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Late miscues doom Willis, Marlins

Lefty cruises through eight, hurt by poor defense in ninth

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

 

MIAMI -- Through eight innings, Dontrelle Willis was rolling along, on pace to become the league's first 22-game winner. The Phillies, however, had other ideas, and turned what was a banner D-Train day into a devastating loss for the Marlins.

 

Sending 15 batters to the plate in the ninth inning, the Phillies posted 10 runs in the frame and shocked the Marlins, 10-2, in front of 27,203 at Dolphins Stadium and a regional FOX TV audience.

 

Not only did Willis (21-9) have his personal six-game winning streak come to a screeching halt, the Marlins' playoff hopes took a giant jolt as they fell two games behind the Phillies in the standings with 13 games remaining. Entering Saturday night, Houston was two games ahead of Florida in the tight Wild Card race.

 

"I feel I let my team down today," said Willis, who suffered the loss after being tagged for three runs [two earned] in eight-plus innings with seven strikeouts. "My heart is bleeding for everybody else. I felt like I should have gotten it done today. That's how it is. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't."

 

Plenty of Marlins accepted blame following the club's first four-game slide since July 8-14. The Marlins had not lost a game they were leading heading into the ninth inning since falling to the Angels, 3-2, in 11 innings. The Marlins are now 73-2 when ahead in the ninth.

 

"Dontrelle pitched great and he got the loss," said closer Todd Jones, who had a string of 27 straight save conversions snapped. "It's not very fair. That's the way it goes though."

 

In the two crucial series in September, the Phillies have taken four of five from the Marlins, scoring 10 or more runs in all four of those wins.

 

"We're professionals, we'll come back," Willis said. "We don't have enough time [to worry]. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us, to mope around. You think about what you did better today and come back tomorrow. We don't have a lot of time. This is it. We're definitely going to throw our backs to the wall and do it."

 

Brilliant again, Willis carried a 2-0 lead into the ninth inning, but the game quickly slipped away from the Marlins in demoralizing fashion. The usually stellar defense committed four errors, clearing the way for a 10-run rally. At one stretch, the Phillies scored eight times and sent 10 batters to the plate before reliever Ron Villone was able to register an out.

 

Six of the 10 runs were earned. The monster inning by the Phillies matched the most runs allowed in a frame by the Marlins this season. On May 15 at San Diego, the Padres posted 10 in the seventh inning.

 

Jimmy Rollins entered the inning in danger of seeing his 22-game hitting streak come to an end. But the speedy shortstop chopped a single to left, extending his string to 23. Before the inning was over, Rollins actually had two singles, including a two-run roller up the middle with the bases loaded and the infield in.

 

After Rollins' first single, Jason Michaels walked. Bobby Abreu, who struck out three straight times, ripped a hard grounder that Luis Castillo couldn't handle at second. Instead of a double play, the error put runners on the corners with no outs, and a run in.

 

A two-time Gold Glove-winning second baseman, Castillo blamed himself for not snaring Abreu's hard shot on a dry and fast-paced infield.

 

"If I get that ball, it's a double play," Castillo said. "We had a tough day. When he hit the ball, I had a quick reaction. I put my glove on it.

 

"I feel so bad because Dontrelle pitched a good game. I'm one of the guys who wants to help win the game."

 

Willis was lifted for Jones, who was riding a National League record for logging saves in 23 straight outings. Had the 37-year-old right-hander converted the save, he would have matched John Wetteland's Major League record of 24 straight appearances recording a save. Wetteland did it with the Yankees in 1996.

 

The Phillies ended up touching up Jones for five runs [four earned] on four hits in the ninth inning. The reliable veteran has now given up runs in nine of his 62 appearances.

 

"It's hard to swallow this right now," Jones said. "This can be a dividing point. We'll see what kind of team we have now."

 

Seizing on every break, the Phillies collected eight hits in the ninth. Pat Burrell lifted an RBI single on a high pop that landed just out of the reach of a charging Juan Pierre, who initially seemed like he would catch the ball. The hit scored Michaels.

 

If Pierre got a slow jump because he lost the ball in the sun, the even-keel center fielder didn't use that as an excuse.

 

"I just missed it," Pierre said. "Nobody expected us to play like that. We're a good defensive team."

 

That's the irony of the inning. Castillo is a Gold Glove winner, and Pierre rarely doesn't make that play on the Burrell ball. Jones made a poor throw on Chase Utley's well-placed bunt, allowing another run to score. And Jeff Conine, a solid first baseman, had a ball go through his legs on a Ryan Howard grounder.

 

"We have to regroup and come back tomorrow," manager Jack McKeon said. "It's not over. We've run into a hot club. They're similar to us [in 2003]."

 

The surging Phillies, like the '03 championship-season Marlins, are making teams pay for their mistakes.

 

Before Saturday's game, backup Mike Mordecai, a member of the 2003 championship club, said he sees similarities between the Phillies and the Marlins of two years ago.

 

"They're not scared," Mordecai said of the Phillies. "They look a lot like we did."

 

Demonstrating just how rough the ninth inning was for Florida, Endy Chavez entered as a pinch-runner for Abreu. He scored a run and added an RBI single.

 

In the third inning, the Marlins scratched out an unearned run when Carlos Delgado walked with the bases loaded. Padilla threw 39 pitches and walked three, while not allowing a hit. Utley's throwing error at second, trying to force Pierre at second, kept the inning alive.

 

The Marlins pushed across a second run in the eighth inning off Ugueth Urbina, a key reliever for Florida in their 2003 World Series season.

 

Pierre reached on an infield single, stole second and went to third on Miguel Cabrera's fly ball to right. Conine's sacrifice fly to right made it 2-0.

 

The way Willis was rolling, two runs seemed like it would be enough. Now, the Marlins find themselves in a tough hole to reach the postseason with 13 games remaining.

 

"From the stands, it looked we had everything in hand. All of a sudden, a ball here and a ball there and the wheels fall off," Pierre said. "That's the beauty and the bad thing about baseball. You've got to play the full nine. You don't have a clock to tell you when the game is over. They did a good job of not hanging their heads over there.

Those Comments make me feel like they will come back next game and whoop on the Phillies. Thats the Mentality we should have everytime!

Actions speak louder than words...they may be saying the right things, but like Jones said, we'll see if this team has any character and guts tomorrow night. MUST win game if we plan to stay in this thing.

I'm taking these comments, made minutes after a poorly played game turned into a nightmare, with a grain of salt.

Two devastating losses in a row.

 

Now we'll see what this team is made of. It would be easy to pack it in. I hope we see the opposite and they come out on fire.

wow, for dontrelle to shoulder the blame after what i would call an amazing performance (8 innings 3 hits), what class. dontrelle just gained a a million more points in my book in addition to the million plus he already had.

wow, for dontrelle to shoulder the blame after what i would call an amazing performance (8 innings 3 hits), what class. dontrelle just gained a a million more points in my book in addition to the million plus he already had.

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It's a big old apology fest

Dontrelle is officially my favorite player after this game. He pitched brilliantly (not allowing a baserunner to reach second base until the 9th inning) and his defense clearly let him down. Yet, he blamed the loss on himself. That's character. That's heart. That's commitment. He will be my favorite player forever even if he doesn't win 20 games again just because of his attitude. Talk about a team player.

Dontrelle is by far the best and classiest player on this team. Theres not even a close second, he f'ing rules and it sucks the rest of the team couldnt take care of him today.

Even though D-Train is saying they'll come out tomorrow and do it not making a big deal about it, you know this loss is tearing him up inside.

 

Everyone feels like they're to blame.

 

D-Train thinks it's his fault for pitching bad, JP thinks it's his fault for missing the fly balls, Luis thinks it's his fault for screwing up the DP ball, Todd Jones thinks it's his fault because he allowed those runs to score, Niner thinks it's his fault for the ball that went right through his legs, the list goes on.

 

So much s*** went wrong in that inning that you just can't blame one person, but ULTIMATELY I think this is Jack's fault for not putting Todd Jones in there to start the inning when D-Train already had 110+ pitches.

  • Author

Even though D-Train is saying they'll come out tomorrow and do it not making a big deal about it, you know this loss is tearing him up inside.

 

Everyone feels like they're to blame.

 

D-Train thinks it's his fault for pitching bad, JP thinks it's his fault for missing the fly balls, Luis thinks it's his fault for screwing up the DP ball, Todd Jones thinks it's his fault because he allowed those runs to score, Niner thinks it's his fault for the ball that went right through his legs, the list goes on.

 

So much s*** went wrong in that inning that you just can't blame one person, but ULTIMATELY I think this is Jack's fault for not putting Todd Jones in there to start the inning when D-Train already had 110+ pitches.

951463[/snapback]

 

I wonder if Jack feels is his fault for putting the line-up the way he did, and leaving Dontrelle to pitch after allowing a lead off single on the 9th

Even though D-Train is saying they'll come out tomorrow and do it not making a big deal about it, you know this loss is tearing him up inside.

 

Everyone feels like they're to blame.

 

D-Train thinks it's his fault for pitching bad, JP thinks it's his fault for missing the fly balls, Luis thinks it's his fault for screwing up the DP ball, Todd Jones thinks it's his fault because he allowed those runs to score, Niner thinks it's his fault for the ball that went right through his legs, the list goes on.

 

So much s*** went wrong in that inning that you just can't blame one person, but ULTIMATELY I think this is Jack's fault for not putting Todd Jones in there to start the inning when D-Train already had 110+ pitches.

951463[/snapback]

 

I wonder if Jack feels is his fault for putting the line-up the way he did, and leaving Dontrelle to pitch after allowing a lead off single on the 9th

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I don't think hitting D-Train 8th had any effect, even though he didn't get a hit, he absolutely crushed that ball in the 5th or 6th inning and it would have been out at most ballparks.

 

As far as how he handled the 9th inning and letting D-Train to continue when he already had 100+ pitches, hell yes. But I don't think Jack or anyone else could have forseen a major implosion like what happened.

  • Author

Even though D-Train is saying they'll come out tomorrow and do it not making a big deal about it, you know this loss is tearing him up inside.

 

Everyone feels like they're to blame.

 

D-Train thinks it's his fault for pitching bad, JP thinks it's his fault for missing the fly balls, Luis thinks it's his fault for screwing up the DP ball, Todd Jones thinks it's his fault because he allowed those runs to score, Niner thinks it's his fault for the ball that went right through his legs, the list goes on.

 

So much s*** went wrong in that inning that you just can't blame one person, but ULTIMATELY I think this is Jack's fault for not putting Todd Jones in there to start the inning when D-Train already had 110+ pitches.

951463[/snapback]

 

I wonder if Jack feels is his fault for putting the line-up the way he did, and leaving Dontrelle to pitch after allowing a lead off single on the 9th

951467[/snapback]

 

I don't think hitting D-Train 8th had any effect, even though he didn't get a hit, he absolutely crushed that ball in the 5th or 6th inning and it would have been out at most ballparks.

 

As far as how he handled the 9th inning and letting D-Train to continue when he already had 100+ pitches, hell yes. But I don't think Jack or anyone else could have forseen a major implosion like what happened.

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Mike Lowell had no business there today, and JP should be kept at the 7th spot till the end of the season

Well for better or worse, this loss will make or break the team. It could either be the moment our team regroups and plays to their talent level, or the time we were done in. I cna't beleive I'm saying this because i rode 200 miles to watch the game, and it was like an absolute nightmare.

Hopefully we can bounce back and get on a roll. We have such a great team I dont understand how we can struggle this much, it must be our off year I guess.

 

On the way to work today the first song that came on the radio was Everything will be okay :) I hope that is a sign.

"they look like we did in '03"

 

that sounds like complacency to me.

These comments lifted my spirits. When i woke up and remembered the game, I was praying it was a dream. I feel bad though that DTrain blames himself. I dont see any way that this was his fault. Its good that they have this attitude, and hopefully theyll show the Phillies that theyre still in this.

Even though D-Train is saying they'll come out tomorrow and do it not making a big deal about it, you know this loss is tearing him up inside.

 

Everyone feels like they're to blame.

 

D-Train thinks it's his fault for pitching bad, JP thinks it's his fault for missing the fly balls, Luis thinks it's his fault for screwing up the DP ball, Todd Jones thinks it's his fault because he allowed those runs to score, Niner thinks it's his fault for the ball that went right through his legs, the list goes on.

 

So much s*** went wrong in that inning that you just can't blame one person, but ULTIMATELY I think this is Jack's fault for not putting Todd Jones in there to start the inning when D-Train already had 110+ pitches.

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The guy who i believe is really to blame is McKeon. Hes in charge of the moves in this team, and he should have brought Jones in from the get go.After a couple of mishandles, the team was in shock, and they just kept screwing up. So if you follow the chain, McKeon is in the end of it. And I usually like him.

Don't sing it, bring it. If these guys feel bad for the how the game went yesterday, they should come out like gangbusters every single game from now till the end of the season and NEVER let that happen again.

They better open up a can of ass whopping tonight and beat the phillies like 30-1, and on top of that start a brawl and send several of their players to the friggin hospital. If none of these two happen I will not believe they are for real. :chair

Those Comments make me feel like they will come back next game and whoop on the Phillies. Thats the Mentality we should have everytime!

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NO doubt!! This is the kind of heart I saw this team have when they whooped the Yankees in '03. When I saw them play their hearts out in that '03 series and win when so many were saying it was against all odds and downright impossible I fell in love with them! That's why I still adore this team! They haven't lost that heart. We can never give up on them when there is any remote possibility of their still being in the race. Sappy, but true LOL!!

We said the same stuff after the Astros series.

 

It's one thing to say all the right things, it's another to perform.

Is it me or does there seem to be too many references to 2003 and not enough about what has to be done this year? 2003 is over. Can these guys stop thinking about 2003 hen they should be thinking about THIS YEAR. Enjoy looking at the ring in the offseason; not during the regular season.

Even though D-Train is saying they'll come out tomorrow and do it not making a big deal about it, you know this loss is tearing him up inside.

 

Everyone feels like they're to blame.

 

D-Train thinks it's his fault for pitching bad, JP thinks it's his fault for missing the fly balls, Luis thinks it's his fault for screwing up the DP ball, Todd Jones thinks it's his fault because he allowed those runs to score, Niner thinks it's his fault for the ball that went right through his legs, the list goes on.

 

So much s*** went wrong in that inning that you just can't blame one person, but ULTIMATELY I think this is Jack's fault for not putting Todd Jones in there to start the inning when D-Train already had 110+ pitches.

951463[/snapback]

 

I wonder if Jack feels is his fault for putting the line-up the way he did, and leaving Dontrelle to pitch after allowing a lead off single on the 9th

951467[/snapback]

Not tonight he wasn't. But Jack's too playful with the media to get a good read on what he's thinking/feeling through quotes.

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