By JOE CAPOZZI
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 07, 2009
PHILADELPHIA — Warming up in the bullpen before Friday’s game at Citizens Bank Park, Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco heard the sold-out crowd of 45,114 cheering the legends on the field.
Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Jim Bunning and Dick Allen were among the Phillies alumni standing behind Mike Schmidt, who led an emotionally charged ceremony honoring the late Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas.
“I said to myself, ‘I’m going to try not to give up any runs because I don’t want to hear this crowd,”” Nolasco said.
Mission accomplished. For the most part.
Nolasco allowed a two-run home run in the seventh, but hushed the Phillies and their fans most of the night as the Marlins bounced back from an embarrassing series sweep in Washington with a 3-2 win.
“The atmosphere was set for them to have a big day,” catcher John Baker said of the Phillies. “It was really big for this team to come in here the first night and erase those three losses and get this win.”
The losses won’t go away, but Nolasco, who went seven innings, at least helped give the Marlins a crucial lift with a win that moves them to within six games of the Phillies in the National League East.
“I knew we needed a big win,” he said. “We understand that this is a really, really big series for us, for the rest of this year.”
Nolasco had help, too. Renyel Pinto worked out of a jam in the eighth inning and Leo Nunez threw five pitches in a perfect ninth to earn his 10th save.
As they did in two previous games, the Marlins jumped out to an early lead.
This time, they held on. Barely.
Nick Johnson hit his first home run as a Marlin, connecting off right-hander Joe Blanton in the first inning to give Florida a 1-0 lead. Hanley Ramirez followed with a double and scored on Dan Uggla’s two-out double.
Cody Ross led off the second inning with his 19th home run to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead. More – PalmBeachPost.com
