NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">NL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA 0 0 4 0 0 4 0 1 2 11 12 1 ST LOUIS 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 4 (BOT 9) CURRENT PITCHERS: FLA - ARMANDO BENITEZ STL - TYLER JOHNSON DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: J EDMONDS (.253, 1-FOR-2, BB) S ROLEN (.268, 0-FOR-3) C DUNCAN (.269, 1-FOR-3)</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">FLORIDA (11) VS ST LOUIS (1) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS FLORIDA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg H Ramirez ss 2 2 1 1 2 0 0 .333 D Uggla 2b 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 .249 M Cabrera 3b 4 0 0 0 1 1 6 .325 M Jacobs 1b 5 1 2 0 0 2 4 .264 J Willingham lf 5 2 2 6 0 3 0 .273 J Hermida rf 5 1 2 0 0 1 0 .275 M Treanor c 5 1 1 0 0 1 1 .306 A De Aza cf 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 .275 R VandenHurk p 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .056 a-C Ross ph 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 .304 L Gardner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-T Linden ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234 A Benitez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 40 11 12 11 3 8 17 a-homered to center for R Vandenhurk in the 6th; b-grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop for J Miller in the 8th. BATTING: HR - J Willingham 2 (21, 3rd inning off An Reyes 3 on, 2 Out, 9th inning off T Johnson 1 on, 0 Out), C Ross (7, 6th inning off B Thompson 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - J Willingham 6 (84), C Ross 3 (26), D Uggla (71), H Ramirez (65). 2-out RBI - J Willingham 4, C Ross 3, D Uggla. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Cabrera 1, A De Aza 1. Team LOB - 6. BASERUNNING: SB - H Ramirez 2 (41, 2nd base off B Thompson/G Bennett, 2nd base off An Reyes/G Bennett). Picked Off - H Ramirez (2nd base, An Reyes). FIELDING: E - M Treanor (3, throw). ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Eckstein ss 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .296 R Ankiel rf 3 0 0 1 0 2 2 .263 A Pujols 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .320 R Ludwick lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246 J Edmonds cf 2 0 1 0 1 1 1 .253 S Rolen 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .268 C Duncan lf-1b 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .269 G Bennett c 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .231 An Reyes p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .083 a-A Wainwright ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .277 R Flores p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Thompson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150 T Johnson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Ryan 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 .348 Totals 27 1 6 1 1 7 11 a-singled to center for A Reyes in the 5th. BATTING: S - B Thompson. SF - R Ankiel. RBI - R Ankiel (8). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Rolen 1, B Ryan 1. Team LOB - 5. BASERUNNING: SB - D Eckstein (8, 2nd base off R VandenHurk/M Treanor), B Ryan (3, 2nd base off R VandenHurk/M Treanor). CS - A Wainwright (1, 2nd base by R VandenHurk/M Treanor). FIELDING: E - R Ankiel (1, fly ball); S Rolen (7, ground ball); G Bennett (1, throw); B Ryan (4, catch). Outfield assists - R Ankiel (M Jacobs at 2nd base). ---------------------------------------------------- FLORIDA - 004 004 012 -- 11 ST LOUIS - 001 000 00 -- 1 ---------------------------------------------------- FLORIDA ip h r er bb so hr era R VandenHurk 5 4 1 1 1 5 0 6.95 L Gardner 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.28 J Miller 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.37 A Benitez 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.84 ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era An Reyes 5 3 4 0 3 4 1 5.33 R Flores 2/3 2 2 2 0 1 0 4.46 B Thompson 2 1/3 5 3 2 0 3 1 5.07 T Johnson 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 4.50 HBP - H Ramirez (by B Thompson). Pitches-strikes: R VandenHurk 73-46; L Gardner 15-11; J Miller 16-11; A Benitez 17-11; An Reyes 106-68; R Flores 20-12; B Thompson 43-28; T Johnson 16-12. Ground balls-fly balls: R VandenHurk 2-7; L Gardner 2-1; J Miller 1-1; A Benitez 1-1; An Reyes 3-7; R Flores 0-1; B Thompson 2-2; T Johnson 1-2. Batters faced: R VandenHurk 19; L Gardner 4; J Miller 4; A Benitez 3; An Reyes 22; R Flores 4; B Thompson 13; T Johnson 5. UMPIRES: HP--Mark Wegner. 1B--Mike Winters. 2B--Bruce Froemming. 3B--Brian Runge. Weather: 95 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS - PITCHING CHANGE FLA: KEVIN GREGG (0-4, 2.96) STARTING THE 9TH CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 11, ST LOUIS 1 DUE UP FOR STLOUIS: J EDMONDS (.253, 1-FOR-2)</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: K Gregg relieved A Benitez. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 11 ST LOUIS 1 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: J Edmonds (.253, 1-FOR-2)</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: S Taguchi hit for S Rolen. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, J EDMONDS ON FIRST, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 11 ST LOUIS 1 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: S Taguchi (.295, 2 HR, 19 RBI)</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: J Encarnacion hit for T Johnson. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, C DUNCAN ON FIRST, S TAGUCHI ON SECOND, J EDMONDS ON THIRD, 1 OUT CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 11 ST LOUIS 1 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: J Encarnacion (.284, 8 HR, 44 RBI)</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">NL AT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATE SINGLE BY JUAN ENCARNACION SCORED JIM EDMONDS AND SO TAGUCHI. SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J ENCARNACION ON FIRST, C DUNCAN ON SECOND, 1 OUT CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 11 ST LOUIS 3 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: B RYAN (.348, 1-FOR-3)</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA 0 0 4 0 0 4 0 1 2 11 12 1 ST LOUIS 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 8 4 (FINAL) BATTERIES: FLA - RICK VANDENHURK, LEE GARDNER (6TH), JUSTIN MILLER (7TH), ARMANDO BENITEZ (8TH), KEVIN GREGG (9TH) AND MATT TREANOR STL - ANTHONY REYES, RANDY FLORES (6TH), BRAD THOMPSON (6TH), TYLER JOHNSON (9TH) AND GARY BENNETT HOME RUNS: FLA - JOSH WILLINGHAM (20) OFF ANTHONY REYES IN THE 3RD, 3 ON CODY ROSS (7) OFF BRAD THOMPSON IN THE 6TH, 2 ON JOSH WILLINGHAM (21) OFF TYLER JOHNSON IN THE 9TH, 1 ON STL - NONE</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - FLORIDA 0 0 4 0 0 4 0 1 2 11 12 1 ST LOUIS 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 8 4 (FINAL) BATTERIES: FLA - RICK VANDENHURK, LEE GARDNER (6TH), JUSTIN MILLER (7TH), ARMANDO BENITEZ (8TH), KEVIN GREGG (9TH) AND MATT TREANOR STL - ANTHONY REYES, RANDY FLORES (6TH), BRAD THOMPSON (6TH), TYLER JOHNSON (9TH) AND GARY BENNETT WP - RICK VANDENHURK (4-4) LP - ANTHONY REYES (2-13) SAVE - NONE HOME RUNS: FLA - JOSH WILLINGHAM (20) OFF ANTHONY REYES IN THE 3RD, 3 ON CODY ROSS (7) OFF BRAD THOMPSON IN THE 6TH, 2 ON JOSH WILLINGHAM (21) OFF TYLER JOHNSON IN THE 9TH, 1 ON STL - NONE TIME: 3:26 ATT: 42,123 PROBABLES: ATL - JOHN SMOLTZ (11-6, 3.05) STL - KIP WELLS (6-13, 5.24) PROBABLES: FLA - DONTRELLE WILLIS (8-12, 4.91) CIN - AARON HARANG (12-3, 3.67)</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">FLORIDA (11) VS ST LOUIS (3) - FINAL FLORIDA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg H Ramirez ss 2 2 1 1 2 0 0 .333 D Uggla 2b 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 .249 M Cabrera 3b 4 0 0 0 1 1 6 .325 M Jacobs 1b 5 1 2 0 0 2 4 .264 J Willingham lf 5 2 2 6 0 3 0 .273 J Hermida rf 5 1 2 0 0 1 0 .275 M Treanor c 5 1 1 0 0 1 1 .306 A De Aza cf 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 .275 R VandenHurk p 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .056 a-C Ross ph 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 .304 L Gardner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 J Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-T Linden ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .234 A Benitez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 K Gregg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 40 11 12 11 3 8 17 a-homered to center for R Vandenhurk in the 6th; b-grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop for J Miller in the 8th. BATTING: HR - J Willingham 2 (21, 3rd inning off An Reyes 3 on, 2 Out, 9th inning off T Johnson 1 on, 0 Out), C Ross (7, 6th inning off B Thompson 2 on, 2 Out). RBI - J Willingham 6 (84), C Ross 3 (26), D Uggla (71), H Ramirez (65). 2-out RBI - J Willingham 4, C Ross 3, D Uggla. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Cabrera 1, A De Aza 1. Team LOB - 6. BASERUNNING: SB - H Ramirez 2 (41, 2nd base off B Thompson/G Bennett, 2nd base off An Reyes/G Bennett). Picked Off - H Ramirez (2nd base, An Reyes). FIELDING: E - M Treanor (3, throw). ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Eckstein ss 5 0 2 0 0 1 2 .295 R Ankiel rf 3 0 0 1 0 2 2 .263 A Pujols 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .320 R Ludwick lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246 J Edmonds cf 3 1 2 0 1 1 1 .255 S Rolen 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .268 b-S Taguchi ph 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .295 C Duncan lf-1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .269 G Bennett c 4 0 0 0 0 3 4 .230 An Reyes p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .083 a-A Wainwright ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .277 R Flores p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Thompson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .150 T Johnson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 c-J Encarnacion ph 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 .287 B Ryan 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 4 .344 Totals 32 3 8 3 3 9 18 a-singled to center for A Reyes in the 5th; b-walked for S Rolen in the 9th; c-singled to center for T Johnson in the 9th. BATTING: S - B Thompson. SF - R Ankiel. RBI - R Ankiel (8), J Encarnacion 2 (46). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - S Rolen 1, D Eckstein 1, B Ryan 1. Team LOB - 7. BASERUNNING: SB - D Eckstein (8, 2nd base off R VandenHurk/M Treanor), B Ryan (3, 2nd base off R VandenHurk/M Treanor). CS - A Wainwright (1, 2nd base by R VandenHurk/M Treanor). FIELDING: E - R Ankiel (1, fly ball); S Rolen (7, ground ball); G Bennett (1, throw); B Ryan (4, catch). Outfield assists - R Ankiel (M Jacobs at 2nd base). ---------------------------------------------------- FLORIDA - 004 004 012 -- 11 ST LOUIS - 001 000 002 -- 3 ---------------------------------------------------- FLORIDA ip h r er bb so hr era R VandenHurk (W, 4-4) 5 4 1 1 1 5 0 6.95 L Gardner 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.28 J Miller 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.37 A Benitez 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.84 K Gregg 1 2 2 2 2 2 0 3.18 ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era An Reyes (L, 2-13) 5 3 4 0 3 4 1 5.33 R Flores 2/3 2 2 2 0 1 0 4.46 B Thompson 2 1/3 5 3 2 0 3 1 5.07 T Johnson 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 4.50 WP - K Gregg. HBP - H Ramirez (by B Thompson). Pitches-strikes: R VandenHurk 73-46; L Gardner 15-11; J Miller 16-11; A Benitez 17-11; K Gregg 38-23; An Reyes 106-68; R Flores 20-12; B Thompson 43-28; T Johnson 16-12. Ground balls-fly balls: R VandenHurk 2-7; L Gardner 2-1; J Miller 1-1; A Benitez 1-1; K Gregg 0-1; An Reyes 3-7; R Flores 0-1; B Thompson 2-2; T Johnson 1-2. Batters faced: R VandenHurk 19; L Gardner 4; J Miller 4; A Benitez 3; K Gregg 7; An Reyes 22; R Flores 4; B Thompson 13; T Johnson 5. UMPIRES: HP--Mark Wegner. 1B--Mike Winters. 2B--Bruce Froemming. 3B--Brian Runge. T--3:26. Att--42,123. Weather: 95 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FLORIDA (11) AT ST LOUIS (3) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FLORIDA 3RD: R VandenHurk safe at first on error by third baseman S Rolen. H Ramirez walked, R VandenHurk to second. D Uggla singled to deep left, R VandenHurk to third, H Ramirez to second. M Cabrera flied out to right. M Jacobs struck out swinging. J Willingham homered to left, R VandenHurk, H Ramirez and D Uggla scored. J Hermida singled to left. M Treanor lined out to center. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 4, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 3RD: B Ryan singled to left. B Ryan stole second. D Eckstein reached on infield single to shortstop, B Ryan to third. R Ankiel hit sacrifice fly to center, B Ryan scored. A Pujols flied out to center. J Edmonds struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 6TH: R Flores relieved An Reyes. J Willingham struck out swinging. J Hermida singled to right. M Treanor singled to right, J Hermida to second. A De Aza flied out to left. C Ross hit for R VandenHurk. B Thompson relieved R Flores. C Ross homered to center, J Hermida and M Treanor scored. H Ramirez hit by pitch. H Ramirez stole second, H Ramirez safe at third on throwing error by catcher G Bennett. D Uggla singled to left, H Ramirez scored. M Cabrera struck out swinging. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 8, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 8TH: M Treanor struck out swinging. A De Aza singled to center. T Linden hit for J Miller. T Linden grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, A De Aza safe at second on error by second baseman B Ryan. H Ramirez singled to center, A De Aza scored, T Linden to second. D Uggla flied out to center. M Cabrera flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 9, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 9TH: T Johnson relieved B Thompson. M Jacobs singled to right. J Willingham homered to right center, M Jacobs scored. J Hermida flied out to center. M Treanor grounded out to third. A De Aza flied out to right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 11, ST LOUIS 1. ST LOUIS 9TH: K Gregg relieved A Benitez. J Edmonds singled to right. S Taguchi hit for S Rolen. S Taguchi walked, J Edmonds to second. J Edmonds to third, S Taguchi to second on wild pitch by K Gregg. C Duncan walked. G Bennett struck out swinging. J Encarnacion hit for T Johnson. J Encarnacion singled to center, J Edmonds and S Taguchi scored, C Duncan to second. B Ryan flied out to right. D Eckstein struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 11, ST LOUIS 3.</div>
Willingham helps Marlins avoid sweep, slam Cardinals <h3>FLORIDA 11, ST LOUIS 3</h3>ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Josh Willingham hit two home runs,including a grand slam, and Cody Ross hit a three-run blast asthe Florida Marlins routed the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-3, onThursday. Willingham drove in a career-high six RBI as the Marlins avoidedthe three-game sweep. Florida hasn't been swept in St. Louissince May 2000. St. Louis (61-63) remains three games back of the Chicago Cubs(65-61) in the National League Central Division. The SanFrancisco Giants defeated the Cubs, 4-1, on Thursday. Marlins starter Rick VandenHurk (4-4) surrendered just one runover five strong innings, scattering four hits while strikingout five and walking one. Cardinals starter Anthony Reyes (2-13) struggled with hiscontrol early before Willingham's grand slam in the third. After VandenHurk reached on an error by Scott Rolen - one offour Cardinals errors - Reyes walked Ramirez before Dan Ugglasingled to load the bases. Reyes nearly escaped the jam, getting Miguel Cabrera to fly outto right before striking out Mike Jacobs. Willingham worked thecount full, before crushing the ninth pitch of the at-bat, abelt-high fastball, 448 feet into the left field seats for hissecond grand slam of his career. Reyes retired the Marlins in order in the fourth and fifthinnings before being lifted. The righthander allowed fourunearned runs on three hits, but walked three while striking outfour. Ross notched his seventh home run of the season in the sixth.After back-to-back singles by Jeremy Hermida and Matt Treanor,Alejandro De Aza flied out for the second out of the inning.Ross greeted reliever Brad Thompson by taking his 2-1 offeringover the center field fence to give the Marlins a 7-1 lead. The Marlins scored twice more before Willingham capped off thescoring with a two-run blast, his 21st homer of the season. VandenHurk avoided trouble in the first inning, as runnersreached first and third before Rolen grounded out to end thethreat. After retiring the Cardinals in order in the second, theNetherlands native gave up his only run of the game on asacrifice fly by Rick Ankiel, plating rookie Brendan Ryan. VandenHurk allowed just one hit in his final two innings, asingle to Adam Wainwright, who was later thrown out by Treanortrying to steal second. With two stolen bases in the game, Hanley Ramirez became thefirst player in Marlins history to steal 40 bases and hit 20home runs in a season. The 23-year-old shortstop has 41 stolenbases and hit 23 homers during the 2007 campaign.
NL: FLORIDA at ST LOUIS <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FLORIDA (11) AT ST LOUIS (3) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Florida Starting Lineups -- H Ramirez SS, D Uggla 2B, M Cabrera 3B, M Jacobs 1B, J Willingham LF, J Hermida RF, M Treanor C, A De Aza CF, R VandenHurk RHP. St Louis Starting Lineups -- D Eckstein SS, R Ankiel RF, A Pujols 1B, J Edmonds CF, S Rolen 3B, C Duncan LF, G Bennett C, B Ryan 2B, An Reyes RHP. Umpires -- Mark Wegner (HP), Mike Winters (1B), Bruce Froemming (2B), Brian Runge (3B). Gametime Weather: 95 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind out to center at 8 mph. FLORIDA 1ST: H Ramirez walked. H Ramirez stole second. D Uggla lined out to third. H Ramirez picked off second. M Cabrera walked. M Jacobs popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 0, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 1ST: D Eckstein singled to right. R Ankiel struck out looking. A Pujols popped out to shortstop. D Eckstein stole second, D Eckstein safe at third on throwing error by catcher M Treanor. J Edmonds walked. S Rolen grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) FLORIDA 0, ST LOUIS 0. FLORIDA 2ND: J Willingham struck out looking. J Hermida struck out looking. M Treanor safe at second on error by right fielder R Ankiel. A De Aza grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 0, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 2ND: C Duncan struck out swinging. G Bennett grounded out to second. An Reyes struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 0, ST LOUIS 0. FLORIDA 3RD: R VandenHurk safe at first on error by third baseman S Rolen. H Ramirez walked, R VandenHurk to second. D Uggla singled to deep left, R VandenHurk to third, H Ramirez to second. M Cabrera flied out to right. M Jacobs struck out swinging. J Willingham homered to left, R VandenHurk, H Ramirez and D Uggla scored. J Hermida singled to left. M Treanor lined out to center. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 4, ST LOUIS 0. ST LOUIS 3RD: B Ryan singled to left. B Ryan stole second. D Eckstein reached on infield single to shortstop, B Ryan to third. R Ankiel hit sacrifice fly to center, B Ryan scored. A Pujols flied out to center. J Edmonds struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 4TH: A De Aza grounded out to second. R VandenHurk flied out to right. H Ramirez fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, ST LOUIS 1. ST LOUIS 4TH: S Rolen lined out to shortstop. C Duncan flied out to center. G Bennett struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 5TH: D Uggla popped out to second. M Cabrera grounded out to shortstop. M Jacobs struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, ST LOUIS 1. ST LOUIS 5TH: A Wainwright hit for An Reyes. A Wainwright singled to center. B Ryan bunt popped out foul to catcher. A Wainwright caught stealing second, catcher to second. D Eckstein flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 6TH: R Flores relieved An Reyes. J Willingham struck out swinging. J Hermida singled to right. M Treanor singled to right, J Hermida to second. A De Aza flied out to left. C Ross hit for R VandenHurk. B Thompson relieved R Flores. C Ross homered to center, J Hermida and M Treanor scored. H Ramirez hit by pitch. H Ramirez stole second, H Ramirez safe at third on throwing error by catcher G Bennett. D Uggla singled to left, H Ramirez scored. M Cabrera struck out swinging. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 8, ST LOUIS 1. ST LOUIS 6TH: L Gardner relieved R VandenHurk. R Ankiel lined out to right. A Pujols grounded out to second. J Edmonds singled to center. S Rolen grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 8, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 7TH: R Ludwick in left field. C Duncan at first base. M Jacobs singled to deep right, M Jacobs out stretching at second. J Willingham struck out swinging. J Hermida grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 8, ST LOUIS 1. ST LOUIS 7TH: J Miller relieved L Gardner. C Duncan singled to center. G Bennett struck out looking. B Thompson sacrificed to catcher, C Duncan to second. B Ryan popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 8, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 8TH: M Treanor struck out swinging. A De Aza singled to center. T Linden hit for J Miller. T Linden grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, A De Aza safe at second on error by second baseman B Ryan. H Ramirez singled to center, A De Aza scored, T Linden to second. D Uggla flied out to center. M Cabrera flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 9, ST LOUIS 1. ST LOUIS 8TH: A Benitez relieved J Miller. D Eckstein grounded out to shortstop. R Ankiel struck out swinging. R Ludwick popped out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 9, ST LOUIS 1. FLORIDA 9TH: T Johnson relieved B Thompson. M Jacobs singled to right. J Willingham homered to right center, M Jacobs scored. J Hermida flied out to center. M Treanor grounded out to third. A De Aza flied out to right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 11, ST LOUIS 1. ST LOUIS 9TH: K Gregg relieved A Benitez. J Edmonds singled to right. S Taguchi hit for S Rolen. S Taguchi walked, J Edmonds to second. J Edmonds to third, S Taguchi to second on wild pitch by K Gregg. C Duncan walked. G Bennett struck out swinging. J Encarnacion hit for T Johnson. J Encarnacion singled to center, J Edmonds and S Taguchi scored, C Duncan to second. B Ryan flied out to right. D Eckstein struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 11, ST LOUIS 3.</div>
Willingham helps Marlins avoid sweep, slam Cardinals <h3>FLORIDA 11, ST LOUIS 3</h3>ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Josh Willingham hit two home runs,including a grand slam, and Cody Ross belted a three-run blastas the Florida Marlins routed the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-3, onThursday. Willingham drove in a career-high six runs as the Marlinsavoided a three-game sweep. Florida has not been swept of aseries in St. Louis since May 2000. St. Louis (61-63) remained three games back of the Chicago Cubs(65-61) in the National League Central Division. The SanFrancisco Giants defeated the Cubs, 4-1, earlier Thursday. Marlins starter Rick VandenHurk (4-4) surrendered just one runin five strong innings, scattering four hits while striking outfive and walking one. Anthony Reyes (2-13) struggled with his control early for theCardinals before Willingham's grand slam in the third. After VandenHurk reached on an error by third baseman ScottRolen - one of four Cardinals errors - Reyes walked HanleyRamirez and yielded a single by Dan Uggla that loaded the bases. Reyes nearly escaped the jam, getting Miguel Cabrera to fly outto right and striking out Mike Jacobs. But Willingham workedthe count full before crushing the ninth pitch of his at-bat - abelt-high fastball - 448 feet into the left field seats for thesecond grand slam of his career. "It was a tough at-bat," Willingham said. "He did leave one up,and that's the one I hit. I was thinking about battling andtrying to hit something hard somewhere. We've had some leads inthe past week and haven't been able to expand on them. It'sreally good to get a win. We got up early and Cody kind oftacked it on, and we kind of coasted from there." "He's steady," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said ofWillingham. "He comes to the ballpark every day and he's thesame guy. You couldn't tell if he was 0-for-40 or 40-for-40." Reyes retired the Marlins in order in both the fourth and fifthinnings before being lifted. The righthander allowed fourunearned runs, three hits and three walks while striking outfour. "I definitely don't like what happened," Reyes said. "It'stough to swallow, but it's part of the game. I was just tryingto stay calm. I was just telling myself to relax." Ross launched his seventh home run of the season in the sixth.After back-to-back singles by Jeremy Hermida and Matt Treanor,Alejandro De Aza flied out for the second out of the inning.Ross greeted reliever Brad Thompson by depositing his 2-1offering over the center field wall to give the Marlins a 7-1lead. "I just got a good pitch to hit," Ross said. "I wasn't tryingto hit a homer there. Luckily, I got under it and hit it out." The Marlins scored twice more before Willingham capped theteam's scoring in the ninth with a two-run blast, his 21st homerof the season. VandenHurk avoided trouble in the first inning as Rolen groundedout with runners on the corners and two outs. After retiring the Cardinals in order in the second, theNetherlands native gave up his only run of the game on asacrifice fly by Rick Ankiel that plated rookie Brendan Ryan. "I felt good today," VandenHurk said. "We just came out andstarted swinging the bat hard and got a lot of runs. This iswhat we needed." VandenHurk allowed just one hit in his final two innings, asingle by Adam Wainwright, who later was thrown out by Treanortrying to steal second. With two stolen bases in the game, Ramirez became the firstplayer in Marlins history to steal 40 bases and hit 20 home runsin the same season. The 23-year-old shortstop currently has 41steals and 23 blasts.
