August 15, 2007

Bats back Willis' victory

By JOE CAPOZZI

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

MIAMI GARDENS — Enough is Enough. The Marlins made up their minds early Tuesday night: Dontrelle Willis' losing streak had gone on long enough.

For the first time in nearly three months, Willis earned a victory and the Marlins made it look so easy. They pounded Arizona 14-5 before an announced crowd of 10,610 at Dolphin Stadium.

Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera led an offensive attack that produced a season-high 14 runs, including eight in the first two innings.

Ramirez went 3-for-5 to boost his league-leading batting average to .343. Cabrera had two hits and three RBI, including his 29th home run. Mike Jacobs went 3-for-5 and hit his ninth home run.

The Marlins chased former teammate Byung-Hyun Kim after 17 pitches to the first seven batters produced four runs. Willis snapped a nine-game losing streak and won for the first time since May 29, a string of 13 starts without a win - an unthinkable streak for a player who is the franchise's winningest pitcher (66-51).

Willis allowed 10 hits over seven innings, but it was enough to cool off a Diamondbacks team that came into the game on a 20-9 run since the All-Star break.

Willis struck out 11 batters, a season high for a Marlins starter. But he didn't get off to a very promising start.

Chris Young homered to left on Willis' third pitch of the game. But the left-hander quickly got into a comfort zone, which often happens with a thick cushion of run support.

The Marlins did their damage in proficient bursts over three innings. They sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning, eight in the second, and 12 in the fourth. In a six-run fourth inning, three Marlins batters were hit by pitches from Joe Kennedy, tying a club record set in 1998 against Houston.

It got so bad for Arizona that infielder Augie Ojeda was called in to pitch the eighth. He threw a perfect inning, getting Jeremy Hermida, Todd Linden and Jason Wood on flyouts.

The Marlins have won four of their past five games, with their past three wins coming against first-place teams, counting two against the Mets.

Cabrera needs one more homer to give him at least 30 in three of his past four seasons.

Draft deadline: The Marlins face an 11:59 p.m. deadline tonight to sign their first-round draft pick. If the Marlins don't sign third baseman Matt Dominguez, the 17-year-old from California has a scholarship offer to play for Cal State-Fullerton. The Marlins would receive a compensatory pick in the first two rounds of next year's draft.

Noteworthy: Right-hander Ricky Nolasco is scheduled to throw four innings today in a rehab stint with Class AA Carolina.