Wacha struck out to end the inning and keep the game scoreless. After the game, crew chief John Hirshbeck reviewed video and decided Reyburns balk call had been correct.D.J. called it from third, and I thought I saw (Fernandez) step off with his right foot, Hirshbeck said. I overruled D.J. with what I thought I saw. He was right, I was wrong.CARDINALS ROTATIONCardinals LHP Jaime Garcia will start Saturday on four days rest, manager Mike Matheny said. Garcia threw 77 pitches Tuesday, when he gave up two earned runs in five innings and lost to the Mets.UP NEXTCardinals RHP Mike Leake (7-8, 4.24), who is scheduled to start Friday, is 3-0 with an 0.44 ERA in three starts at Marlins Park. RHP Jose Urena (1-2, 5.34) will start for Miami. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. NFL Jerseys Clearance . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. http://www.wholesalenfljerseysclearance.com/ . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Wholesale Authentic MLB Jerseys . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday.The Duel in the Desert? Yes, Formula 1 has been here before. Two years ago in fact, when the first exclusive battle for the world title between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg came down to a final-race shootout in the opulent surroundings of Abu Dhabis Yas Marina Circuit.On that occasion it was Hamilton in the box seat - the Briton led Rosberg by 17 points following a spurt of five wins in the previous six races. Leaving Spa, and the Mercedes team-mates acrimonious collision, in late August, Rosberg had been as many as 29 points ahead but Hamilton reeled him in relentlessly thereafter. However, Hamiltons challenge in Abu Dhabi was made tougher by what turned out to be the one-off, and highly controversial, advent of double points for the season finale. The title picture going to Abu Dhabi 2014 1. Lewis Hamilton 334 points 2. Nico Rosberg 317 points +17 points The fact there were 50, rather than the usual 25, points up for grabs for the race winner meant Hamilton needed to finish at least second to secure the crown. Under the points system in place for the previous 18 races, and every one since Abu Double, sixth would have got the job done.It wasnt quite winner takes all, but the unusual permutations still meant nothing could be taken for granted heading into the decider. WIN! VIP Silverstone Experience for 2 Motorsport Manager are offering Sky Sports fans the chance to win a VIP trip for 2 to Silverstone What happened in Qualifying?Mercedes front-row lockouts have rarely been in doubt this season, and that was certainly the case in 2014 when the Silver Arrows were almost untouchable in the first year of F1s new hybrid engine era.Abu Dhabi represented their eighth successive qualifying one-two although, in the twist the title battle needed for the neutral, it was Rosberg who beat an error-strewn Hamilton to pole position.Hamilton had led the way in the first two stages of qualifying but lost out to his team-mate by 0.386 seconds when the pressure cranked up in the final shootout. Lock-ups under braking on each of his Q3 timed laps meant he ended up closer to the Williams cars directly behind than Rosberg ahead. Abu Dhabi 2014 Qualifying 1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:40.480 2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.386 3. Valtteri Bottas Williams +0.545 4.dddddddddddd Felipe Massa Williams +0.639 It was a scruffy qualifying from Lewis and he could have been just fifth, said Sky F1s Martin Brundle in commentary at the time. He just over-drives the final part of qualifying - which isnt what he used to do. It will have hurt his pride to be out-qualified so comprehensively.It was Rosbergs 11th pole of the year, but he wasnt getting carried away: This weekend is about the championship and not about pole position. It would have been great if somehow a Williams could have got between the two of us but that can always happen tomorrow.As it turned out, the polesitter was right to be cautious.What happened in the Race?The start was like a rocket and probably the best Ive ever had, Hamilton later reflected.Its more often the case that a race can be lost at the first corner, rather than won, but for Hamilton the latter essentially proved true as he made the most electric of getaways to overtake polesitter Rosberg well before the first corner.His second world title was effectively clinched right there and then. Enjoying a small, but comfortable, two-second lead over his team-mate in the races opening 20 laps, Hamilton was already well on course for the title when Rosbergs W05 developed what would turn into a crippling energy-recovery failure just before half distance.The Formula 1 Gossip ColumnDown on power, and increasingly in trouble with his over-worked brakes, Rosbergs race turned into an agonising slide down the order as he attempted to get to the finish in the fifth place that would still see him become champion if Hamilton himself hit terminal car trouble.But with seven laps to go Rosberg was seventh and, with his car problems only worsening, he was asked by his race engineer if he wanted to retire. Despite the hopelessness of the situation, and the fact he was lapped by his team-mate, Rosberg manfully soldiered to the finish and came home 14th.It was a cruel end to a championship battle he had led for so long, but the German still sought out Hamilton afterwards to personally congratulate the newly-crowned double world champion. Its been so intense between us all year long, said Hamilton. Theres been good moments and bad moments. Without a doubt weve had a friendship or a relationship that we built a long, long, long time ago, so that will always be there. He was a very, very fierce competitor this year, he did an exceptional job. Hes going to be quick for a long time.Perhaps things naturally will ease up a little now. He was graceful enough to come up to me and see me after, which I really appreciated. It was really big of him to be able to do that. Its very, very tough, I know what its like losing a championship so, for sure, well keep working at it.Two years on the rivalry on track remains just as intense, with another world championship crown on the line in the Duel in the Desert...Part Two. Also See: When is the Abu Dhabi GP on Sky F1? Abu Dhabi title permutations Watch the title decider on NOW TV The F1 Gossip Column ' ' '