NewsMarlins enduring tough stretch
Bonifacio commits costly error in loss to D-backs
By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
05/20/09 12:20 AM ET
MIAMI -- Josh Johnson's shoulder is fine, but the fortunes of the Marlins right now aren't.At stake on Tuesday night was the health of Johnson's throwing arm, but the 6-foot-7 right-hander showed his shoulder is strong. His fastball reached 97 mph, and he worked deep into the game. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, the state of the Marlins is more troubling.
The D-backs capitalized on Emilio Bonifacio's error and pushed across five runs in the seventh inning on their way to a 5-3 victory in front of 10,131 at Land Shark Stadium.
The Marlins, who led by two runs entering the seventh inning, have dropped two straight and seven of their last eight. Since opening the season at 11-1, they are 7-20, and the club is guarding against getting too down.
"We have to come in tomorrow and keep working hard and keep pushing, and things will start to fall our way," said Johnson, who was effective over 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs -- two earned -- on four hits with six strikeouts. "Hopefully things will start to turn towards us."
Johnson (3-1) held the D-backs scoreless until the seventh, but he ended up suffering his first loss since Sept. 7, 2008, at St. Louis.
"J.J. pitched a great game," shortstop Hanley Ramirez said. "In like two seconds, it disappeared. We've got to stay focused the whole game."
Right now, Ramirez is locked in. He belted his seventh homer of the season and finished 2-for-4. In May, the All-Star shortstop is batting .419 (26-for-62), but his production hasn't translated to victories.
"When you lose, nothing feels good," said Ramirez in a somber locker room. "You see in the clubhouse right now, it's kind of dead. We just want everybody to be happy. We have a couple of guys hitting in a couple of games. I think we just have to play together and do whatever we can do to stay together."
It was a baffling game for the offense, which pounded out 12 hits but managed just three runs. Jorge Cantu went 3-for-4, and Cody Ross added three hits, including a double.
In all, eight runners were left on base, and Florida was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
A missed opportunity came in the eighth inning. While facing reliever Tony Pena, Ramirez and Cantu led off with singles. A fly ball to left field by John Baker advanced Ramirez to third, but Pena escaped by striking out Dan Uggla before Jeremy Hermida lifted a pop fly to second.
"We're going through a real tough spell right now," said Wes Helms, a veteran leader. "J.J. pitched great tonight, and they just put together a few big hits. We're struggling with the bats. Basically, we just can't get down on ourselves. We can't stop battling. We can't get it into our minds when we go up to the plate and runners are on that, 'Hey, we've been struggling, and I hope I get a hit.'
"I think as a team we might be doing that right now. It's tough to get it rolling when we've got a lot of guys struggling right now. We've got to pull together as a team, and hopefully we put together some big innings."
The game changed in the seventh, when Mark Reynolds belted a homer off Johnson to open the inning.
A critical play followed, as Eric Byrnes tapped a grounder to third and Bonifacio made a wild throw to first. Chris Snyder singled, and Augie Ojeda's sacrifice bunt advanced both runners into scoring position. Johnson was relieved by Renyel Pinto, whose first pitch plunked pinch-hitter Miguel Montero.
Felipe Lopez had an RBI single, and two runs scored on Gerardo Parra's single. Kiko Calero replaced Pinto, and he induced a sacrifice fly out of Justin Upton.
Two of the five runs were unearned.
"We just couldn't get it stopped," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "But that stuff happens. Those guys are Major League players over there, and it happens. You hate -- the way J.J. was pitching -- for them to put up a big number, and they did. We didn't put those big numbers up over the course of the game."
Tuesday was a pivotal night for Johnson, who was pitching for the first time since experiencing some shoulder fatigue on May 9 in a four-inning stint at Milwaukee.
"I felt really good. I had no problems," Johnson said. "I didn't feel tired."
Arizona right-hander Jon Garland, who gave up two runs -- one earned -- in six innings, collected his first career win over the Marlins.
"We're just going through a stretch here, and it's not a good stretch at all, because we know we're better than this," Helms said. "The biggest thing is we can't get down on ourselves. We've got to come to the park every day and go out there with a lot of energy."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
