Results tagged ‘ Cameron Maybin ’

Fish Wrap – Marlins 10, Reds 2

GameFish is now a regular blogger for FishStripes. Read her game recaps and other thoughts on the 2010 Marlins there.

____________________________________________________________________________

The Marlins have definitely shown us their ability to battle* their way to wins so far this season, but in their series finale against the Reds Thursday, they finally took a break from the dramatics and made it look easy. (At least much easier than trying to identify players at the park, as everyone from Hanley to the ball boys donned number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day.)

It started with good pitching as fans saw glimpses of the Josh Johnson of old on the mound. JJ dominated Cincinnati through six innings, giving up only one run on five hits and striking out ten.

While Josh held the Reds to one run, the Marlins offense was on fire against Aaron Harang. They scattered four runs over the first four innings, and chased Harang from the game when they added another five runs in the fifth.

Cody Ross was 3-for-5 in the game with two doubles and three RBI. Cameron Maybin was 3-for-4, and hit his first home run of the season in the fourth inning. Dan Uggla and John Baker each had a pair of RBI, and Jorge drove in a run on a double in the fifth inning. With that hit, Cantu extended his record-breaking RBI streak to ten games to start the season, and 14 games dating back to the end of 2009.

Clay Hensley tossed two scoreless innings in relief of JJ, and Chris Leroux made his first appearance of the season for the Marlins in the ninth. He gave up triple to Gomes and allowed a run in his debut, but that was all for the Reds.

After dropping the first two games in miserable fashion, the Fish split the series, and are headed to Philly with a little win streak in the making.

* “battle” is a registered trademark of Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, and is used with permission.

Hurk + Jorge = W

hurk philies.JPGWho says the Marlins are playing meaningless baseball?

It was the beginning of the end (pause to weep bitterly) as the Fish and the Phils opened their final series of the regular season Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. 
With the Marlins fighting the  Braves for second place in the East, and the Phillies trying to secure home field advantage in the post-season, the Fish had plenty to play for despite being eliminated from the playoffs.
Hanley–in a slump the last few weeks, and hitless in his last 11 ABs–got the night off, but a strong start from Rick VandenHurk and the bats of Jorge Cantu and Cameron Maybin were all the Fish needed to nab their 86th win of the season.
With Joe Blanton on the mound, the Marlins got on the board in the first inning thanks to a two-run single from Jorge Cantu. But the Phils answered right back in the bottom of the first when Ryan Howard went deep off of Rick VandenHurk to tie up the game at two apiece.
Despite the early home run, Hurk made his last start of the season a good one. He allowed five hits through six solid innings, and after the long ball in the first, Hurk didn’t give up another run to the Phillies. 
Once Howard tied the game, the Marlins wasted no time answering back. In the top of the second, Emilio Bonifacio singled, and back-to-back RBI doubles by Cameron Maybin and Chris Coghlan gave the Marlins a 4-2 lead. 
In the seventh, the Marlins loaded the bases with nobody out, but only managed to push one run across the plate on an RBI from Dan Uggla. Joe Blanton was done after he faced one batter in the seventh, and finished the night with five earned runs on nine hits through six innings.
The Marlins added on again in the eighth inning when Cantu drove in his 99th run of the season on a sac fly, and John Baker hit an RBI single to give the Marlins a five-run advantage.
Jorge Cantu continued his RBI tear and drove in three of the Marlins seven runs in the game. Cantu, who drove in 25 in the month of Setember, sits just one RBI away from the century mark with two games left to play. Cameron Maybin also impressed Friday, batting second and going 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored.
With the win, the Marlins improved to 86-74, and are tied with the Braves for second place in the NL East. They also diminished the Phillies chances of home field advantage in the post-season.
Meaningless, schmeaningless.

The Scoreless Streak Ends! But, Um, So Do Our Post-Season Hopes.

bats alive.jpgIt took a starting pitcher to end the Marlins’ streak of scoreless innings at 22, but the bats finally came out of hibernation Tuesday night at Turner Field.  

In the second inning Josh Johnson said, “enough of this scoreless business,” and did what the Fish have struggled to do the last few games: he hit with a runner in scoring position. (!) 
Johnson drove in his 10th run of the season, doubling off of Braves starter Tim Hudson, and opened the proverbial floodgates for the Marlins. Dan Uggla, who also doubled and scored a run in the second, followed with a solo shot in the fourth inning, and Cameron Maybin added a 2-run homer in the fifth to give the Marlins a 4-1 lead. (OK, so the floodgates were more cracked slightly than fully opened. But we’ll take it.)
Still not 100% recovered from the flu, Josh worked five solid innings for the Fish. He had to work his way out of some trouble, but JJ allowed just one run on three hits to the Braves, and struck out five. With the start, JJ also surpassed 200 innings pitched for the first time in his career, and left the game with a 4-1 lead, in line for the win.
In the bottom of the sixth, Brian Sanches erased the decision for Josh when he gave up a three-run shot to Matt Diaz that tied up the game.  
The good news is that Jorge Cantu decided to continue the all-new trend of driving in runs rather than leaving them on base, and reclaimed the lead for the Marlins in the seventh when he hit an RBI single to score [the clear choice for NL Rookie of the Year] Chris Coghlan. Cogs was 3-for-4 in the game with a pair of doubles, a pair of runs, and his 46th hit in the month of September, which established a new team record. 
Leo Nunez capped off the game with his 25th save of the season, and the Marlins took game two of the series. 
And now for the bad news. The Rockies declined to be of any help to the Fish, and selfishly came back to win their game against the Brewers in extra innings, thus eliminating the Marlins from Wild Card contention.

Super Saturday ends on a high note

default.jpgIt was the final Super Saturday of the season as the Fish and Mets faced off for game two of their series at Land Shark Stadium, and Marlins fans were looking to rid their mouths of the awful taste left from Friday night’s blown save.

The Marlins grabbed an early 2-0 lead off of John Maine in the second inning. Cantu and Uggla singled, and John Baker walked to load the bases. A ground ball from Brett Carroll scored the first run, and Uggla scored when Maine threw a wild pitch with Sean West at bat. 
West did well enough to earn his eighth win of the season with a quality night on the mound. He pitched five innings, giving up seven hits to the Mets. Fernando Tatis tied the game with a two-run homer in the fourth, and New York took the lead in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by David Wright. 
The Marlins answered back with a vengeance in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs off of Maine. Perhaps they were fired up when Cody Ross was hit on the hand by a pitch, and had to leave the game. Or maybe that had absolutely nothing to do with the offensive explosion that ensued. But either way, the bats suddenly came alive. 

Jorge Cantu hit an RBI double to tie the game, Dan Uggla drove in a run with a single, and Cameron Maybin hit a three-run shot to give the Marlins a 7-3 lead, and chase Maine from the game. Elmer Dessens took over for Maine and gave up an RBI double to Brett Hayes, who pinch-hit for Sean West. Chris Coghlan capped off the inning by doubling in a run to put the Marlins up 9-3. 
Badenhop relieved West and allowed just one hit as he held the Mets scoreless through two innings. Carlos Beltran hit a home run off of Brian Sanches in the top of the eighth to make it 9-4, and then came Florida’s obligatory struggle to put the game away. 
In the top of the ninth, Matt Lindstrom gave up a single and a double, and then allowed two runs to score on a throwing error–the Marlins’ third error of the game–before the call to the bullpen mercifully came. 

It was Brendan Donnelly who handled the last out of the ninth inning. Donnelly struck out Carlos Beltran to end the game, and earn his very first save for the Fish. 
A nice note on which to end the final Super Saturday of the Marlins season.
9-6, Marlins

Marlins 4, Mets 2

There was still a pretty awful taste in our mouths from the bullpen’s botched sweep of the Nationals as the Marlins rolled into Flushing, New York on Tuesday. 

Sure, the Marlins diplomatic soundbites about “forgetting” the horror of the loss thirty minutes after it ended sounded nice in the clubhouse, but put Craig Minervini’s mic in front of a few Fish fans, and you’d hear decidedly less upbeat feedback. 

Rick VandenHurk got the start as the Fish opened up their series with the Mets at Citi Field, and he looked pretty good to start, allowing just one hit to the Mets through the first three innings. 

New York got on the board in the fourth when Daniel Murphy and Jeff Francoeur singled with one out, and a sac fly by Josh Thole scored a run. Hurk struck out Anderson Hernandez to end the inning, but not before he grabbed at his side in apparent pain. Vandy winced walking off the mound toward the dugout, and his night was over due to a stiff back after a neat 4 innings in which he struck out three and allowed just one run on four hits and one walk. 
The Marlins tagged starter Tim Redding for four runs on a couple of long balls in his five innings of work for the Mets. With Coghlan on base in the third, Hanley Ramirez jacked his 101st career home run to give the Fish a 2-0 lead, and Cameron Maybin followed with a 2-run shot in the top of the fourth that landed right in the apple in center field. 
It was Hopper who came in to relieve Hurk in the fifth inning. Hop gave up a run when Luis Castillo singled to score Angel Pagan, who had tripled to open the inning. 
The Fish had a chance to add on in the top of the sixth when Gaby Sanchez singled with Dan Uggla on second. Uggla was held at third, but attempted to score when the throw to the plate sailed past Thole. Uggla was thrown out at the plate, and that was as close to scoring as the Marlins would get for the remainder of the game. 
The Fish managed just two hits and two walks off of the Mets bullpen, and couldn’t add to their four runs. 
In the meantime, the Marlins bullpen worked on redeeming themselves for Sunday’s heartbreaker. Brian Sanches pitched a scoreless sixth, but got into trouble in the seventh when he loaded the bases with one out. He struck out David Wright for the second out of the inning before Carlos Beltran flied out to the warning track (which induced about 40,000 Fish fan heart attacks, but got the Marlins out of the inning unscathed). 
Lindstrom was up next, and handled the Mets 1-2-3 in the eighth, before Leo Nunez marched in to save it in the ninth. Miraculously, saving the game is exactly what he did. 
It was Brian Sanches who got the win, and the Fish got off to a good start against the Mets, taking game one of the series at Citi Field. 
We won’t call it redemption for Sunday, but at least it’s a start. 

Honeymoon: Over.

graham taylor.jpgRemember that super exciting 11-1 start the Marlins had? Yeah, me too. Since then, the Fish have won a total of four games. And lost 13. It’s not as though I expected the team to continue at that pace all season, but I also didn’t expect to be sitting just a game above .500 on the 8th of May.

After winning game one of their irritatingly short homestand, the Marlins dropped three in a row. A couple thoughts on that:

  • When one’s team scores six runs and one’s bullpen does not allow a run, one can usually expect at least a fair shot at winning a ballgame. That is, unless Graham Taylor happens to be starting for your team, in which case your chances of losing said ballgame are still sitting at around 89%.
  • In all fairness to Taylor, it’s not his fault the Marlins decided to start him before he’s ready. But maybe the next time he’s called up (hopefully not til 2012 or so), he could ask the organization to take a new headshot. When he has just given up eight runs in a little over two innings, this expression is the last thing I want to look at.
  • Marlins starters have now gone 20 straight games without a win, and there to rub it in our faces Wednesday was Derek Lowe. Our starters can’t even manage to squeeze a win out of a 3-hit shutout these days, and Lowe “earned” the W despite giving up six runs in his worst start of the year.
  • Not only did the Marlins lose the game Thursday, they also lost starter Anibal Sanchez to a shoulder injury. A rotation that is two-fifths Miller and Taylor is the stuff of nightmares. Let’s hope it just stays in my head and out of reality. (EDIT: Crisis averted. Juan Rodriguez reports Chris Coghlan will take Sanchy’s spot on the roster.)  
  • It’s great fun watching Hanley and Jorge attempt to singlehandedly win ballgames with their bats each night, but to quote Cantu, “it takes nine people to win a game.”
  • Dan Uggla: .190
  • Cameron Maybin: .202

Colorado, here we come.

| back to blog home |
Theme: MLB “modern” | Get a free blog at WordPress.com
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.