Dodgers 3 - 6 Marlins
Final
  for this game

Beckett tries to stay hot versus former team

May 2, 2014 - 3:02 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Josh Beckett will face his former Miami club for just the second time in his career on Friday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers visit the Marlins for the opener of a three-game set.

The 33-year-old Beckett was made the second overall pick of the 1999 draft by the Florida Marlins and debuted with the club in 2001. He spent five seasons in total with the Marlins, making 106 appearances and going 41-34 with a 3.46 earned run average.

The obvious highlight of his tenure with the Marlins came in 2003, when was named the World Series MVP of the club's second championship in franchise history.

Beckett's tenure with the Marlins came to an end on Nov. 24, 2005 when he was traded along with Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota in a deal that landed the club both Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez.

The righty was traded to Los Angeles on Aug. 25, 2012 but not before facing the Marlins on June 11 of that year while a member of the Red Sox. He took a loss, giving up four runs over seven innings.

Beckett does not have a decision this season, but has pitched to a 2.45 ERA and is coming off his best outing of the season. After failing to go longer than five innings in any of his first three starts, he hurled eight frames of two-run ball of a no-decision versus Colorado on Friday.

"Josh (Beckett) was good again," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "We are happy the way he's progressing."

The Dodgers have won four of their last five games and swept a doubleheader with the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. After Yasiel Puig and Juan Uribe both had four hits and drove in two runs in a 9-4 win of the opener, Scott Van Slyke and Drew Butera both homered in the 12th inning of a 4-3 triumph in the nightcap.

"It feels nice to hit a home run any time," said Butera

The two solo shots were big as closer Kenley Jansen allowed a run in the bottom of the frame before stranding two men in scoring position.

The Marlins come in rolling, having completed a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves on Thursday to get to .500 on the season at 14-14.

Giancarlo Stanton and Casey McGehee both hit RBI singles in the seventh inning as Miami moved to 12-4 at home on the year.

Steve Cishek struck out Ramiro Pena after the Braves loaded the bases in the eighth inning and threw a perfect ninth to earn a four-out save, his sixth of the season, while Garrett Jones added to the offense with a solo homer.

"It's huge for us," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "It's fun to watch (the players) talk and communicate and figure out how to win a ballgame. We got some big hits, some good defense and good pitching."

Tom Koehler gets the start tonight for the Marlins and is coming off a 4-0 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday. The righty yielded a season-high four runs on five hits and four walks over five innings.

Koehler dipped to 2-2 on the year with a 2.97 ERA and lost his only other career start versus the Dodgers, yielding two runs over five innings on May 12 of last year.






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