Tagged: Chris Coghlan
Two Heads are NOT Better than One. But Nobody Asked Me.
A brilliant baseball mind once said, “Doubleheaders suck real bad.”
Or something like that.
I am inclined to agree. I’m all for bonus baseball, but I’m just not a fan of cramming two already-long games into one measly afternoon/evening. But, due to the fact that the Marlins’ retractable-roof stadium is still barely more than a twinkle in David Samson’s eye (OK, so it’s probably more like a zygote an embryo by now), when the game was rained out Saturday night, the Marlins and Rockies had no choice but to face off twice on Sunday at Land Shark Stadium.
The doubleheader didn’t start off in the most promising manner, and Marlins fans braced themselves for an ugly afternoon when Chris Volstad was shaky to start the game. Chris threw nearly 30 pitches in the first inning, and naturally gave up his obligatory long ball, a solo shot to Carlos Gonzalez that gave the Rockies an early lead. Volstad would settle down, though, and go on to give up four hits, walk four, strike out five and not allow another run in his five innings of work.
Hanley Ramirez got the scoring underway for the Marlins in the bottom of the first when he hit a home run off of Rockies starter Aaron Cook to tie up the score. In the second, the Marlins scored five times off of Cook. Chris Volstad came to bat with the bases loaded and singled to drive in two runs, and Chris Coghlan hit a three-run shot to put the Fish up 6-1. The Marlins would add another run in the third, and end Cook’s afternoon after just 2 1/3 innings.
Speaking of ending someone’s afternoon, Nick Johnson left the game in the first inning with a strained hamstring, as the collective hearts of South Florida dropped to our toes. He’s day-to-day.
Hanley Ramirez and Chris Coghlan were both three-for-five, and Cody Ross was four-for-six with an RBI. As a team, the Marlins had 17 hits, marking the twelfth consecutive 10+ hit game for the Fish.
The Marlins gained ground on the Rockies with the win, and climbed within one game of the wild card lead.
And then came game two.
I didn’t catch a whole lot of the second half of the doubleheader, but if the holes in my recap bother you, I’m pretty sure that’s why God invented box scores. And beat writers. Here’s what I did catch, though, watching some of the play-by-play on my Blackberry…
Rick VandenHurk was, um, not great. He gave up six runs in 5 2/3 innings–including three home runs–but while doing so, Vandinconsistent also managed career-high strikeouts with nine. Good stuff.
Not all the blame can fall on Vandy, as the Marlins had plenty of chances to score runs, and decided instead that it was a pretty neat idea to leave said runs stranded on base. The Fish had 13 hits, bringing their streak of games with ten+ hits to thirteen. Unfortunately, thirteen was also the number of men they left on base in the game, and they were unable to come up with much of anything with runners in scoring position.
Cody Ross set a franchise record for most hits in a doubleheader when he added another two hits in the second game to bring his total on the day to six.
The Marlins split the doubleheader, and thus remain two games back in the wild card. But the good news is they won yet another series by taking two out of three from Colorado, have won 8 of their last 10 games, and finish up their homestand 5-2.
And that, as they say, ain’t bad.
Fish Win as Johnson… Electrimazinates™
“Ace” just doesn’t seem to cut it when looking for an appropriate word to describe what Josh Johnson is as a pitcher. In fact, there may not be a descriptive enough word in any dictionary on the planet that could properly encompass the glory that is JJ and his beastly arm. So HLD&S has made one up…
Electrimazinating.™
Josh was on the hill for the Fish to open a three-game series with the Rockies Friday night at The Shark, and to say that he dominated would be putting it very mildly.
Through 8 1/3 innings, Josh struck out a career-high 11 batters, and had a no-hitter going until two outs in the seventh inning, when Garrett Atkins busted it up by blasting a home run, erasing the no-no and the shutout with one powerful swing of his bat.
While of course a no-hitter for JJ would have been amazing, HLD&S was not shedding too many tears once the initial sting of disappointment came and went. Johnson’s pitch count was at 98 when his no-hit bid ended, and there were 2 1/3 innings left in the game. JJ has tossed 161.1 innings this season, after logging only 87.1 innings in 2008 after his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Call it paranoia, but we’d kind of like to preserve that beautiful arm for the remainder of the season, which made what happened next a tad confusing. With Josh’s pitch count over 100, he still came back out to pitch the eighth, even though both the chance for the no-hitter and the shutout were already gone. JJ recorded an out and walked one, bringing his pitch count to 114 before he exited the game to a standing ovation from the 15,000+ in attendance.
8 1/3 innings, 11 strikeouts, and one lonely hit for Josh Johnson… You see why we’re forced to alter the English language to accommodate him?
With Jason Hammel on the mound for the Rockies, the Marlins scored single runs in the second, third and fourth innings, and put another two on the board when Dan Uggla blasted a two-run shot off of Adam Eaton in the seventh. The Marlins also extended their streak of double-digit hits to eleven games, with ten hits on the night, and continue to enjoy the longest team double-digit hit streak in Major League Baseball this season. Hanley Ramirez was once again 2-for-4 on the night, which brought his personal hit streak to ten games, but Chris Coghlan saw his 12-game hitting streak come to an end after going 0-for-4 with a sacrifice.
The bullpen took over for Johnson with one out in the eight, and after Pinto recorded the remaining two outs in that inning, the Marlins continued their trend of making those last three outs as difficult–and frightening–as possible. No one was probably as nervous as Josh Johnson, who handed the Marlins a 5-run lead that they managed to whittle down to just one run, thanks in part to some bad defense with Brendan Donnelly on the mound, and a 3-run homer Leo Nunez served up to Chris Iannetta with two outs.
After the long ball, Nunez managed to close out the game and preserve Johnson’s 12th win of the season. If he hadn’t, HLD&S would be inventing even more additions to the English language today. Four-letter ones.
The Marlins are now just two games back from the Rockies for the wild card lead, but remain 4 1/2 games behind the aggravating Phillies–who are apparently recovering well from being swept by Florida, and are determined to win every single game they play for the remainder of the season.
In other news, we need a closer.
And the Fish Take the Series.
“Look, kid, we’re beat. Our friggin’ arms are about to fall off in here, and it’d be huge if you could do us all a solid and go at least six tonight.”
Brendan Donnelly’s words to Sean West may not go down in history as the most inspirational pre-game pep talk of all time, but they were all the rookie needed to hear as he made his way out of the bullpen to take the hill in the final game of the Marlins series with the Astros Thursday night at The Shark.
Actually, to be perfectly honest Donnelly’s words probably won’t go down in history as anything, since I just made them up. But I’m pretty sure somebody had to have said something to West to inspire an outing in which he walked nobody, struck out three and allowed just five hits and one run through six innings of work. Whatever the reason behind his performance, I (obviously) think I speak on behalf of the entire Marlins bullpen when I say THANK YOU, Sean West.
Jorge Cantu got the scoring started off for the Fish when he took a little break from his, uh, break from hitting home runs, and went deep against Mike Hampton in the bottom of the first to give the Marlins the early 2-0 lead. Ronny Paulino also hit a solo shot off of Hampton in the fifth that put the Marlins up 3-1 as the Astros went to their bullpen.
In the end, it turns out the Fish didn’t actually need any of the half-dozen runs they scored off of reliever Chris Sampson in the sixth, but it was entertaining to watch them do it anyway. Ten Marlins came to bat in the inning, and RBI from Helms, Gload, Coghlan, Bonifacio and Ramirez put another six runs on the board to make it a 9-1 ball game.
After the game, Sampson, who walked two and gave up five hits and six runs in 2/3 of an inning, was optioned to AAA… and another one bites the dust courtesy of the Fish and their smoking bats.
Chris Coghlan’s single in the sixth extended his hitting streak to twelve games, while Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-4 to stretch his own hit-streak to nine games. As a team, the Marlins extended a streak as well– the Fish have now logged double-digit hits in ten straight games, with 11 hits off of the Astros in the series finale.
Brian Sanches pitched two scoreless innings in relief of West, and Chris Leroux–who was recalled from AA Jacksonville Thursday to take Tim Wood’s place on the roster, and promptly sent back there after the game–gave up two walks, two hits and a run to the Astros before he recorded three outs in the ninth. (We’re going to have to stop allowing Matt Lindstrom to give these kids pointers before they pitch.)
The Marlins took three out of four from the Astros, and remain 4 1/2 games back from the Phillies in the East, and three games back of the wild card-leading Rockies, who are in town for a three-game series which starts tonight.
Let’s hope the Fish have some hits left in them for the weekend.
The Streak Continues! (uh, for Fish, not Coghlan)
Fresh off their sweep of the Phillies on the road, the Marlins were back in town to kick off a four-game set with the Houston Astros Monday night at Land Shark Stadium, and to prove to themselves (and maybe the Nationals) that they are also capable of handling teams which are not in first place.
Brian Moehler was on the mound for the Astros, and the Marlins welcomed their old buddy back with open arms… and with an RBI from Jorge Cantu, a two-run double from John Baker and a sac fly from Cody Ross to take a four-run lead in the first. We missed you, Moehler.
Brian didn’t allow another run in his five innings of work, but the Marlins took the lead in the first, and wouldn’t give it up. (Aw crap, I just gave away the ending. My bad.)
It was Rick VandenHurk making the start for the Fish, and he also seemed to be making a very concerted effort to cram a complete game’s worth of pitches into five innings. Vandy didn’t have a bad start Monday night, but he didn’t necessarily make it look too easy through five innings against the Astros. Hurk managed to get through a shaky first without giving up a run, but he wasn’t as lucky in the second when, um, big-formidable-power-hitter Darin Erstad took him deep to put two runs on the board for Houston. With five hits, three walks, four K’s and two runs to his credit, Hurk was finished after five innings and 97 pitches.
The Marlins added three runs in the sixth inning off of Astros reliever Chris Sampson, who balked in a run with the bases loaded, and then paid for several intentional walks. Sampson put Gload on base to pitch to Chris Coghlan, who answered with an RBI single, and then decided to try his luck at the strategy again by walking Nick Johnson intentionally with Hanley Ramirez on deck. It’s not often you’ll see a team choose to walk a guy to pitch to Hanley, and he showed the Astros why when he batted in his 75th run of the season.
All eyes were on Chris Coghlan as he attempted to add on to his streak of eight consecutive multi-hit games, but while the rookie reached base three times, he only got one hit on the night. While that streak came to an end, though, the team kept their streak of double-digit hits alive for the seventh game in a row.
Headed into the ninth, the Marlins lead 8-3, and Lindstrom came in to record the final three outs of the game. Or that was the idea, anyway. Normally when a pitcher comes in to pitch the ninth with a five-run lead, it’s not considered a save situation. But I did say it was Matt Lindstrom coming in pitch, and we all know that with him, pretty much any and every situation can be considered a save (as in, he’ll probably need to be saved from the situation he gets himself into when he gives up multiple walks, hits and runs). Matty only got through 1/3 of the ninth inning, and gave up three runs–one earned. In fairness to Matt, Uggla’s error didn’t exactly help him out.
Fredi pulled Lindstrom for Leo Nunez, and Leo must have wanted to make Chris Sampson feel a little better about his rough sixth inning, so he balked in a run before recording the save for the Marlins.
The Fish have now won four straight, and are just 3 1/2 games behind the Phillies in the East. Hopefully they can keep the hot streak going Tuesday night as Chris Volstad takes the hill in the second game of the series.
Let’s gain more ground, shall we? Thanks.
Phairly Phantastic Day at the Park for the Phish.
You know something’s up when Jeremy Hermida is making highlight-worthy catches in right, the Fish are actually getting double-digit hits off of Grandpa Moyer, Shane Victorino is attacking an umpire like a rabid wildebeest and the home crowd is booing the dude that sings God Bless America… OK, so that last one is pretty much a normal day at the park for Phils fans. But overall, it was a strange, strange afternoon at Citizen’s Bank Park Sunday as the Marlins went for the sweep against the Philadelphia Phillies.
When Jamie [Freaking] Moyer is on the mound against Florida, it normally signifies nap time for the folks at home. I mean, do we really need to see the Marlins get blanked through seven innings? But something magical happened Sunday afternoon: the Fish actually hit those annoying, 15-mph pitches Moyer was offering them, and through six innings, the team managed eleven hits and three runs off of their longtime nemesis.
If the bats are working against Moyer and Marlins ace Josh Johnson is on the mound, good things are bound to happen. JJ didn’t appear to be himself when he struggled to start the game, but he held the Phillies to one run in a very shaky first inning, and went on to pitch six innings, giving up just four hits and the first-inning run to the Phils. A couple of great defensive plays contributed to JJ’s success, including a stunning Jeremy Hermida snow cone grab of a long fly ball up against the wall in right to save a few runs in the first. Hermida the Gold Glover? I told you it was a strange afternoon.
The final out JJ recorded in the game was a strikeout of Ryan Howard in the bottom of the sixth. Howard was rung up by home plate umpire Ed Rapuano on a pitch that several Phillies took exception to, and that’s where the afternoon got really exciting.
It’s like I always say: how dare anyone call a pitch a strike if Shane Victorino is not in 100% agreement?! Well, the Phil’s center fielder wasn’t, and he thought it would be a good idea to discuss his disapproval with Ed Rapuano in the midst of a Wes Helms at-bat during the top of the seventh inning… from center field. I have no idea on earth why that would bother an umpire in the least, but it did, and Rapuano tossed Victorino from the game.
Upon hearing the news of his ejection, Victorino trotted calmly to the Phillies dugout and accepted his punishment with grace and dignity raced to home plate with a fury reminiscent of a man possessed by the devil and pretended that he was going to tear the flesh from Ed Rapuano’s bones. But come on. We all know Ed could take Victorino down with one hand tied behind his back, and the three (HA!) Phillies it took to “hold back” the pint-sized Hawaiian were there for show, I assure you.
After Victorino’s ejection, the Marlins went on to score six runs against Phils reliever Rodrigo Lopez that inning, sealing the victory, and the sweep, for the Fish.
And then the ever-classy Philadelphia fans booed the poor guy who sang God Bless America. I guess when Shane Victorino is upset, or their team is getting swept, any love of country–or just plain common courtesy–flies out the window for residents of the city of brotherly loathing.
Hanley Ramirez and Chris Coghlan were both 4-for-6 in the game with several RBI, and with his second hit of the afternoon, Coghlan surpassed Juan Pierre and Miguel Cabrera to set a new franchise record for consecutive multi-hit games (8). Jorge Cantu drove in a pair of runs, and Wes Helms topped off the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
On an afternoon when fans were expecting to see a big zero under the Marlins “H” in the box score for most of the game, the team treated us to a season-high 19 hits, a dozen runs, and a sweep of the Phillies at home to pull within four games of the NL East leaders.
Ah, nothing beats a sweep of my least favorite team in baseball.
Can I borrow your broom? I want to stab myself in the eye with it.
Well it’s a sentence I didn’t think I’d have to write this season, but nonetheless:
The Marlins have just been swept by the Nationals.
If you want to know all the gory details, unfortunately you’ll have to look elsewhere, as the cocktail of prescription narcotics that I downed to ease the pain of this series have really clouded my memory of the afternoon’s events.
I do seem to recall that things started out splendidly for the Fish on Thursday in the series finale at Nationals Park. The Marlins scored two runs in the first and another 4 in the second, and chased starter Craig Stammen after just 1 2/3 innings.
That provided a comfy six-run cushion for Chris Volstad, who held the Nats scoreless through three before he decided he was no longer a fan of prosperity. Chris gave up three runs in the fourth inning, and after John Baker hit a two-run shot in the top of the inning, Vols proceeded to give up another four runs in the fifth–thanks in part to the obligatory long ball and a costly error by Jorge Cantu. That was the end of Volstad’s afternoon.
So the Marlins saw a 6-0 lead evaporate Thurdsday, and things just went downhill from there. Or, things had already gone downhill, so they decided to dig a tunnel to the center of the earth and continue the ride.
The Fish were clinging to an 8-7 lead in the seventh when at some point (I was barely conscious by then) Fredi got tossed for arguing balls and strikes. Brian Sanches gave up a home run to Elijah Dukes to tie up the game. Then Luis Ayala gave up four runs in the eighth, one of which was balked in by Brendan Donnelly. And this is where I lose the will to live er, to recap this game.
The whole “sweep-avoidance” thing didn’t turn out so well for the Marlins as they lost their third straight game in our nation’s capital. The Fish are now seven games behind the Phillies as they head to Philadelphia, and while there are 54 games left in the season, this series definitely begs the question: are any of the remaining games even going to matter?
Sorry. If you’re looking for optimism today, you stopped at the wrong blog.
Honeymoon: Over.
Remember that super exciting 11-1 start the Marlins had? Yeah, me too. Since then, the Fish have won a total of four games. And lost 13. It’s not as though I expected the team to continue at that pace all season, but I also didn’t expect to be sitting just a game above .500 on the 8th of May.
After winning game one of their irritatingly short homestand, the Marlins dropped three in a row. A couple thoughts on that:
- When one’s team scores six runs and one’s bullpen does not allow a run, one can usually expect at least a fair shot at winning a ballgame. That is, unless Graham Taylor happens to be starting for your team, in which case your chances of losing said ballgame are still sitting at around 89%.
- In all fairness to Taylor, it’s not his fault the Marlins decided to start him before he’s ready. But maybe the next time he’s called up (hopefully not til 2012 or so), he could ask the organization to take a new headshot. When he has just given up eight runs in a little over two innings, this expression is the last thing I want to look at.
- Marlins starters have now gone 20 straight games without a win, and there to rub it in our faces Wednesday was Derek Lowe. Our starters can’t even manage to squeeze a win out of a 3-hit shutout these days, and Lowe “earned” the W despite giving up six runs in his worst start of the year.
- Not only did the Marlins lose the game Thursday, they also lost starter Anibal Sanchez to a shoulder injury. A rotation that is two-fifths Miller and Taylor is the stuff of nightmares. Let’s hope it just stays in my head and out of reality. (EDIT: Crisis averted. Juan Rodriguez reports Chris Coghlan will take Sanchy’s spot on the roster.)
- It’s great fun watching Hanley and Jorge attempt to singlehandedly win ballgames with their bats each night, but to quote Cantu, “it takes nine people to win a game.”
- Dan Uggla: .190
- Cameron Maybin: .202
Colorado, here we come.
Hook, Line Drive, & Sinker 
