Nobody is going to mistake the Marlins for a juggernaut but the Cardinals have actually been rather fortunate the past couple seasons. The Marlins have an ace up their sleeve, namely their starting pitching. Or at least some of their starters. And since during that same period, the Cardinals starting pitching could best be described as ehhhhh, the pitching matchups seem to always be lopsided in favor of the Marlins. And when it comes to pitching, sometimes who the better pitcher is matters more than who the better team is.
And yet, the Cardinals won all six games against the Marlins last year.