Scoreless In Last 27 Innings, Marlins Again Fall To Phillies 1-0
MIAMI (AP) — Josh Johnson's second pitch of the game was enough to give him a tough-luck loss.
Johnson gave up a home run to Jimmy Rollins to start the game and then pitched eight innings for the Miami Marlins, but he ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
"My job is to go out there and put up zero," Johnson said. "I gave up one, so it's my fault."
Johnson (7-9) allowed three hits and one walk. He struck out seven.
"Outstanding," Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen said of his ace pitcher. "Very nice to watch. He felt pretty comfortable making big pitches on big counts."
Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (5-9) pitched five-hit ball for seven innings and did enough to walk off with a win.
"Kendrick was good, wasn't he?" Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Yeah he was. He had a good tempo and rhythm. He got the ball, got set, and kept the flow of the game going."
Manuel's 700th win as a manager was earned in the Phillies' second straight shutout of the Marlins. Cole Hamels opened the series between NL East rivals with a 4-0 victory on Monday.
"If the other team doesn't score, we can't lose," Manuel said.
The Marlins haven't scored in a franchise-record 27 innings.
"Offensively, we couldn't get anything going," Guillen said. "After the last couple guys pitching, I thought today looked a little easier. I was wrong."
Kendrick struck out six and threw 61 of 87 pitches for strikes. He was lifted for pinch-hitter Laynce Nix in the eighth inning. Kendrick has won seven straight against the Marlins, dating to September 2008.
"I am just going to stick to who I am, and I was able to do that tonight," Kendrick said. "(Catcher) Brian (Schneider) called a good game and I was just getting ahead, pounding the sinker-changeup, and getting some early contact."
Josh Lindblom and Jonathan Papelbon each pitched a hitless inning for Philadelphia. Papelbon walked Carlos Lee with two outs in the ninth and then got Giancarlo Stanton to ground out for his 26th save.
"It was a big win," Kendrick said. "(Johnson) was obviously pitching well. I was able to go deep enough. Josh and Pap were able to close it out. That was nice. Getting later in the game we knew that he was pitching well so we had to keep it there."
Rollins hit Johnson's second pitch into the right field stands for his 14th homer of the year. It was his 41st career leadoff home run.
"It was supposed to be away, but it was right down the middle," Johnson said.
It was the first time since June 12, 1969, that the Phillies won 1-0 on a leadoff home run. John Briggs did it then against the Dodgers.
Miami's best opportunity to score came in the sixth after Bryan Petersen led off with a single and advanced to third on a pair of groundouts. Lee popped out to end the inning.
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