Ramirez Grand Slam Helps Marlins Take Rangers 9-5
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBS4) — Hanley Ramirez's first-inning grand slam got the Florida Marlins off to a fast start and his second homer finished off the Texas Rangers.
Ramirez had three hits and tied his career high with five RBIs as the Marlins overcome Josh Hamilton's two homers to beat the Rangers 9-5 Saturday night.
Logan Morrison also homered for the Marlins, 5-6 since Jack McKeon took over as interim manager on June 20.
McKeon is trying to get his young hitters to be more patient, and the message sunk in on Saturday night.
"I mean, the last five games, I think we"ve been playing the game together and we've been getting on base and working on that, not like we were doing that a week, two weeks or three weeks ago," Ramirez said.
Added McKeon: "It was nice to get 13 hits and the home runs by Hanley and those guys, but it was a struggle. It wasn't an easy one, but we survived thanks to Hanley's second home run and Morrison's home run that gave us the cushion."
Both starters failed to last four innings in a game that began in 100-degree heat.
Florida rookie Brad Hand lasted 3 1-3 innings and Texas' Derek Holland was unable to get out of the first.
The Marlins recalled Hand from Double-A Jacksonville for the start. When he walked two of the first three batters he faced in the fourth, McKeon brought in Steve Cishek despite Florida's 6-2 lead.
"I wanted to stay in the game, but (McKeon) is trying to win the game and the walks are the reason I came out of the game," Hand said.
Hand allowed two runs and four hits. Hand's three walks were unacceptable, McKeon said.
"That club over there, they're dangerous," McKeon said. "You can't think you've got it made with six runs. We saw what happened. That's why you can't walk guys. If they hit it out with nobody on, more power to them. But, you know, we walk guys and then we throw strikes and the guys hit them out."
Cishek (1-1) gave up three runs — two earned — and two hits in 2 2-3 innings for his first big league victory.
The Marlins knocked out Holland (6-4) with a five-run first.
The first three Florida batters reached to load the bases, and Ramirez lined a 3-2 pitch into the first row of seats in right field for his fifth career grand slam.
When Wes Helms added a two-out RBI double in the first for a 5-0 lead, manager Ron Washington removed Holland and brought in Tommy Hunter for his first appearance of the season. Hunter was activated from the disabled list on Friday, having missed the first 82 games with a groin injury.
Holland got two outs, the shortest start of his career, allowing five runs and four hits.
"He just wasn't throwing the ball over the plate," Washington said. "Today just wasn't his day. Some days you go through that. It was just bad for the team we had to go to the bullpen that early."
Gaby Sanchez's second-inning sacrifice fly off Hunter bumped the Marlins' lead to 6-0. Florida took advantage of two errors by Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba, with Emilio Bonifacio reaching on a bunt attempt when Torrealba threw wildly to first, and Bonifacio hustling to third on a steal and off-target throw to second by Torrealba.
Third-inning solo homers off Hand by Ian Kinsler and Hamilton pulled the Rangers to 6-2, and Hamilton's two-run shot in the fifth off Cishek made it 6-4.
The Marlins loaded the bases with one out in the sixth against Hunter, who was replaced by Darren O'Day after Bonifacio's line drive struck Hunter in the left foot. The Rangers later said Hunter wasn't removed from the game due to injury.
Before the game, O'Day was activated off the 60-day disabled list after recovering from left hip surgery.
Omar Infante's sixth-inning sacrifice fly off O'Day extended Florida's edge to 7-4, but the Rangers made it a two-run game in the sixth when Craig Gentry scored from second after Ramirez dropped Kinsler's two-out popup for an error.
Ramirez atoned for his mistake with a seventh-inning leadoff homer off O'Day, and Morrison followed with a drive into the right field seats to make it 9-5.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
