If Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine knew what they were talking about in the late '90s, then chicks dig the long ball. And if players from the Florida Marlins are single and searching, then the ladies should start coming to them pretty soon.
In two consecutive wins over the Philadelphia Phillies, the Fish have scored eleven runs. All of those runs have come via the coveted long ball. Two on May 31 led them to a 7-3 victory and three last night carried them to a 6-2 win, bringing them within two games of the NL East leading Phillies.
Starting with two outs in the first, Jorge Cantu ripped a solo shot off of Phillies ace Cole Hamels. Cantu added his 14th round-tripper of the year, again a solo homer off of Hamels, in the seventh inning. The derby was concluded upon Dan Uggla's walk-off four-run shot (otherwise known as a grand slam) in the bottom of the ninth off of Tom "Flash" Gordon.
For Hamels, Cantu's two homers were the only two blemishes on an otherwise near-perfect performance in Miami.
The three dingers increased Florida's major-league leading total to 101 on the year, six ahead of the Phillies.
Cantu's performance exemplified the Marlins' dominance of Hamels this season. Of the 11 home runs allowed by Hamels this year, five of them have been hit by the Marlins, against whom he has only started twice.
With the lead in hand after one inning, Andrew Miller pitched magnificently for seven plus innings, allowing only six base runners. Of the six base runners, three were doubled off, meaning that Miller faced only three more than the minimum for seven innings pitched. He did not face more than three batters in one inning until he faced five in the seventh, giving up a double to Shane Victorino and an RBI-single to Chase Utley, which tied the game at one.
- B/R Ticket Guide
However, Cantu's low, line drive home run with one down in the seventh, allowed the Marlins to quickly regain their lead. Hamels had retired seventeen straight Florida batters from the first to the seventh, but the streak began and ended after each of Cantu's dingers.
Jayson Werth drew the game's first walk to lead off the eighth, causing Fredi Gonzalez to bring in Justin Miller to replace Andrew Miller. The reliever got Pedro Feliz to pop out and then induced a 3-6-3 double play off the bat of Carlos Ruiz.
The Phillies entered the ninth down 2-1, but knowing that they weren't out of it. With twenty come-from-behind wins this season, the Phils always feel like they are in the game.
With Kevin Gregg in the game to close it out, pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs started things off by beating out an infield single and then was replaced by pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett. Bruntlett advanced to second with Jimmy Rollins' walk and stole third with Shane Victorino at the plate. Rollins, however, did not pick up on Bruntlett's steal, so he remained at first base.
Victorino wound up striking out looking, bringing up NL-Leading All-Star vote getter Chase Utley. Utley tapped one to second and the Fish got the lead runner, Rollins, at second, but were unable to catch Utley, allowing the tying run to score from third.
After intentionally walking Ryan Howard, Gregg hit Pat Burrell in the arm to load the bases. Jayson Werth attempted to squeeze in the go-ahead run, but was thrown out at first, ending the Phillies' threat.
With Hamels now out of the game after allowing two earned runs on three hits and one walk, while striking out thirteen, the Phillies turned to reliever Flash Gordon to send it to extras. However, Cantu's third hit of the game, a single, sandwiched by two walks, loaded the bases for Dan Uggla with one down. The second-baseman stroked a 3-1 fastball over the left field wall to give the Marlins the 6-2 walk off victory.
The loss puts Gordon at 5-3 on the year and he now sports a 5.19 ERA. Gregg blew his fourth save of the year, but the victory puts him at 5-2 for the season. Despite their spectacular performances, Hamels and Andrew Miller both came away with no-decisions.
Hanley Ramirez extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the first.
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