"Before the Dodgers put a damper on Opening Night, the Marlins took a moment before Friday's game to recognize two of their best hitters: Chris Coghlan and Hanley Ramirez.

Coghlan, the National League's 2009 Rookie of the Year, was handed a plaque. Ramirez was presented with a diamond pendant to celebrate his batting title.

Jorge Cantu, who drove in the Marlins' first run in a 7-3 loss Friday, didn't get anything.

But the more he keeps proving to be a dangerous hitter when runners are in scoring position, the bigger Cantu's reward could turn out to be next offseason when he figures to be worth a lot more than the $6 million, one-year contract he signed with the Marlins last offseason.

Although a wrist injury has zapped some of the power the 28-year-old third baseman used to have, he still drove in 100 runs a season ago and after Friday has started 2010 by driving in a run in each of the Marlins four games.

On Friday, Cantu made up for a strikeout with a runner on third and two outs in the first by muscling a 1-2 pitch from Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda in a similar situation for an RBI single in the sixth.

Last year, only three players in the National League drove in more clutch RBI than Cantu's 52: Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder."