Marlins End Miserable Road Trip With Loss
SAN DIEGO (CBS4) - The Florida Marlins continued their season of misery by dropping another game to the San Diego Padres, 4-3, Sunday. The loss gave the Padres a four-game sweep of the Marlins.
The Padres swept the seven-game season series. Overall, San Diego has won eight straight against the Marlins.
On the day the Padres honored all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman by retiring his No. 51, Heath Bell blew (3-4) the save by allowing Mike Cameron's solo homer with two outs in the ninth.
Hundley started the winning rally in the bottom of the inning with a triple off the bottom of the center field wall against Edward Mujica (8-5). It was the fourth triple in the last six games for Hundley, the Padres' catcher. The Marlins then intentionally walked Logan Forsythe and Alberto Gonzalez before Mike Dunn relieved Mujica. The Marlins deployed a five-man infield, with center fielder Cameron playing just to the right of second base. It didn't help, though, as Venable lofted a single over the head of right fielder Mike Stanton.
San Diego, which moved past Los Angeles into fourth in the NL West, has won six of eight. The Marlins, last in the NL East, have dropped 15 of 17. The Marlins were swept in a four-game series for the fourth time this season, a club record.
Trying for a four-out save, Bell retired the first two batters in the ninth before Cameron, a former Padres player, homered into the balcony on the third level of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner. It was his fourth.
Cory Luebke struck out eight in six innings for the Padres.
The Padres handed Luebke a 3-0 lead in the first. Venable homered to right on a 2-0 pitch from Anibal Sanchez. It was his fifth of the season and third leadoff homer of his career. Cameron Maybin walked with one out, Orlando Hudson doubled with two outs and both scored on Kyle Blanks' double to left-center.
Stanton hit his 30th homer, a solo shot with two outs in the fourth. Stanton had homered in four straight games coming into this series. John Buck hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to score Greg Dobbs, who reached on a pinch single and advanced on two wild pitches by Luke Gregerson.
Luebke held the Marlins to one run and three hits in six innings. He walked none.
Sanchez allowed three runs and six hits in five innings, struck out three and walked two.
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