NewsHanley, Bonifacio thrill in Marlins' win
Speed, power on display on Opening Day vs. Nationals
By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
04/06/09 9:15 PM ET
MIAMI -- So much for sacrificing power for speed. At least for one day, the Marlins showcased plenty of both in an impressive 12-6 rout of the Nationals on a picturesque Monday afternoon at Dolphin Stadium.You can't draw it up a much more ideal Opening Day than this. An energized crowd of 34,323 at Dolphin Stadium was introduced to a revamped roster that didn't disappoint in either entertaining or producing.
Showing there is plenty of pop in the lineup, Florida delivered four home runs. Hanley Ramirez belted his first career grand slam and ended the day with five RBIs. Jorge Cantu and Jeremy Hermida each went deep, but the player who stole the show was speedy Emilio Bonifacio.
The 12 runs on 12 hits provided plenty of cushion for Ricky Nolasco to collect the win on a day the offense took over. In six innings, Nolasco gave up five runs (four earned) with six strikeouts.
Making his Marlins debut, Bonifacio had a dream beginning -- four hits, four runs scored, two RBIs, three stolen bases and an inside-the-park home run. It was his first homer in the Majors, and if you blinked, you missed it. Bonifacio, clocked at 3.86 seconds from home to first base, blistered around the bases, prompting the crowd to cheer on a curtain call.
"We think the kid can play," team president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said after Florida improved to 9-8 on Opening Day. "Again, it's one game, and I don't want to blow it out of proportion. He had a great game. What a great start. We can see what he can do on the bases and energize this team in a lot of ways. We think he's a good player. He's still developing."
The raw speed of Bonifacio was jaw-dropping to the rest of the Marlins. Twice the crowd cheered for curtain calls, after Bonifacio's dash and Ramirez's grand slam.
Dan Uggla and Cody Ross had to prompt Bonifacio to acknowledge the crowd.
"I don't think he knew what they were doing," Ross said. "I think he thought they were cheering for [John] Baker coming up. It was awesome to see him do that.
"That fits him. Inside-the-park home run for his first home run. He could continue home runs by hitting inside-the-park [homers] for our team."
Ramirez, who has stolen 51 bases twice in his career, is amazed by Bonifacio's ability to run.
"He's the fastest guy I've ever seen in my life," Ramirez said.
Asked if Bonifacio is the fastest player in the league, Ramirez said, "Yeah, he is. I was fast. I'm getting old now. He's the fastest one. I give [him] the trophy."
Big power numbers aren't really projected from this team, and that's by design. After belting a club-record 208 home runs last year, the front office made a commitment to trade some power in hopes of reducing strikeouts along with bringing in more speed.
Bonifacio's inside-the-park home run off Julian Tavarez in the fourth inning came on his 195th big league at-bat, and his third as a Marlin.
The 23-year-old is the 14th Marlin to hit an inside-the-park homer, and the 11th to do it at Dolphin Stadium. To find the last time an inside-the-park home runs happened on Opening Day, you have to go back 41 years. Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox did it on April 10, 1968, at Tiger Stadium.
Ramirez, meanwhile, is expected to produce power. After leading off primarily for three seasons, the 25-year-old moved to the No. 3 spot. In the past, he struggled with runners in scoring position, batting .239 in that category last year.
The All-Star shortstop is the third Marlin to belt a grand slam on Opening Day. It was last done by Juan Encarnacion in 2005 against Atlanta's John Smoltz in the first inning. Preston Wilson did it in 2002, at Montreal.
The last time a big league club had an inside-the-park homer and a grand slam in the same game, ironically, involved these teams. On May 12, 2007, with Florida at Washington, Austin Kearns had an inside-the-park homer and Ryan Zimmerman hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning off Jorge Julio.
In the third inning of Monday's opener, Ramirez added an RBI double off Nationals starter John Lannan.
Now in a power spot of hitting third, Ramirez will be counted on to drive in runs.
"I was trying to do too much," Ramirez said of his past struggles while hitting with runners in scoring position. "I've been learning in batting practice every day."
In his first three seasons with the Marlins, Ramirez accomplished an awful lot at the plate. The All-Star matched his franchise record with 125 runs scored last year, in a season where he paced the Major Leagues in that category. What he hadn't done, until Monday, was connect on a grand slam.
That changed in the sixth inning. After John Baker walked, Steven Shell relieved Wil Ledezma. On a 1-1 pitch, Ramirez crushed a curveball into the seats above the American League sign of the high scoreboard.
The last grand slam he hit was in the Minor Leagues.
"That helps our confidence," Ramirez said. "It's just the first game. We have 161 to go. We just have got to stay in focused and stay together."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
