Final
Marlins-Diamondbacks Preview
Jul 12, 2009 - 6:29 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS WriterFlorida (45-44) at Arizona (38-50), 4:10 p.m. EDT
Most players are happy to get a couple of days off when they reach the All-Star break. With the way the Arizona Diamondbacks are hitting lately, they probably just want to keep playing.
The Diamondbacks will have to settle for trying to earn their eighth victory in nine games in Sunday's finale of a four-game home series with the Florida Marlins.
After batting .242 through its first 80 games, Arizona (38-50) has hit .294 in its last eight, and bounced back from its monumental collapse the series opener to outscore the Marlins 13-1 in the past two games, including Saturday's 5-1 victory.
"I expected us to dust ourselves off and play well," said Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch, whose team blew a seven-run lead and allowed 10 in one inning Thursday en route to a 14-7 loss Thursday. "I did expect us to stand up and make a fight against these guys on our home turf, in front of our home fans, to end the first half."
Hinch's club has recorded at least 10 hits in each game of the series, and All-Star outfielder Justin Upton matched a career high with four on Saturday.
After struggling through a 1-for-30 slump to begin this month, Upton is 7 for 13 (.538) in three games against the Marlins (45-44). Miguel Montero and Gerardo Parra extended their hitting streaks to eight games and drove in two runs apiece Saturday.
Doug Davis (4-8, 3.13 ERA) will look to benefit again from his team's resurgence as he searches for consecutive wins for the first time this season and his first victory over Florida in nearly two years.
Thanks in part to the improved run support, the left-hander picked up his first win since June 5 on Tuesday as he allowed two runs over 6 1-3 innings in a 4-3 triumph over visiting San Diego.
"He's been kind of keeping his mouth shut because he's been throwing the ball great, and nothing has really been coming out of it," reliever Chad Qualls told Arizona's official Web site.
Davis has gotten six runs of support in his previous five outings and is trying to avoid a third straight loss to the Marlins, who shelled him for six runs over 4 1-3 innings in an 8-6 road defeat May 20.
While trying to avoid falling back to .500, Florida will turn to All-Star Josh Johnson (7-2, 2.82), who will try to set the single-season franchise record by allowing three runs or fewer in his 16th consecutive start.
The Marlins, however, have also not supported the right-hander well lately. They've averaged 2.7 runs in his last four outings after giving him 5.2 runs in his first 14 starts, and that's one reason why he hasn't won since June 20.
He allowed three runs over seven innings of a 3-0 loss Tuesday in San Francisco
"It was probably the best I felt in a month or so," Johnson said. "I just made a couple of bad pitches. But it's definitely something I can build on for the next start."
Johnson won his only career start in Arizona on Aug. 11, 2006, but suffered the loss in a 5-3 home defeat to the Diamondbacks on May 19, allowing three runs over 6 1-3 innings.
- NL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
FLORIDA 3 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 8 11 0
ARIZONA 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 9 1 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: FLA - JOSH JOHNSON, BRIAN SANCHES (7TH), DAN MEYER (8TH), LEO NUNEZ
(9TH) AND RONNY PAULINO
ARI - DOUG DAVIS, LEO ROSALES (5TH), JUAN GUTIERREZ
(6TH), ESMERLING VA
Jul 12 7:06 PM - NL
AT ARIZONA - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY HANLEY RAMIREZ SCORED EMILIO BONIFACIO.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, H RAMIREZ ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 8
ARIZONA 1 TOP, 8TH
DUE UP FOR FLORIDA: J CANTU (.288, 2-FOR-4, RBI)
Marlins 8, Diamondbacks 1 Top 8, 0 OutsJul 12 6:45 PM - NL
AT ARIZONA - SCORING UPDATE
ERROR BY MARK REYNOLDS ALLOWED BRETT CARROLL TO SCORE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, E BONIFACIO ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 7
ARIZONA 1 TOP, 8TH
DUE UP FOR FLORIDA: J HERMIDA (.256, 2-FOR-4, HR, 2 RBI)
Marlins 7, Diamondbacks 1 Top 8, 0 OutsJul 12 6:43 PM - NL
AT ARIZONA - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY STEPHEN DREW SCORED AUGIE OJEDA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, S DREW ON FIRST, F LOPEZ ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 6
ARIZONA 1 BOTTOM, 7TH
DUE UP FOR ARIZONA: J UPTON (.302, 1-FOR-3)
Marlins 6, Diamondbacks 1 Bot 7, 0 OutsJul 12 6:32 PM - NL
AT ARIZONA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY CODY ROSS SCORED HANLEY RAMIREZ.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C ROSS ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 6
ARIZONA 0 TOP, 7TH
DUE UP FOR FLORIDA: R PAULINO (.244, 0-FOR-3)
Marlins 6, Diamondbacks 0 Top 7, 0 OutsJul 12 6:18 PM - NL
AT ARIZONA - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY JEREMY HERMIDA (10) TO RIGHT WITH 1 OUT
IN THE 4TH OFF DOUG DAVIS SCORED EMILIO BONIFACIO.
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 5, ARIZONA 0
DUE UP FOR FLORIDA: H RAMIREZ (.346, 1-FOR-2)
Marlins 5, Diamondbacks 0 Top 4, 0 OutsJul 12 5:22 PM - NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
FLORIDA 3 3 3 0
ARIZONA 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: FLA - JOSH JOHNSON
ARI - DOUG DAVIS
DUE UP FOR ARIZONA: F LOPEZ (.299, 6 HR, 25 RBI)
S DREW (.256, 6 HR, 34 RBI)
J UPTON (.301, 16 HR, 51 RBI)
Marlins 3, Diamondbacks 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsJul 12 4:26 PM
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