|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Wednesday, Apr. 12 7:05pm ET
Marlins get cold-weather win | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Not even field conditions more suitable to an icebox could keep the Florida Marlins from a convincing win. Alex Gonzalez hit a two-run single and defensive replacements Derrek Lee and Danny Bautista homered as the Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-4 at frigid County Stadium on Wednesday night. The temperature was 41 degrees at gametime, and it dropped precipitously as bitter winds whipped off Lake Michigan and turned the game into an endurance contest for the two teams. "When it's cold like that, you have to focus on your game," Lee said. "We handled it pretty well for a team from Florida." Many players wore several layers of clothing, and the cold made fielders less sure-handed and left several pitchers unable to maintain consistent control. Lee homered in the eighth and rounded the bases while blowing into his hands to keep them warm. Bautista hit a three-run homer in the ninth. Florida manager John Boles was excited to talk about his team's solid performance under brutal conditions -- but only after he removed his cap, an ear-warmer, a large jacket, a windbreaker, a turtleneck, a batting practice jersey, another windbreaker, a jersey, a second turtleneck, an undershirt and batting practice gloves. "Everything worked out for us tonight," Boles said. "We got some big two-out hits, we got a lot of production from a lot of places and we got some good pitching." Jesus Sanchez (1-0) got the win while allowing six hits and four earned runs in five innings. Though most pitches curse the Milwaukee cold, he said the conditions enabled him to place and move his pitches well. "I was feeling good out there tonight, and the weather helped me a lot," Sanchez said. Two days after more than 53,000 fans turned out for opening day in Milwaukee, the announced attendance was 7,007, though no more than 2,000 fans were in the stands. Jaime Navarro (0-2) walked six batters in 4 2/3 innings, including Cliff Floyd, Preston Wilson and Kevin Millar to load the bases in the fifth. The rally began with a throwing error by Jose Hernandez at third base. "I'm not happy about the walks. I think the umpire squeezed me that inning," Navarro grumbled. Gonzalez, hitting .097 entering the game and banished to the seventh spot in the order, then brought home two runs with a single to put Florida up 5-3. "We should have been out of that inning 1-2-3," Brewers manager Davey Lopes said. "We made a couple of mistakes, and it snowballed. When you open the gates, bad things happen. That was the ballgame." The Marlins added two more in the sixth on a single by Luis Castillo, a triple by Mark Kotsay and a sacrifice fly by Floyd. Castillo also doubled and scored three runs to continue his outstanding performances this season. Hitting .385 entering the game, he has a seven-game hitting streak and is third in the NL in on-base percentage. "Luis was fantastic," Boles said. "He started out the spring looking good, and he's only gotten better." Hernandez homered in the second inning and had a run-scoring single in the fourth for the Brewers, who had just as much trouble with the freezing temperatures as the warm-weather Marlins. Left fielder Geoff Jenkins appeared to strain his arm when he made a hard throw on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Florida's Preston Wilson and Milwaukee's Ron Belliard extended their hitting streaks to nine games with singles. Since the Brewers played the Reds to a tie on opening day, Belliard has nine straight games with a hit even though the Brewers have only had eight decisions. Game notesBrewers reliever Jim Bruske (pronounced Brewsky) got a warm ovation from the inebriated portion of the crowd when his name was announced on the County Stadium P.A. in the fifth inning. Bruske, who won the Brewers' first game of the season, was making his home debut. ... A foul ball in the sixth inning flew into the booth of Brewers play-by-play voice Bob Uecker. He couldn't catch it, and several fans good-naturedly booed the popular announcer. ... Team officials announced that Miller Park, the Brewers' retractable-roof home being built just behind the outfield bleachers at County Stadium, is 80 percent complete. It will open in April 2001. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Florida Clubhouse Milwaukee Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 8 Texas 6
Florida 11
  | |||||