GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: FLORIDA (60-79) at WASHINGTON (62-77)

NL: FLORIDA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
FLORIDA 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 8 0
WASHINGTON 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 x 6 11 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: FLA - SERGIO MITRE, DANIEL BARONE (1ST), ROSS WOLF (4TH), LOGAN
KENSING (6TH), MATT LINDSTROM (7TH), TAYLOR TANKERSLEY (7TH),
JUSTIN MILLER (8TH) AND MIGUEL OLIVO

WAS - TIM REDDING, JONATHAN ALBALADEJO (3RD), WINSTON
ABREU (5TH), JESUS COLOME (6TH), LUIS AYALA (7TH), JON RAUCH
(8TH), CHAD CORDERO (9TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER


WP - LUIS AYALA (1-2)
LP - MATT LINDSTROM (2-4)
SAVE - CHAD CORDERO (31)

HOME RUNS: FLA - MIGUEL OLIVO (14) OFF JESUS COLOME IN THE 6TH, 1 ON

WAS - AUSTIN KEARNS (13) OFF ROSS WOLF IN THE 5TH, 0 ON


TIME: 3:14 ATT: 19,222

PROBABLES: WAS - JOEL HANRAHAN (4-2, 5.14)
ATL - JOHN SMOLTZ (12-7, 3.09)

PROBABLES: FLA - BYUNG-HYUN KIM (8-6, 5.54)
PHI - J.D. DURBIN (6-4, 6.27)</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">FLORIDA (4) VS WASHINGTON (6) - FINAL

FLORIDA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
H Ramirez ss 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 .333
D Uggla 2b 5 1 1 0 0 2 4 .247
J Hermida rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .284
M Cabrera 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .315
J Willingham lf 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .273
M Jacobs 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .270
C Ross cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .331
M Olivo c 2 1 1 2 1 1 0 .232
c-A Amezaga ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .265
S Mitre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083
D Barone p 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .125
a-A De Aza ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .222
R Wolf p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-R Abercrombie ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .209
L Kensing p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Lindstrom p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Tankersley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
d-J Wood ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .265

Totals 34 4 8 4 4 12 18

a-struck out swinging for D Barone in the 4th; b-flied out to right for R Wolf
in the 6th; c-struck out swinging for M Olivo in the 9th; d-struck out
looking for J Miller in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - J Hermida (25, T Redding); C Ross (13, C Cordero). HR - M Olivo
(14, 6th inning off J Colome 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - J Hermida (49), J Willingham
(87), M Olivo 2 (51). 2-out RBI - M Olivo 2. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - D Uggla 1, D Barone 1. GIDP - M Cabrera. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - H Ramirez (46, 2nd base off W Abreu/B Schneider).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (H Ramirez-D Uggla-M Jacobs).


WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 5 1 1 0 0 2 2 .246
R Belliard 2b 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .278
R Zimmerman 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .270
A Kearns rf 4 3 3 1 0 0 0 .269
R Church cf 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 .265
J Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
W Pena lf 3 0 1 1 1 2 3 .250
B Schneider c 3 0 1 2 1 0 1 .231
R Fick 1b 3 0 2 1 1 1 2 .214
T Redding p 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .087
J Albaladejo p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-J Maxwell ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
W Abreu p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Colome p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-D Jimenez ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .154
L Ayala p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
N Logan cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .271

Totals 34 6 11 6 4 8 16

a-flied out to right for J Albaladejo in the 4th; b-struck out swinging for J
Colome in the 6th.

BATTING: 2B - R Fick (6, L Kensing). HR - A Kearns (13, 5th inning off R Wolf 0
on, 1 Out). RBI - R Church (55), B Schneider 2 (46), R Fick (8), A Kearns (58),
W Pena (10). 2-out RBI - B Schneider 2, R Fick, W Pena. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - T Redding 2, F Lopez 1, R Fick 1. GIDP - R Zimmerman. Team
LOB - 8.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (R Zimmerman-R Belliard-R Fick).


----------------------------------------------------
FLORIDA - 002 002 000 -- 4
WASHINGTON - 300 010 20x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

FLORIDA ip h r er bb so hr era
S Mitre 2/3 4 3 3 2 2 0 4.74
D Barone 2 1/3 1 0 0 1 1 0 5.47
R Wolf 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 8.10
L Kensing 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
M Lindstrom (L, 2-4) 2/3 2 2 2 1 0 0 3.43
T Tankersley 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.54
J Miller 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.68

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Redding 2 1/3 4 2 2 2 2 0 3.42
J Albaladejo 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00
W Abreu 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 6.04
J Colome (B, 3) 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 2.93
L Ayala (W, 1-2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.09
J Rauch (H, 26) 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.82
C Cordero (S, 31) 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 3.09

WP - J Colome, M Lindstrom. Pitches-strikes: S Mitre 34-16; D Barone 27-17; R
Wolf 21-16; L Kensing 8-7; M Lindstrom 15-8; T Tankersley 8-5; J Miller 12-8; T
Redding 53-32; J Albaladejo 19-14; W Abreu 14-7; J Colome 24-15; L Ayala 12-8;
J Rauch 18-12; C Cordero 26-16. Ground balls-fly balls: S Mitre 0-0; D Barone
6-0; R Wolf 2-3; L Kensing 2-0; M Lindstrom 1-1; T Tankersley 0-0; J Miller
0-1; T Redding 3-2; J Albaladejo 1-1; W Abreu 2-0; J Colome 1-2; L Ayala 2-1; J
Rauch 0-0; C Cordero 0-0. Batters faced: S Mitre 8; D Barone 8; R Wolf 8; L
Kensing 4; M Lindstrom 5; T Tankersley 2; J Miller 3; T Redding 13; J
Albaladejo 5; W Abreu 4; J Colome 5; L Ayala 3; J Rauch 3; C Cordero 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Laz Diaz. 1B--Wally Bell. 2B--Mike Dimuro. 3B--Bill Welke.

T--3:14. Att--19,222.
Weather: 86 degrees, clear. Wind: 9 mph, right to
left.</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
FLORIDA 4
WASHINGTON 6 FINAL</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FLORIDA (4) AT WASHINGTON (6) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WASHINGTON 1ST: F Lopez singled to left. R Belliard struck out swinging.
R Zimmerman singled to left, F Lopez to second. A Kearns singled to left
center, F Lopez to third, R Zimmerman to second. R Church singled to center,
F Lopez scored, R Zimmerman to third, A Kearns to second. W Pena struck out
swinging. B Schneider walked, R Zimmerman scored, A Kearns to third, R Church
to second. R Fick walked, A Kearns scored, R Church to third, B Schneider to
second. D Barone relieved S Mitre. T Redding grounded out to shortstop.
(3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 0, WASHINGTON 3.

FLORIDA 3RD: H Ramirez walked. D Uggla grounded into fielder's choice to
third, H Ramirez out at second. J Hermida doubled to deep center, D Uggla
scored. M Cabrera reached on infield single to pitcher, J Hermida to third.
J Albaladejo relieved T Redding. J Willingham grounded into fielder's choice to
pitcher, J Hermida scored, M Cabrera out at second. M Jacobs popped out to
second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, WASHINGTON 3.

WASHINGTON 5TH: R Zimmerman grounded out to shortstop. A Kearns homered to
center. R Church grounded out to second. W Pena struck out looking. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, WASHINGTON 4.

FLORIDA 6TH: J Colome relieved W Abreu. J Willingham singled to left.
J Willingham to second on wild pitch by J Colome. M Jacobs popped out to
shortstop. C Ross grounded out to third. M Olivo homered to left,
J Willingham scored. R Abercrombie hit for R Wolf. R Abercrombie flied out to
right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, WASHINGTON 4.

WASHINGTON 7TH: M Lindstrom relieved L Kensing. R Belliard flied out to
left. R Zimmerman grounded out to shortstop. A Kearns singled to center.
A Kearns to second on wild pitch by M Lindstrom. R Church walked. W Pena singled
to right center, A Kearns scored, R Church to third. T Tankersley relieved
M Lindstrom. B Schneider singled to right center, R Church scored, W Pena to
second. R Fick struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4,
WASHINGTON 6.</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FLORIDA (4) AT WASHINGTON (6) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Florida Starting Lineups -- H Ramirez SS, D Uggla 2B, J Hermida RF, M Cabrera 3B,
J Willingham LF, M Jacobs 1B, C Ross CF, M Olivo C, S Mitre RHP.

Washington Starting Lineups -- F Lopez SS, R Belliard 2B, R Zimmerman 3B,
A Kearns RF, R Church CF, W Pena LF, B Schneider C, R Fick 1B, T Redding RHP.

Umpires -- Laz Diaz (HP), Wally Bell (1B), Mike Dimuro (2B), Bill Welke (3B).


Gametime Weather: 86 degrees, Clear, wind right to left at 9 mph.


FLORIDA 1ST: H Ramirez grounded out to shortstop. D Uggla singled to
right. J Hermida fouled out to third. M Cabrera grounded out to third.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 0, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 1ST: F Lopez singled to left. R Belliard struck out swinging.
R Zimmerman singled to left, F Lopez to second. A Kearns singled to left
center, F Lopez to third, R Zimmerman to second. R Church singled to center,
F Lopez scored, R Zimmerman to third, A Kearns to second. W Pena struck out
swinging. B Schneider walked, R Zimmerman scored, A Kearns to third, R Church
to second. R Fick walked, A Kearns scored, R Church to third, B Schneider to
second. D Barone relieved S Mitre. T Redding grounded out to shortstop.
(3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 0, WASHINGTON 3.

FLORIDA 2ND: J Willingham singled to center. M Jacobs struck out looking.
C Ross lined out to left. M Olivo walked, J Willingham to second. D Barone
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 0, WASHINGTON 3.

WASHINGTON 2ND: F Lopez struck out swinging. R Belliard singled to center.
R Zimmerman grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first,
R Belliard out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 0, WASHINGTON 3.

FLORIDA 3RD: H Ramirez walked. D Uggla grounded into fielder's choice to
third, H Ramirez out at second. J Hermida doubled to deep center, D Uggla
scored. M Cabrera reached on infield single to pitcher, J Hermida to third.
J Albaladejo relieved T Redding. J Willingham grounded into fielder's choice to
pitcher, J Hermida scored, M Cabrera out at second. M Jacobs popped out to
second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, WASHINGTON 3.

WASHINGTON 3RD: A Kearns grounded out to shortstop. R Church grounded out
to second. W Pena walked. B Schneider grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, WASHINGTON 3.

FLORIDA 4TH: C Ross struck out swinging. M Olivo struck out swinging.
A De Aza hit for D Barone. A De Aza struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, WASHINGTON 3.

WASHINGTON 4TH: R Wolf relieved D Barone. R Fick singled to center.
J Maxwell hit for J Albaladejo. J Maxwell flied out to right. F Lopez lined out
to center. R Belliard flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA
2, WASHINGTON 3.

FLORIDA 5TH: W Abreu relieved J Albaladejo. H Ramirez walked. H Ramirez
stole second. D Uggla struck out swinging. J Hermida singled to center,
H Ramirez to third. M Cabrera grounded into double play, third to second to
first, J Hermida out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, WASHINGTON 3.

WASHINGTON 5TH: R Zimmerman grounded out to shortstop. A Kearns homered to
center. R Church grounded out to second. W Pena struck out looking. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, WASHINGTON 4.

FLORIDA 6TH: J Colome relieved W Abreu. J Willingham singled to left.
J Willingham to second on wild pitch by J Colome. M Jacobs popped out to
shortstop. C Ross grounded out to third. M Olivo homered to left,
J Willingham scored. R Abercrombie hit for R Wolf. R Abercrombie flied out to
right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, WASHINGTON 4.

WASHINGTON 6TH: L Kensing relieved R Wolf. B Schneider grounded out to
first. R Fick doubled to deep right. D Jimenez hit for J Colome. D Jimenez
struck out swinging. F Lopez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, WASHINGTON 4.

FLORIDA 7TH: L Ayala relieved J Colome. H Ramirez flied out to center.
D Uggla grounded out to third. J Hermida grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, WASHINGTON 4.

WASHINGTON 7TH: M Lindstrom relieved L Kensing. R Belliard flied out to
left. R Zimmerman grounded out to shortstop. A Kearns singled to center.
A Kearns to second on wild pitch by M Lindstrom. R Church walked. W Pena singled
to right center, A Kearns scored, R Church to third. T Tankersley relieved
M Lindstrom. B Schneider singled to right center, R Church scored, W Pena to
second. R Fick struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4,
WASHINGTON 6.

FLORIDA 8TH: J Rauch relieved L Ayala. N Logan in center field. M Cabrera
struck out swinging. J Willingham struck out looking. M Jacobs struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, WASHINGTON 6.

WASHINGTON 8TH: J Miller relieved T Tankersley. N Logan struck out
swinging. F Lopez struck out looking. R Belliard flied out to right. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, WASHINGTON 6.

FLORIDA 9TH: C Cordero relieved J Rauch. C Ross doubled to left. A Amezaga
hit for M Olivo. A Amezaga struck out swinging. J Wood hit for J Miller.
J Wood struck out looking. H Ramirez walked. D Uggla struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, WASHINGTON 6.</div>

 

Pena, Schneider help Nationals get past Marlins

<h3>WASHINGTON 6, FLORIDA 4</h3>By Tim Hipps
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Wily Mo Pena and Brian Schneider deliveredRBI singles in the seventh inning to give the Washington Nationalsa 6-4 victory over the Florida Marlins, sweeping a series in abattle of National League East cellar dwellers on Wednesday night.

The victory was Washington's fifth in a row while Florida lostfor the 17th time in 21 outings.


The Nationals (63-77) have now won seven straight vs. theMarlins (60-80) at RFK. Florida became the first team in theNational League to lose 80 games.


Ryan Zimmerman started the winning rally with a single to centerand advanced to second on a wild pitch by Marlins righthanderMatt Lindstrom (2-4), Florida's fifth pitcher of the game.Austin Kearns followed with a one-out walk.


Pena then delivered an RBI single to center that scoredZimmerman for a 5-4 lead. Lefthander Taylor Tankersley enteredfor the Marlins and promptly allowed Schneider's RBI single toright that scored Kearns to make it 6-4.


Luis Ayala (1-2), the fifth of seven pitchers used by theNationals earned the win by recording a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

Jon Rauch struck out the side in the eighth before closer ChadCordero worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to HanleyRamirez to record his 31st save in 39 opportunities.

Miguel Olivo crushed his 14th homer of the season off Nationalsrighthander Jesus Colome with Josh Willingham aboard to tie thescore at 4-4 with two outs in the sixth inning.


Kearns' 13th homer gave the Nationals a 4-2 lead in the fifth.He went 3-for-4 and scored three runs.


Nationals righthander Tim Redding left with one out in the thirdinning with a lateral elbow contusion. Redding attempted tofield a hot comebacker off the bat of Marlins third basemanMiguel Cabrera. After initially deflecting the ball high intothe air, Redding fell awkwardly on his right shoulder and armwhile trying to pick the ball off the ground. He left the fieldclutching his right wrist.


X-rays of the wrist were negative. Redding, who allowed tworuns on four hits over 2 1/3 innings, is expected to miss sevento 10 days.


Rookie righthander Jonathan Albaladejo made his major leaguedebut by replacing Redding with the Nationals leading 3-1.Albaladejo worked 1 2/3 innings and struck out three.

Jeremy Hermida's ground-rule RBI double to center in the thirdscored Dan Uggla, who reached on a fielder's choice, for theMarlins' first run off Redding. Hermida eventually scored on afielder's choice by Willingham that pulled the Marlins to 3-2.

The Marlins had runners on the corners with one out in thefifth, but Cabrera shattered his bat while bouncing into aninning-ending double play.


Washington made quick work of Marlins starter Sergio Mitre inthe first.


In the bottom of the frame, the Nationals loaded the bases onsingles by Felipe Lopez, Zimmerman and Kearns. Ryan Churchfollowed with a broken-bat RBI single up the middle for a 1-0lead.


After striking out Wily Mo Pena, Mitre walked Brian Schneider onfour pitches and Robert Fick on six, to increase Washington'slead to three.


After Mitre threw two balls to Redding, Marlins manager FrediGonzalez replaced Mitre with righthander Daniel Barone, whoinduced Redding to ground out to end the inning.


Mitre three 17 of his 33 pitches for balls, while allowing threeruns, four hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning.

It was the 19th time a starting pitcher has failed to finish thefirst inning in a contest in 2007.

 

Pena, Schneider help Nationals get past Marlins

<h3>WASHINGTON 6, FLORIDA 4</h3>By Tim Hipps
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Wily Mo Pena and Brian Schneiderdelivered RBI singles in the seventh inning to give theWashington Nationals a 6-4 victory over the Florida Marlins,sweeping a series in a battle of National League East cellardwellers on Wednesday night.


The victory was Washington's fifth in a row while Florida lostfor the 17th time in 21 outings.


The Nationals (63-77) have now won seven straight vs. theMarlins (60-80) at RFK. Florida became the first team in theNational League to lose 80 games.


Ryan Zimmerman started the winning rally with a single to centerand advanced to second on a wild pitch by Marlins righthanderMatt Lindstrom (2-4), Florida's fifth pitcher of the game.Austin Kearns followed with a one-out walk.


"No excuses," Lindstrom said. "I just needed to make a pitch onChurch and I didn't do it. We were trying to go in on Wily Moand I obviously didn't get it there. He's a good hitter, butmaybe if I jam him, he grounds out."


Pena then delivered an RBI single to center that scoredZimmerman for a 5-4 lead. Lefthander Taylor Tankersley enteredfor the Marlins and promptly allowed Schneider's RBI single toright that scored Kearns to make it 6-4.


Luis Ayala (1-2), the fifth of seven pitchers used by theNationals earned the win by recording a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

Jon Rauch struck out the side in the eighth before closer ChadCordero worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to HanleyRamirez to record his 31st save in 39 opportunities.

"In the ninth, we had runners at first and second and the guysat the plate, so that's a good sign," Marlins manager FrediGonzalez said. "These guys battle and they give it their all,and we just always come up a little bit short."


Miguel Olivo crushed his 14th homer of the season off Nationalsrighthander Jesus Colome with Josh Willingham aboard to tie thescore at 4-4 with two outs in the sixth inning.


Kearns' 13th homer gave the Nationals a 4-2 lead in the fifth.He went 3-for-4 and scored three runs.


"I don't look at it as, 'Let's stay out of last place,'" saidKearns, who went 3-for-4 and scored three runs. "We've got amonth to go. Let's finish strong."


Nationals righthander Tim Redding left with one out in the thirdinning with a lateral elbow contusion. Redding attempted tofield a hot comebacker off the bat of Marlins third basemanMiguel Cabrera. After initially deflecting the ball high intothe air, Redding fell awkwardly on his right shoulder and armwhile trying to pick the ball off the ground. He left the fieldclutching his right wrist.


X-rays of the wrist were negative. Redding, who allowed tworuns on four hits over 2 1/3 innings, is expected to miss sevento 10 days.


Rookie righthander Jonathan Albaladejo made his major leaguedebut by replacing Redding with the Nationals leading 3-1.Albaladejo worked 1 2/3 innings and struck out three.

Jeremy Hermida's ground-rule RBI double to center in the thirdscored Dan Uggla, who reached on a fielder's choice, for theMarlins' first run off Redding. Hermida eventually scored on afielder's choice by Willingham that pulled the Marlins to 3-2.

The Marlins had runners on the corners with one out in thefifth, but Cabrera shattered his bat while bouncing into aninning-ending double play.


Washington made quick work of Marlins starter Sergio Mitre inthe first.


In the bottom of the frame, the Nationals loaded the bases onsingles by Felipe Lopez, Zimmerman and Kearns. Ryan Churchfollowed with a broken-bat RBI single up the middle for a 1-0lead.


After striking out Wily Mo Pena, Mitre walked Brian Schneider onfour pitches and Robert Fick on six, to increase Washington'slead to three.


After Mitre threw two balls to Redding, Gonzalez replaced Mitrewith righthander Daniel Barone, who induced Redding to groundout to end the inning.


Mitre threw just 16 of 33 pitches for strikes, while allowingthree runs, four hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning.

It was the 19th time a starting pitcher has failed to finish thefirst inning in a contest in 2007.


"It's just lack of command," Mitre concluded. "When it's off,it's off real bad. It's just snowballing, and it's coming downhard, so I'm going to make sure to stop it. You never want outof anything. You always want to work through something,whatever it might be."


The Marlins hitters, too, are feeling the heat.


"Yeah, it just kind of sucks all the way around," Dan Ugglasaid. "We're just not playing good baseball. I feel like I'venever hit the ball in my life. It's just those stretches you gothrough and you've got to battle through - and hopefully itdoesn't last as long as it's lasted."