Sanchez brilliant as Marlins take series

07/19/2006
MIAMI -- If his last two starts are any indication, Anibal Sanchez promises to be a big hit in the big leagues.
The twist is, the Marlins rookie right-hander isn't allowing the opposition too many hits.
Sanchez gave up one hit in seven-plus scoreless innings on Wednesday afternoon. His masterful performance, coupled with Cody Ross' second-inning home run, lifted Florida to a 1-0 victory over the Nationals.
A crowd of 25,546, filled mostly with camp kids, witnessed Sanchez (3-0) extend his scoreless innings streak to 18 1/3 innings, stemming back to the first inning of a July 6 start at Washington.
Taylor Tankersley and Joe Borowski combined on the two-hit shutout, which gave the Marlins the series victory, 2-1.
Considering the Marlins dropped a 7-6 decision on Tuesday night, watching a four-run lead in the sixth inning disappear, taking the series was a relief.
"We let one go last night," said Ross, who was a late addition to the starting lineup. "This is just a great win to come off a bad one last night."
Informed two hours before the first pitch by bench coach Gary Tuck that he was starting in left in place of Josh Willingham, Ross felt about the sixth inning that Sanchez was on his way to a special outing.
"The way Anibal threw the ball, I had a feeling, 'Man, this [1-0 lead] might hold up,'" said Ross, who went deep off Ramon Ortiz (6-9).
In the ninth, the Nationals threatened off Borowski. Nick Johnson walked with one out and went to third on Alex Escobar's single to right. But Borowski struck out Marlon Anderson and got Austin Kearns on a fly to deep center to nail down his 19th save.
"The last thing you want after having a starter throw like that is to go out and blow it," Borowski said.
To open the ninth, Borowski got Ryan Zimmerman to line to center, snapping the third baseman's hitting streak at 17 games.
Sanchez threw a career-high 106 pitches. He was coming off seven scoreless innings in the Marlins' 3-1 win over the Astros on July 14, when he allowed two hits and got the win over Roger Clemens.
A 22-year-old from Maracay, Venezuela, Sanchez lowered his ERA to 3.41. But take away a seven-run outing in 4 1/3 innings of relief against Boston, Sanchez is 3-0 with a no-decision and a 1.46 ERA.
He was recalled from Double-A on June 25 to pitch the second game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. That day, he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a combined shutout of New York.
The fact he is still with the Marlins is a personal surprise. He thought he was only up because of the twin bill in New York. But with Brian Moehler on the disabled list, Sanchez has secured a rotation spot.
"When I came to pitch in Yankee Stadium, I just thought it was for one game," Sanchez said. "I didn't think I would be staying here. I am feeling more comfortable right now."
Dating back to his July 6 outing at Washington, the rookie right-hander has allowed three hits in a 15-inning span.
The lone hit Sanchez allowed was a leadoff single to Kearns to open the third inning.
"He should be confident with the way he's thrown," Marlins manager Joe Girardi said. "I want all our pitchers to have confidence because I think they're able to relax and make their pitches better. The one thing that comes with that confidence, is he has to work hard. And he's working hard. I appreciate the way he's going about his business."
The Marlins have logged three shutouts this season, with Sanchez involved in two of them. Wednesday marked the 18th time in franchise history that the club has enjoyed a 1-0 win. The last time it happened was June 26, 2005, at Tropicana Field against the Rays, and it's the 12th time they've won by that score at home.
The combined two-hitter was the second by the Marlins this season. In a 5-1 win over the Mets on May 26, they also gave up a pair of hits.
Acquired from the Red Sox last November as part of the Josh Beckett-Mike Lowell trade, Sanchez was in line to have a chance to make the club out of Spring Training. But shoulder tendinitis foiled any chances, and he was sent to Double-A without pitching in a Spring Training game for Florida.
"When I saw him in the Future's Game, I thought this kid might have a chance to make our team," Girardi said, referring to the 2005 Futures Game. "Then his shoulder came up sore, and I thought the organization made a good decision putting him in Double-A. He pitched really well there until he got the call."

Source: http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/

Notes: Moehler nears return

07/20/2006
MIAMI -- Tossing a simulated game on Thursday afternoon was step one in getting Brian Moehler off the disabled list and activated before the end of the month.
The plan is for Moehler, on the DL with a sore right big toe, to next pitch in a Gulf Coast League game on Monday. With a doubleheader slated for July 30 at Philadelphia, manager Joe Girardi said the right-hander is targeted to start one of those games.
In the simulated game, Moehler threw 40 pitches, facing batters for the first time since he was lifted in the first inning against the Red Sox on July 1.
The injury is troublesome because it is to the foot that he uses to push off the rubber.
Moehler has yet to test his foot running, which he hopes to do on Saturday.
"I felt pretty good," Moehler said of facing batters. "I felt better than the last time I was on the mound."
Moehler is 5-7 with a 6.84 ERA in 15 starts. He's logged 77 2/3 innings.
Girardi says it is too early to determine how Moehler will be used when he comes back.
"We'll evaluate at that time," Girardi said. "We'll see how he goes. We have to keep him healthy."
Since Moehler went on the DL July 2, Anibal Sanchez has stepped into the rotation, and the rookie is 3-0.
Moehler is aware he is in a numbers situation.
"We have five guys going great," Moehler said. "Whatever they want to do with me is fine."
Moehler has pitched out of the bullpen in the past, and if that is where he is needed, he will accept that role.
Moehler also may find himself a candidate to be traded. The non-waiver deadline is July 31, the day after his planned start.
While Moehler is getting closer to returning, Sergio Mitre remains a ways away from getting back in action. On the 60-day DL with a shoulder strain, Mitre threw a bullpen session on Wednesday, and he is tossing off the mound every two or three days.
"It's taking a while," Mitre said.
A more likely return date for Mitre is mid-August, at the earliest.
Sanchez sensational: If not for a bout with shoulder tendinitis, Sanchez may have been on the Opening Day roster instead of starting off at Double-A Carolina.
Girardi said Sanchez would have received strong consideration to make the rotation heading into the season.
As circumstances had it, Sanchez made the most of his tenure pitching at Carolina. Although his record was 3-6 in 15 starts, his ERA was a respectable 3.15. More than the numbers, the 22-year-old from Venezuela was able to log innings. He compiled 85 2/3, allowing 82 hits.
Since being called up on June 25 to pitch the second game of the doubleheader at New York against the Yankees, Sanchez has solidified a rotation spot.
"When I pitched in Yankee Stadium, they told me I was just coming for just that game," said Sanchez, who tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in that game. "I didn't know if I would be here."
Sanchez has made four appearances, and three starts, in the big leagues. As a starter, he is 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA, including a string of 18 1/3 scoreless innings. More impressive is the fact that he's given up just three hits over his last 15 innings.
Looking back, Sanchez said pitching in Double-A was a big benefit.
"I had tendinitis in Spring Training, and I think going to Double-A helped me, because I was able to throw a lot of innings," Sanchez said. "When I came here, I didn't have to make adjustments. I think that helped me so much."
Sanchez's success stems from spotting his fastball, which reaches 93 mph. He mixes in a slider and curveball, and he threw one changeup (which recorded an out) in Wednesday's win against Washington.
His fastball has a lot of movement, and some scouts say it sometimes resembles a cutter because it spins away from right-handed hitters. Conversely, it drifts in on lefty batters.
Sanchez says he doesn't intentionally throw a cutter, it just moves that way sometimes.
Ross rebounds: Cody Ross had been in an 0-for-19 slide before connecting on a second-inning home run on Wednesday, which proved to be the lone run in Florida's 1-0 victory.
Getting that blast and adding a single in a 2-for-3 game was a nice bounce-back performance for Ross. Used primarily as a fourth outfielder and late-inning defensive replacement, Ross had been seeing regular action before being slowed by a groin injury.
"I was playing there every day for a while," he said. "I was playing well, and then I got hurt. My swing didn't feel the same when I got back. I went through an 0-fer spell. It's nice to get away from that and get a win."
Deal for campers: The roughly 15,000 campers who were at Wednesday's 1-0 win over Washington are being offered a deal to attend a home game later this season.
By showing their ticket stubs for that game, campers can get a free ticket to a game later this season with the purchase of two adult tickets. Those transactions must take place the day of the future game.

Source: http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/

Marlins players visit veterans

07/20/2006
MIAMI -- A few Marlins players took a break from their work on the baseball diamond Thursday morning to see some special fans.
Mike Jacobs, Logan Kensing and Chris Resop paid a visit to patients at the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Thursday. The Marlins trio saw patients in the spinal cord and nursing unit of the hospital for one hour as a part of Major League Baseball's Salute America campaign.
The Miami VA Medical Center has many programs designed to aid older veterans with illnesses and provides inpatient and outpatient services to members of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Coast Guard.
While the patients seemed thrilled to get autographed T-shirts and cards from the players, they seemed happiest to just have the chance to forget about their ailments for a few minutes and chat with the players.
"It was a good time," Resop said. I can't imagine being laid up in there, so it was fun to give them a break from that."
The players themselves seemed to get as much of a thrill out of the experience as the patients did, laughing and chatting with as they discussed the lunches they were eating or the programs they were watching on the TV.
"It's just nice to see them smile and be able to brighten up their day," Resop said.

Source: http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/

Marlins fall late to Pirates in opener

07/20/2006
MIAMI -- When the rains came, so did the Marlins' miseries.
Under a steady drizzle that began in the eighth inning, the Marlins' bullpen hit a wet patch.
The Pirates, behind an eighth-inning homer by Nate McLouth and RBI hits from pinch-hitter Jeromy Burnitz and Jack Wilson in the ninth inning, upended the Marlins, 5-3, on Thursday night in front of 9,139 at Dolphin Stadium.
The Marlins watched a 3-2 lead slip away in the eighth when McLouth homered off Logan Kensing to open the inning. For the rookie Kensing, it was the second time in three days that he was taken deep in the eighth inning. In a loss on Tuesday to the Nationals, Robert Fick homered in the same inning.
A difference Thursday was the elements. Several times in the inning, Kensing tried to clean the mud out of his spikes. He fell behing behind in the count, 2-1, and McLouth responded with his fifth home run.
At one point in the eighth, crew chief Dale Scott, the second-base umpire, held play up a few seconds to get a weather update from the grounds crew.
Marlins manager Joe Girardi downplayed the soggy conditions. They didn't bother the Pirates' relievers as much, although closer Mike Gonzalez struggled with his footing in the ninth, as the Marlins threatened with a two-out single from Miguel Olivo followed by a walk to Wes Helms. But Alfredo Amezaga struck out on a high fastball to end the game, giving Gonzalez his 16th save.
"I wanted to hit that ball so hard," said Amezaga, acknowledging that he overswung.
"Everyone had to play in it," Girardi said. "Obviously, it's not the conditions that any ballplayer wants to play in, but everyone had to play in it."
The Pirates seized the lead with two runs in the ninth off Randy Messenger (1-6), who walked two and gave up a run-scoring single to Burnitz. Wilson provided an insurance run with an RBI double.
Pitching in the rain for the first time this season, Messenger said the elements were a factor.
"When it's wet, you don't want to throw the ball too hard, because I was a little tentative [about plunking] one of the hitters," the right-hander said. "At least I was. That's something you don't want to do. So you almost overcorrect yourself.
"If I don't have a feel for the ball, I'm not going to try to cut it loose and end up hurting somebody for no reason."
Not feeling comfortable with the grip of the ball, Messenger didn't have his normal velocity, and he walked Jose Bautista to open the ninth. A sacrifice bunt and wild pitch moved Bautista to third. After Ronny Paulino walked, Burnitz singled to right on a back-door slider intended to induce a ground ball.
"I got him to roll it over, and it went through the hole," Messenger said.
Wilson then did a good piece of hitting by slapping a pitch away into right field for an RBI double.
Messenger called letting the conditions get to him a "mental lapse."
"It happens sometimes," he said. "The next time, forget about it and just pitch. Obviously, by me doing that tonight, it hurt me.
"It's all in your mind, really. I can go out there and pitch in the rain any time. Tonight was one of those times I had that in the back of my head."
Despite the struggles of Kensing and Messenger, Girardi points out both have done a solid job for the most part.
"Mess has done a pretty good job, and so has Kensing," Girardi said. "They're learning how to pitch late in games. Everyone is looking for late-inning bullpen help. If it was an easy job, anybody could do it. They're having more good outings than bad outings. To me, that's a positive. There's going to be days like today, too."
Impressive again, Marlins starter Josh Johnson limited the Pirates to a two-run home run by Jason Bay in seven innings. The young right-hander gave up four hits, struck out six and walked two. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning, leaving with the lead and in line for a win.
Now with 97 2/3 innings pitched this season, Johnson has enough innings to qualify for the ERA lead. After Thursday's showing, the rookie has a 2.49 ERA.
"Everything felt really good," Johnson said. "If anything got away, it was only for a hitter or two. It was a good step in the right direction."
Johnson empathized with the relievers throwing in the rain.
"I hate pitching in the rain, too," he said. "It's not fun, it's not easy, either. But it's kind of how it is down here -- it rains a lot. So you've got to get used to it, I guess."
The Marlins scored in the first on Hanley Ramirez's RBI double. Mike Jacobs homered in the fourth and Dan Uggla's triple scored Miguel Cabrera, who doubled, in the sixth inning.

Source: http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/