Mike Ferguson

On this date in 1999, Floyd carried the Fish to a rare road victory over a loaded Atlanta team. Being one-hit through nine innings on the road against baseball’s best team is rarely a recipe for success. On this day 25 years ago, however, the Florida Marlins made it work in an extra-innings win over the Atlanta Braves. Cliff Floyd had both hits for the Marlins in the next-to-last game of the season at Turner Field on Oct. 2, 1999. The last one of the two left the yard as Florida handed the Braves their final loss of the regular season with a 1-0 victory. Through nine innings, Floyd’s first-inning single accounted for Florida’s only hit and gave the Marlins their only baserunner. The Braves however, had yet to score as the contest went to extra innings tied, 0-0. After Álex González struck out swinging to lead off the top of the 10th, Floyd came to the plate and saw just one pitch from Atlanta reliever Derrin Ebert. Floyd was able to hammer the pitch from the lefty into the right-field stands for the game’s only run. In the bottom of the 10th, Marlins closer Antonio Alfonseca induced a double play ball before getting Gerald Williams to fly out with the tying run at second base to end the game. Alfonseca picked up his 21st and final save of the year. Braden Looper worked a scoreless ninth to earn the win for Florida. Atlanta would finish 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position, squandering an outstanding start from Bruce Chen. Chen allowed just the Floyd single in six innings while striking out six. Kevin McGlinchy and Sean Bergman combined to work three perfect innings of relief. For the Marlins, starter Ryan Dempster worked eight shutout innings, yielding just five hits and one walk while striking out seven. The victory would serve as the final win of the 1999 season for the Marlins as the Braves took the rubber game the next day with an 18-0 victory to finish the regular season a league-best record of 103-59. Atlanta would go on to be swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Marlins finished with the worst record in the National League at 64-98. Florida pitched just five shutouts during the 1999 season, but two of those came against Atlanta. Thanks to two hits from Floyd and an outstanding collective pitching effort, the final of those two came on this day a quarter-century ago. View full article

On this day 15 years ago, Ricky Nolasco set the Marlins single-game record for strikeouts Ricky Nolasco spent eight seasons with the Florida/Miami Marlins from 2006 to 2013 and still holds a number of club career records, including for wins, losses and strikeouts. For the final aforementioned category, Nolasco also holds the single-game record and it came on this day 15 years ago. The Florida Marlins would play the rubber game of a three-game set against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 30, 2009 in what would be the 159th game of the year for the Marlins. When all was said and done, Nolasco had struck out a Marlins record 16 batters in a 5-4 victory at Turner Field. Nolasco lasted 7 ⅔ innings in the contest and struck out the side in the third, fourth and fifth innings, making it nine straight Braves set down by way of strikeout. When the night was over, Nolasco had allowed just four hits and two walks to go with two unearned runs. The Marlins got the scoring started with three runs in the third inning, courtesy of RBI singles from Jorge Cantú and Dan Uggla. Florida extended its lead to 5-0 with a two-run homer off the bat of Ross Gload in the fifth inning. The Braves pushed a pair of unearned runs across against Nolasco in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run single by Adam LaRoche. After the Marlins left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Atlanta would make things interesting in the bottom of the inning. Against the Florida closer formerly known as Leo Nuñez, the Braves made it a one-run game with RBI singles from Yunel Escobar and Omar Infante. After Nuñez walked the bases loaded, the Marlins turned to Brendan Donnelly to close things out. Facing Martín Prado with the bases juiced, Donnelly needed just one pitch to end the game and it wasn’t one that Prado put in play. Following a ball in the dirt from Donnelly, Marlins catcher Ronny Paulino was able to get to it quickly and pick off Matt Diaz, who had wandered too far off third, to end the contest. Nolasco’s 16 strikeouts beat the previous club record of 14, which had been done twice by A.J. Burnett. It was also the most for a big-league pitcher in over two years and the most by a pitcher against the Braves since the team moved to Atlanta. The nine consecutive strikeouts was one shy of major league record, set by Tom Seaver in 1970. The outstanding performance would cap a 13-9 season for Nolasco in which he finished with 195 strikeouts in 185 innings. Fifteen years later, it remains a club record. View full article

The Florida Marlins won the final game at Olympic Stadium 20 years ago today. Throughout their 32-year history, the Florida/Miami Marlins have had plenty of memorable moments against a number of teams. On this day 20 years ago, the Marlins did something that no team has done since: win a Major League Baseball game in Montreal. After easily taking the first two games, the Marlins went for the three-game sweep of the host Montreal Expos on Sept. 29, 2004 in what would be the final game played at Olympic Stadium. The Marlins closed the building with a 9-1 rout. Fittingly, the starting pitcher that night for the Marlins was Carl Pavano, who was acquired from Montreal in 2002. Pavano would work seven innings, yielding just a run on seven hits. Offensively, the Marlins put up four-spots in both the second and fifth innings. The lone home run of the game was a solo shot off the bat of Miguel Cabrera against Montreal starter Sun-Woo Kim in the third inning. In the second inning, the Marlins scored their first two runs on a pair of ground balls before Juan Pierre’s two-run double made it 4-0. In the fifth inning, Jeff Conine, Luis Castillo and Álex González all recorded RBI hits. The final game in Montreal saw the Marlins pound out 15 hits with three each coming from Mike Lowell and Conine. Thanks to a pair of errors, three of Florida’s nine runs were unearned. The final run in Montreal for the home team came in the fourth inning as Juan Rivera singled home Tony Batista before being thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. Rivera finished with three of the seven hits for Montreal. The last player to throw a pitch at Olympic Stadium was Florida reliever Rudy Seanez, who got Terrmel Sledge to pop out to end the game. Seanez and David Weathers both worked perfect innings of relief for the Marlins. The Expos would finish 67-95 in their final season before becoming the Washington Nationals. The final game home game took place on this day 15 years ago. View full article

On this day 15 years ago, Brett Carroll's pinch-hit walk-off single capped the comeback and a winning season for the Florida Marlins. Only twice in franchise history have the Florida/Miami Marlins put together back-to-back winning seasons. The first occurrence came in 2003 and 2004. After finishing 84-77 in 2008, the Florida Marlins clinched a second straight winning season on this day 15 years ago. After trailing by three runs late, Brett Carroll's pinch-hit walk-off single capped a two-run ninth as Florida rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-6. Home runs by Raúl Ibañez and Ryan Howard highlighted consecutive two-run innings for the Phillies as Philadelphia led 6-3 at the seventh-inning stretch on Sept. 23, 2009. The Marlins were able to score runs in each of the final three innings. After Gaby Sánchez homered off Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 6-4, Cody Ross singled home a run off Ryan Madson in the eighth—following a 45-minute rain delay—to trim the deficit to one. Up 6-5, the Phillies turned to closer Brad Lidge in the ninth, but a pair of Florida pinch hitters proved to be pesky. Ross Gload opened the inning with a pinch-hit double. Gload reached third on a flyout to right by Chris Coghlan. Following a strikeout of John Baker on a 3-2 pitch that appeared to be outside and sparked a lengthy conversation from manager Fredi González, Lidge was one strike away from ending the contest, but his 3-2 pitch to Hanley Ramírez missed and kept the Marlins' hopes alive. Two pitches later, Jorge Cantú lined a game-tying single to center field, which allowed Ramírez to head to third. With the score now 6-6, Lidge was able to get ahead of the pinch-hitting Carroll, 0-2. His third pitch, however, was a breaking ball that Carroll was able to stay back on. The reserve outfielder was able to roll it into center field to end the contest. The pinch-hits by Gload and Carroll in the ninth gave Florida 13 knocks for the evening. Cantú finished 4-for-5 with a pair of RBIs. Coghlan and Ross each added two hits, which included a game-tying solo homer from Ross in the fifth. Howard finished with two hits and five RBIs for the Phillies in the loss. The Marlins would finish the year with 87 wins, their most since winning the 2003 World Series and most since. Florida clinched a second straight winning campaign with a dramatic walk-off win on this day 15 years ago. View full article

On this day 10 years ago, the Miami Marlins erased a three-run deficit with a four-run ninth. By the middle parts of September 2014, the Miami Marlins' playoff fate had been pretty much sealed. That didn't deter the team from continuing to fight. On this day 10 years ago, the Marlins used a little late-inning magic to rally past the Philadelphia Phillies. The Fightin' Fish scored four runs in the ninth to stun the Fightin' Phils, 5-4. An Enrique Hernández home run had accounted for all of the Miami offense through eight innings on Sept. 14, 2014. As the Marlins came to bat in the top of the ninth at Citizens Bank Park, they were on the short end of a 4-1 score. Against former All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon, Miami wasted little time loading the bases. On the first pitch of the inning, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled to center field. Hernández proceeded to walk before an infield single from Adeiny Hechavarría loaded the bags and brought the go-ahead run to the plate. After an RBI groundout from Jordany Valdespin plated a run and put two runners in scoring position, Christian Yelich came through with the second infield single of the inning to cut the lead to 4-3. Justin Bour followed with a game-tying single to center, which moved Yelich to third. Needing just a flyball to put Miami ahead, Casey McGehee was called out on strikes with runners on the corners. The next pitch from Papelbon, however, went to the backstop, allowing Yelich to score and the Marlins to take their first lead, 5-4. Papelbon got Marcell Ozuna to ground out to end the inning, but walked back toward the dugout to a chorus of boos. A lewd gesture to the Philadelphia faithful ultimately led to his ejection. Down 5-4, the Phillies made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Freddy Galvis walked before Cody Asche singled to put two runners on with no outs. Miami closer Steve Cishek settled in to strike out the side, including Chase Utley looking to end the game. With the thrilling comeback, the Marlins avoided the three-game sweep in Philadelphia. In what we be a competitive season series, the Phillies ended up going 10-9 against Miami in 2014. The final Marlins win in the City of Brotherly Love came on this day a decade ago. View full article

As the home team in Chicago, the Florida Marlins' bats came to life in the eighth inning 20 years ago. Although the ballparks have had several different names, the Florida/Miami Marlins have only had two stadiums that they've called home—at least on a permanent basis. On this day 20 years ago, the Florida Marlins found themselves batting as the home team at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago against the Montreal Expos. The Marlins trailed for most of the day before coming up with six runs in the eighth inning for a 6-3 victory. It was the threat of Hurricane Ivan that forced Florida to move two home games to Chicago. As they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth on Sept. 13, 2004 in front of just 4,000 fans, the Marlins were on the short end of a 2-0 score. As they had so often, Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo got the rally started with back-to-back singles off Joe Horgan. With Gary Majewski on the mound, the Expos followed with back-to-back errors in the field as Florida cut the lead to 2-1. After Mike Lowell popped out for the first out, Jeff Conine followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly. Majewski was on the cusp of minimizing the damage, but the third out of the inning proved to be elusive for the Expos right-hander. Juan Encarnación was plunked with a 2-1 pitch to load the bases. Two pitches later, Álex González flared a two-run single to right field to give the Marlins their first lead of the day, 4-2. Lenny Harris followed with a pinch-hit RBI single, which turned into two runs following an error in center field by Montreal's Endy Chávez, the Expos' third miscue of the inning. Down 6-2, Tony Batista led off the ninth with a solo home run to cap the scoring. Florida's Armando Benítez retired the next three batters to end the contest. Matt Perisho worked a 1-2-3 eighth to earn the win. Pierre (3) and Castillo (2) combined for five of the Marlins' 11 hits. Chávez had two of the five hits and a run scored for Montreal in the loss. The Marlins would beat the Expos again the next day with the help of another six-run inning to complete the mini two-game sweep. Over the years, the Marlins have also played games as the home team in Puerto Rico, Seattle and Milwaukee. They became the first reigning World Series champion to play a home game in Chicago since 1918 as they batted as the home team away from South Florida for the first time on this day two decades ago. View full article

Casey McGehee and Marcell Ozuna came up with back-to-back blasts to lift the Marlins past Milwaukee a decade ago. During his prime, Francisco Rodríguez was one of the premier closers in baseball. On this day 10 years ago, however, the Miami Marlins got to the six-time All-Star with back-to-back home runs to break a ninth inning tie and propel the Fish to a 6-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Marlins never trailed at Miller Park on Sept. 9, 2014, but as the contest went to the ninth tied 3-3, Milwaukee turned to its All-Star closer. During an All-Star campaign in which Rodríguez led baseball with 66 games finished, the man known as "K-Rod" had a bit of a rough end to August. The Marlins made sure those struggles continued into September. The night started well for Rodríguez, who retired Christian Yelich and Donovan Solano on just six total pitches to start the top of the ninth. A two-out walk to Giancarlo Stanton, however, opened the door for Casey McGehee to be the hero against his former team. One pitch after Stanton stole second to move into scoring position, McGehee unloaded on a backdoor slider, smashing it over the wall in left-center field for the go-ahead two-run home run to give Miami a 5-3 lead. The Marlins, though, weren't done. After working the count full, Marcell Ozuna provided an insurance run with a blast of his own by tomahawking a fastball over the wall in left field to extend the lead to 6-3. Milwaukee was able to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the inning, but Steve Cishek collected the save by getting Khris Davis and Jason Rogers to fly out to end the contest. Ozuna finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs in the win. Yelich, Solano and McGehee each added two hits. Aramis Ramírez finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Milwaukee. Although Rodríguez was named an All-Star for the fifth time in 2014, he did give up a career-high 14 home runs that season. The last two came from Marlins on back-to-back blasts in the ninth inning. They happened on this day a decade ago. View full article

On this day 25 years ago, the Marlins tied the game in the ninth and 12th before walking off the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 13th inning. For the 1999 Florida Marlins, highlights were few and far between. One of the those few was a home sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in early September. On this day 25 years ago, the Marlins twice had their backs against the wall. After drawing even in the ninth and 12th innings, Mark Kotsay delivered the walk-off single in the 13th to top the Dodgers, 5-4. After Dave Hansen's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth gave Los Angeles a 3-2 lead, the Marlins came to the plate in the bottom of the inning, needing a run to stay alive at Pro Player Stadium on Sept. 8, 1999. Dodgers closer Jeff Shaw got Florida's Danny Bautista to fly out to begin the inning, but Todd Dunwoody followed with a single and advanced to second on a misplay in left field by Todd Hollandsworth. One pitch later, Álex González singled up the middle to score Dunwoody and tie things up again. Florida's Jesús Sánchez and Brian Edmonson traded zeroes with Los Angeles' Mike Maddux over the next two innings, but the Dodgers regained the lead in the top of the 12th. After José Vizcaíno put Los Angeles back in front 4-3, Preston Wilson led off the bottom of the inning with a solo blast off Alan Mills on a 3-2 pitch, the seventh of the at-bat. The Marlins loaded the bases with one out, but Onan Masaoka was able to fan Dunwoody and González to end the inning. Rafael Medina faced the minimum in the 13th by getting former Marlins World Series hero Devon White to roll into a double play. That set the stage for Florida to walk it off in the bottom of the inning. Dave Berg opened the frame by drawing a walk. After Chris Clapinski's bunt single and a throwing error put runners on the corners with nobody out, Masaoka was forced to walk Wilson to load the bases with nobody out. Masaoka was able to strike out Kevin Orie and get ahead of Kotsay, but getting the Florida right fielder out proved too tall of a task. On a 1-2 pitch, Kotsay belted one to the warning track, well over the heads of a drawn-in infield and outfield. The hit served as a single and ended a four-plus-hour contest that began with a rain delay. Prior to the ninth, all of the offense came in the first two innings. After Kotsay singled home the first run in the first, Paul Lo Duca singled in two for Los Angeles in the top of the second. Cliff Floyd drew the Marlins even with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. Kotsay and Wilson each finished with three hits for the Marlins in the win. Hollandsworth and Adrián Beltré each had three hits and two runs scored for the Dodgers. The victory gave the Marlins their final series sweep and last extra-innings win of the year. Kotsay ended it in the 13th on this day a quarter-century ago. View full article

Five years ago, a hitter faced his brother, the pitcher, for the first time in Major League Baseball history. On this day five years ago, two non-contending teams squared off in a late-season rubber game to cap a three-game series. The Miami Marlins rallied from an early four-run deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-7. Although not much was on the line, the contest featured a Major League Baseball first. Miami reliever Brian Moran made his big-league debut in the bottom of the fourth at PNC Park on Sept. 5, 2019. After retiring Bryan Reynolds on his first career pitch, Moran looked home to see a familiar face: his younger brother, Colin Moran. It marked the first time in big-league history that two brothers squared off in an at-bat. It was a six-pitch at-bat, but the older Moran ultimately won the battle by striking out his young brother looking for his first career punch-out. After hitting Josh Bell, Brian Moran capped a scoreless inning and his night by getting Melky Cabrera to fly out. In addition to winning the matchup with his younger brother, Brian Moran would go on to get his first career win. Perhaps sparked by the older Moran's effort in the fourth, the Marlins scored four runs in the top of the fifth to turn a 5-2 deficit into a 6-5 lead. After a two-run single by Isan Díaz tied the game, an error by Colin Moran allowed Miami to go ahead for good. Down 5-1 before Harold Ramírez's home run to lead off the second inning, the Marlins scored nine straight runs. After taking the lead in the fifth, Miami tacked on with two runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth. Reynolds got the scoring started for Pittsburgh with a two-run home run during a five-inning first. He and Bell would add solo blasts in the ninth to cap the scoring and end the Marlins' string of nine unanswered runs. As a team, the Marlins finished with 16 hits as Magneuris Sierra led the way with three. Jon Berti, Starlin Castro, Neil Walker, Jorge Alfaro and Díaz each finished with two. Walker drove in a team-high three runs while Berti scored four times. As for Brian Moran, he would pick up just two wins—both with the Marlins—in 18 career games. He made history by striking out his younger brother on this day five years ago. View full article

On this day five years ago, a homer by Miguel Rojas tied it in the ninth before a Garrett Cooper blast won it in the 10th. For the 2019 Miami Marlins, the calendar turning to September—the final full month of the regular season—was a welcomed sight. On this day five years ago, however, the Marlins got their first win of the month in thrilling fashion. Down to their last out, Miguel Rojas tied things up with a solo home run. Garrett Cooper's solo blast in the 10th turned out to be the game-winner as Miami rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4. Trailing 4-3, things looked bleak for Miami as Rojas came to the plate with two outs against Pittsburgh's Felipe Vazquez in the top of the ninth at PNC Park on Sept. 3, 2019. Jason Martin scored on a wild pitch in the previous half-inning to give Pittsburgh the lead. Vazquez began the ninth by retiring Martín Prado and Jon Berti. To that point in the season, Rojas had just four homers. On a 2-1 fastball, the Miami shortstop was able to crush it over the wall in straightaway center for the game-tying blast. In the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates came close to walking it off. Following back-to-back two-out walks by reliever Tyler Kinley, Adam Frazier rolled Adam Conley's first pitch of the night to shortstop. Frazier reached on an infield single, but rather than stopping at third, Pablo Reyes was easily thrown out by Cooper at the plate to preserve the tie. Following the heads-up play in the field, Cooper delivered at the plate in the top of the 10th. On a 1-0 hanger from Pittsburgh's Parker Markel, Cooper belted a no-doubter past the seats in left-center field to give the Marlins the lead for good. José Ureña worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th to pick up his second career save and first of the season. Conley was credited with the win. Cooper finished 2-for-5 at the plate with a pair of RBIs in the win. Frazier had a monster night for the Pirates, going 3-for-4 with a lead-off home run and three RBIs. The thrilling win over Pittsburgh would serve as the final extra-inning win of the season for the Marlins and one of seven that year. It came on this day five years ago. View full article

On this date in 2009, the longtime Marlins role player was the big hero. Used mostly as a pinch-hitter or utility player throughout his career, Wes Helms was a good guy to have in the clubhouse and on the bench. After making his Major League Baseball debut for the Atlanta Braves, Helms enjoyed stints with the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and two with the Florida Marlins. Helms was a player always willing to do whatever was asked of him. On this day 15 years ago, the Marlins needed Helms to come up with a big hit and he did just that. After dropping the first two games of a four-game set, Florida had let a big lead evaporate against the Atlanta Braves at Land Shark Stadium on Sept. 2, 2009. The Marlins had scored five runs in the sixth inning and took a 7-3 lead into the seventh, but Atlanta pushed three runs across in the seventh via a Chipper Jones bases-clearing double. Yunel Escobar tied the game with a solo home run off the Marlins closer once known as Leo Nuñez in the ninth. The contest headed to the bottom of the ninth 7-7. After Atlanta reliever Mike Gonzalez got Jorge Cantú to pop out to lead off the inning, Helms was called upon to pinch-hit. He ran the count full before blasting the sixth pitch from Gonzalez into the left field stands for a walk-off solo home run as the Marlins prevailed 8-7. The blast would serve as the second walk-off home run of Helms’ career and the first with Florida. Dan Uggla had a two-run home run to tie the game for the Marlins in the third. Brett Carroll, who also entered as a pinch-hitter, had a three-run double during Florida’s five-run sixth inning. Helms would hit just three more home runs over the remainder of his career, but the 2009 blast served as the only walk-off during his tenure with the Marlins. It came on this day 15 years ago. View full article

On this day five years ago, Harold Ramírez hit his second walk-off extra-innings homer in less than a month. A native of Colombia, Harold Ramírez has put together a solid big-league career. Nearly a .290 career hitter, Ramírez has never supplied much power, but showed the knack for the dramatic home run in August 2019. Ramírez has just two career walk-off home runs to his name, but both came in the same month, both in extra innings, and both as a member of the Miami Marlins. The second of those two came on this day five years ago as Ramírez's 12th-inning blast propelled the Marlins past the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3. The Marlins hadn't scored since the sixth inning as Ramírez came to the plate to lead off the bottom of the 12th at Marlins Park on Aug. 29, 2019. Facing Cincinnati's Raisel Iglesias, Ramírez saw just three pitches before sending the South Florida crowd home happy. On a 1-1 fastball left up, Ramírez was able to turn on it and lift a towering shot to left field and into the Cincinnati bullpen for his second walk-off blast of the month. The Miami outfielder opened August with a walk-off shot against the Minnesota Twins' Cody Stashak—also in the 12th inning. Although it took 12 innings to end the contest, both teams found offense early. After Aristides Aquino got the Reds on the board with a two-run home run in the top of the first, Jon Berti cut the lead in half with a lead-off shot in the bottom of the inning. Solo home runs from Austin Dean in the fifth and Starlin Castro in the sixth gave Miami a 3-2 lead, but Aquino tied the game with an RBI single in the eighth. Aquino finished with three of the sixth hits for Cincinnati. Ramírez, Castro, and Jorge Alfaro each finished with two hits for Miami. Tyler Kinley retired all six batters he faced to earn the win for the Marlins. The win would serve as Miami's lone victory over the Reds in seven meetings during the 2019 season. The victory marked the first time in franchise history that four or more solo home runs had accounted for all the team's offense. It was Ramírez's blast that ultimately ended the contest on this day five years ago. View full article

For the second year in a row, Juan Encarnación killed the Colorado Rockies with a game-winning home run. Outfielder Juan Encarnación hit just one career walk-off home run and that came for the Florida Marlins in Dontrelle Willis' debut in 2003 against the Colorado Rockies. Although that served as his only walk-off blast, it wasn't the only game-winning homer of his career. It also wasn't the only one against Colorado. On this day 20 years ago, Encarnación gave the Rockies horrific flashbacks. His two-run home run in the eighth turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead for Florida in a 4-3 victory over Colorado. Encarnación had plated the Marlins only two runs on a first-inning single as they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth at Pro Player Stadium on Aug. 28, 2004. Trailing 3-2, Jeff Conine started the frame with a solid single on the first pitch of the at-bat from Steve Reed. Encarnación was initially sent out to bunt, but with two strikes, was given the go-ahead to swing away. Failing to get the bunt down turned out to be a blessing in disguise. On a 2-2 pitch from Reed, Encarnación pulled one over the left-field wall for the go-ahead blast. Closer Armando Benítez needed just seven pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth and collect the save. Despite leaving with a 3-2 deficit, Carl Pavano picked up the win for Florida, allowing three runs on seven hits in eighth innings. A three-run home run from Clint Barmes in the third accounted for all the Colorado offense. Miguel Cabrera finished with three of the nine hits for the Marlins. Juan Pierre and Encarnación each added two knocks. The Marlins would go on to sweep the three-game series with Colorado the following day, which began a franchise-record-tying nine-game winning streak. A member of the Marlins' 2003 championship team, Encarnación began the 2004 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers before being re-acquired by Florida before the trade deadline. His first home run in his return to the Marlins turned out to be a game-winner to cap a four-RBI night. It came on this day two decades ago. View full article