Hanley Ramirez failed to drive in a run for the first time in 11 games for Florida, which was coming off a three-game sweep of Washington.

Morton (1-1) gave up one hit, walked four and struck out four as the Pirates beat Florida for the fourth straight time and improved to 14-8 against the NL East. Pittsburgh swept a home series against the Marlins in April.

Andrew McCutchen’s run-scoring double and Jack Wilson’s two-run double highlighted a three-run seventh that gave Pittsburgh a 7-0 lead.

John Baker had three RBIs, including a two-run homer in the ninth for the Marlins.

Ramirez entered the game with the longest consecutive-game RBI streak by an NL shortstop since the statistic began being officially kept in 1920. Ramirez’s best opportunity came in the sixth, when he popped to short with runners on first and third and one out.

Chris Volstad (5-8) allowed four runs and three hits in three innings. He bunted into an inning-ending double play immediately following a 45-minute rain delay in the third, then was replaced by Tim Wood to start the fourth.

Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead in the first when Moss hit a two-out homer just over the wall in right-center. It was his second of the season.

Vazquez’s two-run shot in the second made it 3-0. Andy LaRoche walked with one out before Vazquez homered to right on Volstad’s first pitch.

Pittsburgh’s lead increased to 4-0 when McCutchen scored on Moss’s fielder’s choice.

Florida scored twice in the seventh, when Cody Ross and Baker had back-to-back doubles and pinch-hitter Ross Gload followed with a single.

The game started 30 minutes late due to storms in the area.

By: Associated Press

“We’ve been lucky,” he said.

Having Hanley Ramirez has helped a little bit, too.

Ramirez extended his RBI streak to 10 games and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the Marlins won 5-3 Wednesday and remained unbeaten against the Nationals this year.

Cody Ross hit his 14th home run and added an RBI single in the eighth for Florida, 9-0 against Washington this season and 25-3 against the Nationals since September 2007. Ramirez hit a two-run double, making him the first shortstop in NL history with an RBI streak of double-digit games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“You’ve just got to keep doing your thing,” said Ramirez, batting .450 (19 for 40) with 24 RBIs since June 21. “Everything else is going to come.”

Josh Willingham was 2 for 4 with a two-run single for Washington, which stranded 13 runners.

“We had plenty of chances,” Nationals manager Manny Acta said. “I think, right now, our situational hitting flat out stinks.”

With the score 3-3 and the bases loaded in the Florida eighth, pinch-hitter Wes Helms’ roller up the middle was snared by a diving Alberto Gonzalez, who flipped to Ronnie Belliard at second to force Dan Uggla. But Helms beat Belliard’s throw, and Ramirez scored to give Florida the lead.

“I knew I was going to get there,” Helms said.

Dan Meyer (2-0), one of six Florida pitchers, got the win after working two-thirds of an inning. Leo Nunez pitched the ninth, getting his fourth save in seven chances.

Julian Tavarez (3-6) faced two batters in the eighth, and both scored as the Nationals wasted a 3-2 lead.

“Everything goes right for them when we play them,” Tavarez said.

Florida starter Josh Johnson failed to get out of the fourth inning, his shortest appearance in 34 starts dating to June 23, 2007. Johnson yielded one run and five hits in 3 1/3 innings, with four walks and three strikeouts, and only 49 of his 89 pitches went for strikes.

“Somehow, I only gave up one run,” Johnson said. “I don’t like it, but I’ll take it.”

Most oddly, Johnson couldn’t get Washington’s starter out.

Jordan Zimmermann had the first two hits of his career for Washington — the rookie was hitless in 19 at-bats coming in — and drove in the Nationals’ first run with a second-inning single off Johnson. Zimmermann allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.

Washington took a 3-2 lead in the seventh on Willingham’s single, before Ross tied it in Florida’s half with a solo homer off Sean Burnett, a left-hander making his Nationals’ debut. Washington acquired Burnett and Nyjer Morgan from Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

“Our bullpen gets in,” Acta said, “and they just beat up on them.”

All three games in the series were affected by rain: Monday’s start was pushed back 37 minutes, Tuesday’s game ended two innings early, and play was halted for 19 minutes in Wednesday’s seventh inning.

Eventually, that will no longer be an issue for the Marlins.

Final arrangements were completed early Wednesday on bonds that will help pay for a $515 million, 37,000-seat retractable-roof ballpark, set to open in 2012. Work crews started at the former Orange Bowl site hours later.

“It’s time to get this building built,” Marlins president David Samson said.

By: Associated Press

Ramirez’s two-run single in the seventh put the Marlins ahead 6-5. Jorge Cantu followed with an RBI single moments before play was stopped, and Washington never got another chance to bat.

Florida took advantage of three errors by Ryan Zimmerman, normally a slick fielder at third base. Adam Dunn homered and drove in three runs for the Nationals, who dropped to 0-8 against Florida this year.

The Marlins have won nine straight meetings dating to last season.

Ramirez set a franchise record by driving in at least one run for the ninth consecutive game. He has 21 RBIs during the stretch.

Florida trailed 5-4 heading into the pivotal seventh. Cody Ross walked leading off the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice. Zimmerman’s third error allowed Ross Gload to reach safely. Chris Coghlan walked and, with two outs, Ramirez stepped to the plate with the bases loaded.

Facing lefty Joe Beimel (0-4), Ramirez delivered a two-run single through the right side of the infield. Cantu’s single made it 7-5.

Brett Carroll followed and the count was 2-2 when umpires signaled for the tarp. The game was called after a delay of 1 hour, 29 minutes.

Renyel Pinto (3-1) earned the win by pitching a scoreless inning in relief.

The Nationals led 1-0 on an RBI double by Dunn off starter Sean West in the first that scored Zimmerman.

Florida responded with a run in the bottom half. Zimmerman bobbled a grounder by Ramirez and then overthrew first base, allowing Emilio Bonifacio to score from second. Zimmerman was charged with two errors on the play.

In the fourth, the Nationals loaded the bases with one out for pitcher Craig Stammen, who knocked in two runs with a single to center for a 3-1 edge.

Dunn added a two-run homer, his 20th of the season, to right field in the fifth.

The Marlins answered in the sixth. Alejandro De Aza scored on a wild pitch and, with a runner on, Ramirez hit his 13th home run to right field to pull Florida to 5-4.
By: Associated Press

Hanley Ramirez had three hits and an RBI for Florida, which snapped a three-game slide and is 7-0 against Washington this season. Nolasco (5-6) won his third straight start, going eight innings and yielding four hits and two runs with eight strikeouts.

Josh Willingham had two hits and Ryan Zimmerman hit his 13th homer for Washington, which wasted a stellar effort from left-hander Scott Olsen in his return from the disabled list.

Pinch-hitter Wes Helms hit a leadoff double just inside the first-base bag off Ron Villone (3-5) in the eighth. After a sacrifice by Chris Coghlan, Bonifacio’s fly ball to center scored pinch-runner Alejandro De Aza without a throw.

The Marlins scored an insurance run later in the eighth, when Cody Ross drew a bases-loaded walk from Julian Tavarez.

Leo Nunez got the final out for his third save in six chances, coming in after Dan Meyer gave up two singles. With runners on first and third, Nunez got Willingham to fly to center, ending the game.

Making his first start since May 16 because of left shoulder tendinitis, Olsen allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings, striking out seven and throwing 66 of his 94 pitches for strikes.

In the third inning, Olsen yielded four hits and two runs within a five-batter span. After that stretch, he retired 12 consecutive Marlins, six by strikeout.

For as good as Olsen was, Nolasco was even better.

He, too, had one rough early inning, allowing two runs and three hits in the second. But Nolasco was nearly unhittable from there, ending his 106-pitch night by striking out leadoff batter Willie Harris for the third time.

Neither starter allowed a walk.

Down 2-0 early, the Marlins tied it in the third on RBI hits by Coghlan and Ramirez, who drove in a run for the eighth straight game. Olsen yielded two extra-base hits in the inning and both batters eventually scored: Brett Carroll led off with a double, and Bonifacio hit a stand-up triple off the wall in left-center.

Zimmerman hit a first-pitch homer to lead off the second, and Willingham scored when Wil Nieves’ infield chopper evaded Nolasco and second baseman Dan Uggla.

By: Associated Press

Price allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Florida Marlins 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep on Sunday.

“I’m close,” Price said. “I’m getting there. I’ve just got to keep working. It’s going to fall in place at some point, and when it does I want to ride the wave as long as possible.”

Price (2-2) gave up two hits, five walks and had four strikeouts. The first overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft was coming off a pair of losses in which the left-hander was touched for 15 runs and 17 hits in 11 1/3 innings.

“Starting pitching drives the engine. He did a great job today,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

B.J. Upton homered for the Rays, who have won five in a row. Tropicana Field is the only park in the majors where at least one homer has been hit in every game (39) played this season.

The Marlins got a run-scoring single from Hanley Ramirez. Andrew Miller (2-4) gave up five runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.

“We had him [Price] on the ropes and it seemed the deeper he got into the game, the more settled he got and his stuff got better,” Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He’s a good one.”

Jason Bartlett hit an RBI double and Gabe Kapler had a run-scoring grounder to put Tampa Bay up 2-0 in the second. Bartlett has driven in 22 runs over his last 21 games, while Kapler has 12 RBIs during interleague play.

Florida got within 2-1 in the third when Ramirez completed a 12-pitch, two-out at-bat with an RBI single. He has 24 RBIs in 18 interleague games.

Upton put the Rays back up by two, at 3-1, on a first-pitch leadoff homer in the bottom of the third. It was his first home run off a lefty since last Sept. 26 against Detroit’s Bobby Seay.

“You don’t get any breaks in that lineup,” Miller said.

Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist had RBI singles in the seventh to make it 5-1.

“We’re just playing better baseball,” Maddon said.

J.P. Howell, the third Tampa Bay reliever, struggled with his control, but got the final two outs for his fifth save.

Howell replaced Chad Bradford with two on and one out in the ninth. After hitting Cody Ross and walking pinch hitter Wes Helms to force in a run that cut the Rays’ advantage to 5-2, the left-hander then struck out Ronny Paulino and Ross Gload.

“That final game is really hard,” Howell said. “It’s tough to sweep any team. It feels really good.”

Howell also had two wins in the three-game series. He has not allowed a run over his last 16 2/3 innings.

By: Associated Press

Jason Bartlett singled off Burke Badenhop (5-3) with one out in the ninth, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. He scored easily on Aybar’s fly ball to center field, as the Rays won their fourth straight to climb a season-best six games over .500 at 41-35.

J.P. Howell (4-2) pitched the ninth to earn the victory.

Brett Carroll homered for Florida, however the Marlins went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and have gone 1 for 16 in those situations in dropping the first two games of the weekend Citrus Series.

Left-hander Scott Kazmir made his first start in over a month for Tampa Bay, allowing two runs and four hits in five innings. He threw 61 of his 92 pitches for strikes, walked one and struck out five, including Chris Coghlan three times.

Marlins starter Chris Volstad gave up Pena’s solo homer in the fourth and a RBI bunt single to B.J. Upton in the fifth. The right-hander yielded five hits in six innings, walked three and fanned five before leaving a 2-2 tie to the bullpen.

Kazmir, an All-Star last year after beginning the season on the DL, had not pitched in the majors since allowing seven runs in 4 1/3 innings of a loss to Oakland on May 20. He worked on pitching mechanics the past month and felt good about the adjustments he’s made following a pair of rehab outings in the minor leagues.

The first inning has been a problem for the left-hander, and he fell behind quickly again this time with the Marlins taking a 1-0 lead without getting a hit. Carroll’s third homer of the season made it 2-0 in the third.

Fifteen of the 30 walks Kazmir has allowed this year have come in the first inning, and the 25-year-old has trailed after one inning in his each of his four losses. Emilio Bonifacio drew an early pass Saturday, then stole second and third before scoring Florida’s first run when Hanley Ramirez grounded out.

Ramirez, who went 0 for 4 to end an eight-game hitting streak, has driven in 14 runs in his last five games.

By: Associated Press

Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford also drove in runs as the AL champions ended Florida’s five-game winning streak. J.P. Howell, the fifth Tampa Bay pitcher, worked 1 1/3 innings for the victory.

Hanley Ramirez homered for the third time in four games for the Marlins, hitting a solo shot that made it 3-all in the seventh.

The Rays loaded the bases against Renyel Pinto (2-1) and Brian Sanches in the eighth on a fielder’s choice and two walks. Upton drove his double off Sanches to the gap in right-center.

Crawford followed with a RBI single for a four-run cushion.

Ramirez, who had grand slams in two of three games against Baltimore this week, has driven in 13 runs in his last four games.

His first-inning RBI single gave starter Josh Johnson a quick lead, however the Marlins wasted opportunities to take control when they left the bases loaded in the second and stranded a runner at third the following inning.

The Rays scored on Pena’s RBI single in the first and Longoria’s run-scoring single in the third.

After Florida made it 2-2 on Ross Gload’s RBI double in the fifth, Tampa Bay quickly regained the lead with help from Johnson, whose fifth-inning wild pitch allowed Upton to score from third base.

Johnson allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings. He departed with the score 3-all after Ramirez homered with two outs in the seventh off James Shields, who yielded three runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Tampa Bay’s Jason Bartlett went 0 for 4, ending his career-best and franchise-record hitting streak at 19 games. He wound up scoring the go-ahead run, though, after reaching on a fielder’s choice in the eighth.

The so-called Citrus Series has never really caught on with fans and attracted a crowd of 20,972 to slightly more than half-full Tropicana Field. The Rays averaged 19,537 for a three-game series against Philadelphia this week, an especially disappointing number because it was a rematch of the teams that met in last year’s World Series.

By: Associated Press

It was the third grand slam of the season for Ramirez, tying him for the single-season franchise record with Ross (2009), Jeff Conine (2004) and Bobby Bonilla (1997.) Ramirez has 13 RBIs in his last four games.

Leading 7-0 in the eighth, Ramirez hit an 0-1 pitch from reliever Chris Ray over the left-field scoreboard.

Marlins starter Sean West (3-2) scattered four hits over six scoreless innings to notch his third win in his last four starts.

After striking out the side in the first inning, Baltimore starter Rich Hill (3-2) struggled. He gave up six runs and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings.

The Marlins pounded out 17 hits, one shy of their season-high 18 on June 14 at Toronto, and every Marlins position player got at least one hit.

Florida is two games above .500 for the first time since May 10 and has won five straight for the first time since its season-high seven consecutive victories from April 12-19.

The Orioles lost their third consecutive game after winning five in a row coming into the series.

The Marlins took a 2-0 lead when Ross homered over the left-field scoreboard, driving in Uggla, who singled with one out.

Hill’s problems continued in the third. Florida stretched its lead to 3-0 when Ramirez singled in Chris Coghlan, who doubled to open the inning. One out later, Uggla hit his team-leading 15th homer to make it 5-0.

After giving up back-to-back doubles to Ramirez and Jorge Cantu in the fifth, Hill was replaced by Mark Hendrickson with the score 6-0.

The Orioles scored three runs in the ninth off Christopher Leroux on RBI doubles by Greg Zaun and Nick Markakis. Markakis reached base five times with four hits and a walk.

By: Associated Press

Ross had three hits, including two doubles, and Emilio Bonifacio and Dan Uggla both scored twice for Florida (37-36), which moved above .500 for the first time since May 12.

Nolasco (4-6) allowed two unearned runs and seven hits in seven innings. It was his fourth consecutive start surrendering two earned runs or less since being recalled from Triple-A New Orleans on June 7.

Dan Meyer pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first career save. Earlier Wednesday, the Marlins put closer Matt Lindstrom on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow sprain.

Melvin Mora had two hits and an RBI for Baltimore, which lost for the second straight night following a five-game winning streak.

Jason Berken (1-4) gave up three runs — two earned — and four hits in five innings. He walked two, struck out three and hasn’t won in five starts since being victorious in his major league debut May 26.

Bonifacio’s throwing error let Baltimore score two unearned runs in the sixth to pull within 3-2. Florida added an unearned run in the seventh and Ross had an RBI single in the eighth to make it 5-2.

Ramirez made it 2-0 in the first with a two-run single and Florida went ahead 3-0 in the fourth on an RBI double by Ross.

By: Associated Press

Brian Bass (4-2) began the 12th by walking Bonifacio and he advanced to second on a wild pitch with Hanley Ramirez batting. Ramirez was intentionally walked.

Cantu lined a single to left and Luke Scott’s throw home beat Bonifacio but the ball came out of catcher Gregg Zaun’s glove on the tag.

Ramirez hit his second career grand slam and Dan Uggla homered for Florida.

Matt Wieters homered and added an RBI single for Baltimore.

Burke Badenhop (5-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.

The Orioles scored three runs in the ninth to tie the game at 6 with five consecutive singles off relievers Matt Lindstrom and Brian Sanches.

Pinch-hitter Ty Wigginton’s run-scoring single made it 6-5 and chased Lindstrom. Sanches came on and gave up Oscar Salazar’s single that tied the score.

Ramirez’s grand slam highlighted a five-run seventh that gave Florida a 6-1 lead.

Danys Baez relieved Koji Uehara to start the seventh and gave up five runs in one-third of an inning.

Uehara is now 0-4 with six no-decisions since his last win, on April 13.

Florida’s Andrew Miller pitched one-hit ball through seven innings, allowing one run, two walks and striking out four. He retired 13 straight batters at one point.

Uggla’s 14th homer tied at 1 in the fifth.

Baltimore took a 1-0 lead two batters into the game. Brian Roberts led off with a double to left went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nick Markakis.

Florida’s Leo Nunez left the game with a sprained right ankle after facing two batters in the eighth, including Wieters’ homer.

By: Associated Press