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Olsen, Willingham lead Marlins past Braves

Apr 16, 2008 - 3:17 AM By Christopher Stock PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Scott Olsen pitched seven scoreless innings and Josh Willingham had an RBI triple as the Florida Marlins posted a 4-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

Olsen (2-0) allowed just five hits and struck out three without a walk. The lefthander threw 62 of 84 pitches for strikes, a stark contrast to his previous start, when he threw 120 pitches on April 9 against Washington.

The 24-year-old entered with a 1-4 record and 8.54 ERA in seven career starts against Atlanta. But Olsen overcame his struggles in this one.

"I don't know if he is doing anything mechanically different, but his tempo is good," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He gets the ball back and he is ready to go."

Olsen was removed for a pinch hitter in the seventh after Alfredo Amezaga led off with a single but believed it was the right move.

"I didn't even try to lobby to stay in," Olsen said. "It was only 2-0 at that point, and we don't want a pitcher hitting in the seventh, so it wasn't a concern."

Renyel Pinto pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Kevin Gregg worked a perfect ninth.

Florida opened the scoring in the fourth as Willingham drew a walk from Atlanta starter Jair Jurrjens (1-2) and stole second base before scoring on a double to left-center field by Mike Jacobs for a 1-0 lead.

"The Hammer (Willingham), he will sneak you a couple (stolen bases) here and there," Gonzalez said. "The one time, Jacobs came up with a big double with two outs to get us up 1-0."

The Marlins doubled their lead in the sixth, when Dan Uggla led off with a double and scored on Willingham's one-out triple to center field.

"(Jurrjens) threw me a first-pitch slider that was down and over the plate. I stayed back and put a good swing on it," Willingham said. "At first, I thought it was right at (center fielder) Mark Kotsay, but it barely got over his head, so thank goodness."

Wes Helms and Hanley Ramirez each drew bases-loaded walks from Will Ohman in the eighth inning, giving the Marlins a four-run lead.

Jurrjens (1-2) allowed two runs and three hits in six innings. The righthander struck out five and walked three.

Atlanta's best chance to get on the scoreboard came in the sixth. Kelly Johnson led off with a bloop single to center and Yunel Escobar followed with a base hit.

But Chipper Jones and Mark Teixeira both flied out and Jeff Francoeur grounded out to first base, ending the threat.

"We came out flat," Francoeur said. "We couldn't get anything started. We definitely hit some balls hard and they weren't falling for us when we needed them to."