| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
MIAMI (AP) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks needed Matt Williams to
break out of his slump, maybe even as much as they needed a win.
Williams had two hits, including his seventh home run of the
season, and pinch-hitter Matt Mieske delivered a sacrifice fly in
the ninth inning Friday night to give the Diamondbacks a 2-1 win
over the Florida Marlins.
Williams snapped out of a 3-for-40 skid with a single in the
second and a solo homer in seventh.
"I've been struggling all year. It's been a tough year
physically and mentally," Williams said. "Hopefully it's a sign
of things to come."
With the win, the Diamondbacks gained ground on the New York
Mets in the wild-card race. Arizona is 4½ games behind the Mets,
who lost to Philadelphia 2-0.
"This time of year, it's tough to get wins," said Mieske,
whose RBI gave the Diamondbacks their fifth victory in 16 games.
Steve Finley got it started with a leadoff double in the ninth
against Ricky Bones (2-3). Bones hit the next two batters, Williams
and Danny Bautista, to load the bases.
With one out, Mieske hit a fly ball to score Finley.
Byung-Hyun Kim (5-5) got the final out of the eighth and the
win. Matt Mantei pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 14
opportunities.
"It was a tough game to lose," Marlins manager John Boles
said. "There were a lot of ifs, but the fact of the matter is the
old scoreboard read `1.' A game like this hurts, it hurts."
The Marlins, who lost their fourth straight game, tied it at 1
in the eighth inning when Cliff Floyd singled home pinch-runner
Andy Fox from second base. Dave Berg drew a walk from Brian
Anderson to lead off the inning.
Fox, running for Berg, moved to second on Luis Castillo's
sacrifice. Anderson struck out Alex Gonzalez, but was pulled in
favor of Dan Plesac, whose first pitch was lined into right field
by Floyd.
Anderson retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced before
allowing singles to Derek Lee and Mark Smith to start the fifth.
But the lanky left-hander worked out of the jam.
He got Ramon Castro, Brad Penny and Castillo to ground out to
end the threat and the inning. The Marlins also stranded a runner
in scoring position in the seventh after Mike Lowell led off with a
single and moved to second on Williams' throwing error.
"We hit some balls hard with runners in scoring position, but
they just didn't get through," Smith said. "Sometimes we have
games where we score runs and then we have games like this. It's
hard to figure out."
Penny, making his first start since July 13, gave up seven hits
and the lone run in a career-high 7 2-3 innings. His only costly
mistake was a hanging curve ball thrown to Williams in the seventh.
"Brad didn't make too many mistakes, but the one he did make
Matt made him pay for," Arizona manager Buck Showalter said.
Penny, acquired from Arizona last season, missed six weeks with
a right shoulder strain.
"Brad pitched great. That was the best I've seen him pitch with
his command," Boles said. "He really looked polished and composed
tonight. We just came out on the short end."
Game notes
Showalter and Boles returned to their clubs after missing
games. Showalter missed Thursday's game at Atlanta to spend time
with his mother in Century, Fla. Boles missed two games while
visiting his 82-year-old father, who was hospitalized in Chicago.
... Florida's Alex Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 13
games, including seven straight since coming off the disabled list
on Sept. 1. ... Arizona's Luis Gonzalez has hit safely in nine of
his last 10 games.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Arizona Clubhouse
Florida Clubhouse
Roundup: Marlins sign manager Boles to one-year extension
RECAPS
NY Yankees 4
Boston 0
Chi. White Sox 5
Cleveland 4
Toronto 3
Detroit 0
Texas 6
Kansas City 5
Anaheim 2
Baltimore 1
Tampa Bay 4
Oakland 0
Minnesota 4
Seattle 2
Houston 13
Chicago Cubs 10
Cincinnati 0
Pittsburgh 0
Pittsburgh 3
Cincinnati 1
(2nd game)
Arizona 2
Florida 1
Philadelphia 2
NY Mets 0
Atlanta 3
Montreal 2
Milwaukee 6
St. Louis 5
Colorado 8
Los Angeles 5
San Diego 10
San Francisco 7
|