NewsMiller, bats struggle, drop finale to Phils
Starter gives up four early runs; offense can't cash in
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
07/19/09 6:00 PM ET
MIAMI -- A good feeling must have overcome the Marlins when they looked at the unofficial second half of the season and saw they were just four games out in the National League East and hosting four games against the first-place team beginning Thursday.But now, the only feeling going into a six-game road trip on Monday is that of the division slipping away.
After the Phillies took the first two games of the series, and an early 2-0 Marlins lead was wiped out by rain on Saturday, the defending World Series champions flexed their muscle early on Sunday and never looked back, handing the Marlins and struggling starter Andrew Miller a 5-0 loss in front of 15,033 at Land Shark Stadium.
After being just two games out of first place in the NL East on July 9, Florida dropped to seven games back of Philadelphia, its largest deficit since June 12. The Marlins (46-47) have dropped eight straight home games to the Phils and nine of their past 11 overall to drop to below .500 for the first time since June 28.
Not a very good feeling as the club prepares for its West Coast swing.
"Disappointing," is how Brett Carroll described being nine games back in the loss column after Sunday's game.
"Every game is important from here on out," he said. "Whether we're playing the Phillies or we're playing the Padres, we can't think about what they're doing. We have to focus on us and play the way we're capable of playing, and see where we're at in September."
Miller simply didn't have it Sunday. And it was evident from the get-go.
Miller's first pitch of the game hit Jimmy Rollins in the hand, though it was called a foul ball; his second pickoff attempt sailed wide of first base, allowing Shane Victorino to get to second; Miller had two outs and the bases empty while facing opposing pitcher J.A. Happ in the second, but he gave up three runs before he recorded the final out; and he let Rollins get to within a homer of the cycle by the time he exited with two outs in the third.
Miller gave up four runs on six hits while walking four, striking out none and throwing just 29 of his 65 pitches for strikes. It was the second successive start Miller lasted only 2 2/3 innings, as he gave up six runs (two earned) to the D-backs on July 9.
"I just can't do that," Miller said. "That's too much for the bullpen and too much for the team to put us down early. Just a real bad outing. Not in the zone, walked a bunch of guys, and when I did get in the zone, it was usually when I was already behind in the count. Just all-around, pretty poor."
After getting out of an adventurous 24-pitch first inning unscathed, Miller was roughed up in the second. Happ hit a two-out single -- his second in 29 career at-bats -- Rollins and Victorino followed with hits to load the bases, and Chase Utley was hit by a pitch to score the game's first run. Then, Miami product Raul Ibanez, who was 4-for-7 with two home runs and three RBIs in the first two games of this series, doubled to make it a 3-0 game.
| "I just can't do that. That's too much for the bullpen and too much for the team to put us down early. Just a real bad outing. Not in the zone, walked a bunch of guys, and when I did get in the zone, it was usually when I was already behind in the count. Just all-around, pretty poor." |
| -- Andrew Miller |
"It starts so innocently," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said about the second. "Two outs, pitcher up, and here we go. I don't know if it was just lack of concentration; I really don't know. But those are the innings you're looking for as a pitcher. You have a [24-pitch] first inning, and you can get out of it and catch up on your pitch count a little bit in the second inning, and it just didn't happen."
The baseball world is still a little new on Happ, the Phils' rookie left-hander who's done nothing but impress this season, out of the bullpen and in the rotation.
But it's starting to take notice.
On Sunday, Happ hurled seven shutout innings, giving up five hits and a walk while striking out four to lower his ERA to 2.68 in 94 innings this season. It was his seventh straight victory of the season, which ties an NL record for consecutive wins without a loss.
"He has great arm speed and his ball has a little velocity," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "The ball gets up on the hitters. Although he's throwing 89 or 90 [mph], the ball sneaks up on them. [Hall of Famer] Jim Palmer was like that. He threw downhill, and Happ throws downhill all the time."
Despite Happ's effectiveness, the Marlins had an excellent chance to cut into the deficit when they loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth. But the 26-year-old southpaw got Ronny Paulino to fly out, then struck out Carroll and Wes Helms to end the threat.
For the game, Florida left 12 men on base and went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
"That's just spoiled opportunities," Helms said. "That's the little things. A fall here, or a base hit here, it changes the whole outlook of the game. We didn't do well today with runners in scoring position, and us as hitters, that's one of our pet peeves."
Added Gonzalez: "You feel like you had your chances, and we just didn't get the big knock when we had to."
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
