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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MIAMI (AP) – Overdue for a break, the Florida Marlins caught a
bunch of them Saturday night against the Atlanta Braves.
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| Dempster |
Ryan Dempster pitched around five walks in six shutout innings,
Mike Lowell's popup fell safely to score two runs, and the
struggling Marlins earned their first win, 8-0.
"Somebody was looking after us today," manager John Boles
said.
With an 0-4 start, matching the worst in franchise history, the
Marlins were the last winless team in the major leagues. But their
fortunes changed in the first inning when Lowell's two-out popup
deflected off Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones' glove for a
two-run single.
Dempster (1-0) allowed four hits and 10 baserunners but stranded
nine and was helped by a bases-loaded double play.
"That's the most bizarre shutout I've ever seen," Boles said
with a laugh. "I'm not demeaning the performance, but it wasn't a
good one. He was all over the place."
Dempster threw 108 pitches, 59 for strikes, and struggled with
command of his fastball.
"If I keep pitching like that, my arm will fall off," Dempster
said. "Anything I can do to give Bolesy a few more gray hairs."
The first week of the season has been tough on the Marlins
manager, who has high hopes for his young team. Kansas City's win
Saturday afternoon left Florida as the only club without a victory
for several hours.
"This is a big relief," Boles said. "This has been extremely
stressful. Now the pressure is off and we can just go out and play,
and we don't have to look at any goose eggs."
Charles Johnson snapped a slump with his first three RBI of the
season. He came into the game 3-for-18 with eight strikeouts, but
hit a two-run double off the top of the scoreboard in the third
inning against John Burkett (0-1) and doubled home a run in the
sixth.
The Marlins, who began the game batting .161 (5-for-31) with
runners in scoring position, broke through in the first.
With two on and two out, Lowell popped up to shallow right
field. Three Braves converged, and Jones dropped the ball trying to
make a running catch as right fielder Brian Jordan slid under him.
"I just don't know what happened," Jones said.
"If he had made that catch, it would have been on every
highlight film for the next decade," Boles said.
Preston Wilson had three hits, including an RBI double, and
scored twice. Cliff Floyd singled twice, scored three runs and
drove in one. Alex Gonzalez doubled home Florida's other run.
It was a long night from the start for the Braves, who wasted a
leadoff double in the first inning by Rafael Furcal. They loaded
the bases with one out in the third, but Jones hit into a 1-2-3
double play. Dave Martinez bounced out with the bases loaded to end
the fifth.
"We had our chances," manager Bobby Cox said. "We couldn't do
anything."
The Braves had several hard-hit balls caught and totaled just
six hits, and they weren't much better in the field. First baseman
Wes Helms stumbled over the mound and fell face first catching a
popup.
Burkett gave up seven hits and five runs in four innings.
"I just didn't throw the ball well at all, just plain and
simple," Burkett said. "I wasn't throwing the ball where I wanted
to all night. I made adjustments but I was never able to quite find
it."
Game notes
Johnson's wife, Rhonda, sang the national anthem. ...
Braves pitchers have yet to hit a batter, throw a wild pitch or
commit a balk. ... Eric Owens went 1-for-2 against Burkett,
dropping his lifetime average against the right-hander to .600
(9-for-15). ... Dempster was 0-3 with a 5.49 ERA against Atlanta
last year. ... Andruw Jones went 0-for-4, dropping his lifetime
average against Florida to .215. ... Atlanta's Quilvio Veras is off
to a 1-for-22 start (.045).
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RECAPS
Baltimore 4
Cleveland 2
Toronto 3
NY Yankees 2
Detroit 5
Chi. White Sox 3
Kansas City 5
Minnesota 3
Oakland 4
Anaheim 2
Boston 6
Tampa Bay 2
Seattle 6
Texas 5
Chicago Cubs 8
Philadelphia 4
Milwaukee 6
Cincinnati 1
Montreal 10
NY Mets 0
Pittsburgh 5
Houston 3
San Diego 14
Colorado 10
St. Louis 8
Arizona 4
Florida 8
Atlanta 0
Los Angeles 10
San Francisco 4
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