Game: Arizona Diamondbacks @ Florida Marlins
Venue: Dolphin Stadium
Start Time: 7:10 P.M. Eastern Time
Attendance: 13,233
Length of Game: 2:37
Starting Pitchers: Dan Haren (Diamondbacks) vs Andrew Miller ( Marlins)
Tonight young Andrew Miller took another step in the right direction, and so did the oung Florida Marlins.
Miller was able to outduel D'backs Pitcher Dan Haren by holding them to five hits in seven innings on Thursda night, and the Marlins defeated Arizona 4-0 on there way to completeing their fourth sweep on the season.
Miller now 4-3 on the season had a career-high nine strikeouts, walked one and allowed only one runner to reach second base. Miller had an ERA of 9.12 on May 1, but it's now been decreased to a 5.33 ERA, and he has won four of his last five decisions.
Logan Kensing and Justin Miller pitched one inning each to complete the seven hit shutout.
The Diamondbacks came into south florida with the best record in the majors, but were held to 17 hits in this three-game series and were outscored 10-3. Tonight was the first time the snakes were held scoreless on the season.
The Marlins, who rank last in the majors in fielding percentage, did not commit a single error in the series and came up with clutch hits on a consistent basis throughout this series. A week high 13,233 came out to watch the beast of the east beat the best of the west.
Wes Helms batted in two runs with a pinch-hit double to force Dan Haren out of the game, Jorge Cantu drove in two runs of his own. Haren now 5-3 allowed eight hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings of work.
19-3 was the record the three starters Arizona challanged Florida with in this series. On Wednesday, the fish became the first team this season to hand Brandon Webb a loss.
With the sweep the Diamondbacks have now lost six road games in a row, and their three-game losing streak matches their longest this season.
Hanley Ramirez, who struggled after dropping to third in the order three weeks ago, move back to leadoff and started the first inning with a triple. He scored on a groundout by Cantu.
Catcher Matt Treanor singled with one out in the seventh, and center fielder Alfredo Amezaga followed with a single, giving him a five-game hitting streak.
Veteran utility-man Wes Helms hit a pinch-hit double in place of Andrew Miller to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead.
Helms later made it to third on a groundout, then was able to score on Cantu's two-out single.
Though the Marlins rank only eight in the NL in ERA, much of Arizona's hitters left town in a slump. Right fielder Justin Upton younger brother of the Rays center fielder B.J. Upton went 0-for-11 in the series with eight strikeouts, and Conor Jackson left town in a 0-for-9 slump of his own.
Up Next: 4-1 Scott Olsen will face 0-8 Barry Zito in game one of a three-game weekend series between the San Francisco Giants and Florida Marlins. First pitch is set for 7:10 P.M. Eastern Time-- Game will be televised locally on FSN Florida and can be heard on 790 The Ticket AM Radio (English) or 1140 WQBA AM Radio (Spanish)