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Olsen outduels Carmona as Marlins top Indians

Jun 13, 2007 - 3:38 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- The heartbreak continues for the Cleveland Indians at Dolphin Stadium.

Scott Olsen pitched seven brilliant innings and the Florida Marlins rode some late-inning heroics to once again defeat their 1997 World Series opponents, 3-0, in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday.

Miguel Olivo provided the latest drama, breaking up a scoreless matchup between Olsen and Indians phenom Fausto Carmona (7-2) with a bases-clearing double with one out in the seventh inning.

"He was going sinker, sinker with me all night, and I caught up with one," Olivo said. "I just kept running. I knew it was in a tough area (in the corner) out there, and I thought I might have a shot at taking third (base)."

The win continued a streak of good fortune for Florida, which swept a three-game series at home in the last meeting between these clubs in 2002.

"When we don't hit or we're off I feel it's more about us than who we're facing (on the mound)," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "We've been very susceptible to what they're trying to do to us and we're playing into their game a little bit."

This rekindling of the Florida-Cleveland rivalry was billed as a tale of two starting pitchers headed in opposite directions this season.

Carmona entered Tuesday's game with seven straight wins, while Olsen had dropped four of his last five decisions.

"We were fortunate to get to him (Carmona). That's probably one of the best starts I've seen against us," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "The guy's stuff was unbelievably nasty. Our guys were coming back to the dugout shaking their heads."

Olsen (5-5), who entered with a 5.27 ERA, faced his only difficulty in the third inning, when David Dellucci singled to right, was sacrificed to second and reached third on the first of two errors by shortstop Hanley Ramirez. But Olsen got Casey Blake to hit into an inning-ending double play, after he extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a first-inning single.

"When you go up against a guy like (Carmona), you definitely have more intensity out there," Olsen said. "You know that one pitch could make the difference (in the outcome) so you are really focused on every batter."

Olsen left after seven innings, yielding just three hits with six strikeouts against no walks.

"That's the (Scott) Olsen we saw last year. He pitched like a 10- or a 15-year veteran tonight," Gonzalez said. "His composure was excellent and hopefully he can carry all the good things over to his next start."

Armando Benitez struck out two during a perfect eighth and Kevin Gregg tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save.

Carmona yielded first- and second-inning singles, stranding a runner at second in the first, and retired 10 straight until Ramirez singled to lead off the seventh. Miguel Cabrera followed with a single to right and Josh Willingham was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.

"I felt strong. I was not tired," Carmona said through an interpretor. "The only pitch I misplayed was a pitch to (Miguel) Cabrera that was up and away and he punched it into right field. Other than that I threw the ball well.

After Jeremy Hermida flied to short left, Olivo chopped a ball over third baseman Blake into the left field corner, providing Florida with all three runs.

That was all the Marlins needed, and with center fielder Alfredo Amezaga making four over-his-head catches as part of his six putouts, Cleveland found its opportunities few and far between.

"He's the difference; makes it look easy," Olsen said of Amegaza's play, including two dazzling snags, one while crashing into the wall, in the ninth inning. "His athleticism was invaluable to us tonight."

Carmona yielded five hits and struck out six without a walk in seven innings.

"(Olsen) is a good young pitcher but certainly shouldn't have shut us out," Blake said, who extended his career-high hitting streak to 21 games with a first-inning single. "I think a lot of guys in here would like another shot at him. I just don't think collectively out approach was very good.