MIAMI -- Joel Pineiro pitched in his 247th Major League game Monday night, and for the first time in his career, the opposition was the Marlins. No problem.

The Cardinals right-hander leaned on catcher Yadier Molina for all the information on Marlins hitters that he needed.

"Yady put down the right fingers, because I didn't know these guys at all," Pineiro said after the Cardinals had won the first of a four-game series with the Marlins, 4-2, before 13,419 at Dolphin Stadium.

Pineiro allowed two runs, only one of them earned, in seven innings. He yielded seven hits, walked two and struck out four in his most effective outing since July 8, when he shut out the Phillies for 6 1/3 innings.

That was six starts ago.

The only damage off him was an unearned first-inning run and a home run by Cody Ross in the second.

In fact, Pineiro's trademark sinker began sinking more effectively from the third inning on, and Molina's guidance took care of the rest.

"Once my sinker starts working, I get a lot of ground balls," Pineiro said. "I told the guys, 'Hey, I'm going to throw the sinker down the middle, and hopefully they hit it at someone.' And that's what happened."

As important as Pineiro's contribution was to getting the Cardinals off to a good start in this meaningful series, Molina played perhaps a more essential role.

His two-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Cardinals a lead they would not relinquish. He also threw out Dan Uggla trying to steal in both the sixth and ninth innings.

To round out his night, Molina provided the guidance and leadership behind the plate that not only helped Pineiro even his record at 5-5, but helped Kyle McClellan escape a difficult eighth inning and young closer Chris Perez turn a hazardous situation in the ninth into a cakewalk.

"He was my hero of the game," manager Tony La Russa said of Molina.

The Cardinals were clinging to a 3-2 lead when McClellan came in to pitch the eighth. Presto, Hanley Ramirez singled to left and the ball squirted away from the just-returned Rick Ankiel for one error. Ankiel then threw wildly toward second base for his second error and Ramirez suddenly was standing on third with no outs.

Molina went out to talk to McClellan and calm him down. If you get beat, you want them to have to hit your best pitch -- your fastball -- Molina told him.

McClellan got Jeremy Hermida on a soft bouncer to shortstop. Then came Josh Willingham, known as a good fastball hitter. McClellan worked the count to 2-2, then Molina called for an inside fastball.

Willingham took it for strike three.

"[Molina] had the guts to call it," La Russa said with obvious admiration. "He had people second-guessing him, but he's just got a great feeling. He's got the courage of his convictions."

Said Molina flatly of Willingham's strikeout: "That was the game right there."

McClellan still had to retire Mike Jacobs, which he did on a routine fly to left.

McClellan said the pitch Jacobs hit was thrown a little higher than he wanted, but said: "You have to remember, there's a lot of pressure on a hitter in that situation as well."

Pinch-hitter Joe Mather provided a ninth-inning cushion with his seventh homer of the season. Then came in young Perez to close out the game.

One problem. He walked the first hitter. Molina solved the problem by promptly throwing out Uggla in a mystifying steal attempt.

"That was huge," said Perez, pitching in front of his former University of Miami coaches and numerous friends and family. "I didn't expect him to run. Plus, it was a tough pitch to throw on -- running inside.

"But when that happened, the ball is now in my court."

Perez said it gave him a supreme lift, knowing he could give up a home run and still have the lead. So he struck out the final two hitters.

The game marked the return of Ankiel to the starting lineup after he was mostly limited to pinch-hitting during the 14 previous games. He celebrated his return by driving in the Cardinals' first run in the opening inning.

Ankiel's infield single scored Felipe Lopez, who got his first start at third base.

Still, the Cardinals were trailing 2-1 when Molina came up in the fourth inning with Ankiel on via a hit-by-pitch. Molina knocked an Anibal Sanchez slider deep into the left-center-field stands.

"I don't care about batting average," Molina said when told he is now batting .304. "I just want to win games."