June 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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As the forlorn Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! packed up for the short journey back to South Florida on Sunday after the torrid Rays completed the three-game sweep, manager Fredi Gonzalez joked he would've taken June off if someone had told him his club would go 10-8 against the rugged AL East in interleague play. Unfortunately, the Rays are also in that division, and Florida's hitters took the lost weekend off as they scored seven runs while batting .208 (21 of 101). In the preceding five-game winning streak, the Marlins averaged 6.2 runs with a .311 average. More glaring was their inability to hit with runners in scoring position as they were 2 for 23, including 1 for 7 in Sunday's ..."
June 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The combination of a postgame concert by '80s rocker Pat Benatar, an injury-riddled bullpen and the Rays' speed was too much for the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! to overcome in Saturday's 3-2 loss. On Friday, the combination of Renyel Pinto and Brian Sanches turned Josh Johnson's 3-3 outing into a 7-3 loss. On Saturday, with relievers Matt Lindstrom and Kiko Calero residing on the disabled list, Burke Badenhop took over in the ninth and gave up a walk-off sacrifice fly to pinch-hitter Willie Aybar to spoil Chris Volstad's second consecutive solid start (two runs in six innings). "I thought Chris showed poise and grit, throwing 116 pitches and keeping us in the ballgame,'' Marlins ..."
June 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Proving the old adage that 'speed kills,' the Tampa Rays stole a 7-3 victory from the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! Friday night to snap their five-game winning streak at Tropicana Field. Perhaps more annoying to Fredi Gonzalez' crew is that they blew an opportunity to move into a first-place tie for the first time since May 9 as the floundering Phillies lost again. While Marlins young ace Josh Johnson turned in his customary six-inning, quality start (his 14th), he was victimized by not paying attention to details such as holding the Rays runners close. Johnson allowed three runs on seven hits as the Marlins fall to 12-4 in his starts. The lightning-quick combination of B.J. Upton ..."
June 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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To the more than 100 family members and friends who came to cheer for Tampa-grown Chris Coghlan Friday night at Tropicana Field, the Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! rookie left fielder is a hero. But to Coghlan, the one family member missing, younger brother Kevin, is the true hero. He recently finished two terms in Iraq with the Marines, and is currently debriefing in Hawaii before ending his four-year stint in September. "I look at him as the hero,'' said Coghlan, who is batting .329 over his last 19 games. "He looks at that way, too, calling me, asking about baseball because he wants to know about stuff going on in the world. Every time I see him I tell him how proud and how much ..."