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Reds
top Marlins in third game of the season
Cincy takes two
of three from Fish
yahoo sports
CINCINNATI— A star third baseman most of his career, 37-year-old Scott
Rolen made a big impact in a rare pinch-hitting appearance.
The 37-year-old drove in the winning run in the ninth inning with a
sharp infield single that third baseman Hanley Ramirez failed to
handle, lifting theCincinnati Reds to a come-from-behind 6-5 win over
the Miami Marlins.
Pinch-hitting is often thought of as a niche for marginal players who
can adapt to the demands of the role. Rolen, a seven-time All-Star and
eight-time Gold Glove winner, looked just fine in it.
“It’s certainly not easy,” said Rolen, now 8-for-18 as a pinch-hitter
in his career. “Everybody says you come in cold, but believe me, your
blood pressure’s through the roof. You’re not really cold. Your
circulation’s going crazy.”
Manager Dusty Baker figured that Rolen, in his 17th big league season,
would be prepared to grab a bat.
“You don’t really have to tell him ahead of time,” Baker said. “He
knows to get ready. That was a big game.”
Jay Bruce started the comeback with his second home run of the game and
third of the season, an opposite-field drive into the left-center field
seats that cost Marlins new closer Heath Bell (0-1) a save in his first
opportunity. One out later, Drew Stubbs chopped a single that hit
Ramirez’s glove. Stubbs moved to third on Ryan Hanigan’s single to
right.
Ramirez’s tried to handle Rolen’s grounder with a forehand grab on his
backhand side. He just knocked it down and had to watch as Stubbs
crossed the plate with the run that gave the Reds two wins in the
three-game series.
Bruce’s homer cost former San Diego closer Heath Bell (0-1) a save in
his first opportunity since signing with Miami as a free agent.
“My job is to save games, and I didn’t do it,” Bell said. “I need to
earn the respect from these guys. I need to be more accountable. I
didn’t make a pitch when I needed to make a pitch.”
Left-hander Aroldis Chapman (1-0) pitched two shutout innings of relief.
The Marlins got at least one hit in every inning against Cincinnati
starterBronson Arroyo and every starter—including Carlos Zambrano—had a
hit.
Zambrano retired 13 of 14 batters in one stretch, including 12 straight
before Bruce homered with two outs in the sixth inning to give
Cincinnati a 4-2 lead. He lasted six innings, allowing four hits and
four runs with two walks and six strikeouts.
The Reds led 3-0 and 4-2 before the Marlins scored three runs to take a
5-4 lead in the seventh, which opened with Arroyo hitting Greg Dobbs
with a pitch.Brett Hayes then hit a hard shot into the left field
corner, but had to stop at first as Dobbs hobbled into second, where
Gaby Sanchez ran for him.
Pinch-hitter Chris Coghlan lined a double to the right-center field
wall to drive in Sanchez and push Hayes to third. Jose Reyes came up
with an RBI groundout to tie the score and Emilio Bonifacio singled to
right through a drawn-in Reds infield to give Miami the lead.
“It was tough luck,” first year Miami manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We
did everything we needed to do to win the game. If we play like that
with fire and enthusiasm, we are going to win a lot of games.”
Arroyo gave up 10 hits and five runs—four earned—with no walks and four
strikeouts in 6 1-3 innings.
NOTES: Phillips grounded a single up the middle for his second hit of
the game and 1,000th of his career with the Reds. He is the 28th player
in club history to reach 1,000 hits. … Cairo started at third base in
place of Rolen, who was 1 for 7 in Cincinnati’s first two games. Rolen
didn’t play after July 20 last season because hleft shoulder problems
that required surgery, is expected to sit for several day games after
night games.
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