ST. PETERSBURG -- Stellar pitching was advertised and delivered on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

 

And in the duel of young lefties, the Rays' Scott Kazmir got the best of the Marlins and Dontrelle Willis.

 

Kazmir scattered four hits and struck out 11 in eight innings and Tampa Bay pulled out a 3-0 victory, completing the franchise's first three-game sweep of the Marlins in Interleague Play.

 

The 22-year-old Kazmir (7-2) has won five straight decisions. His 11 strikeouts match a career high, and the lefty scattered four hits, exiting after 119 pitches. Tyler Walker worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save.

 

"He knows how to pitch," said manager Joe Girardi of Kazmir. "He's proved that. He's been on a roll. I think he took a few lumps the first half of the season last year, but he learned how to pitch from that first half. But since then he's been as good as anyone in baseball. He just showed it again today."

 

For the Marlins it was another outing in which Willis wasn't rewarded for a strong performance. The D-Train (1-5) has now dropped five straight decisions, for the first time in his career, and the Marlins concluded their 10-game road trip with seven straight losses.

 

The Rays scored all three of their runs in the fifth, with just two of them earned. Willis was able to rebound and log his 12th career complete game, and his first of the season. In his last start, a no-decision at Atlanta, the 24-year-old carried a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning, but he surrendered a one-out home run to Jeff Francoeur, and though he threw nine innings that day, the Marlins lost in 11.

 

"I'm getting outs when I need to," said Willis, whose only win came on April 14. "The ball has been feeling good out of my hand, it's just location. My velocity seems to be up, even late in the game. I'm not fatigued. It's just my command and being able to make quality pitches."

 

As big a cheerleader as there is on this team, Willis was battling on Sunday and urging his teammates to keep plugging away against Kazmir.

 

"Keep fighting," he said. "Even at the end of the game, I'm telling them to keep fighting, keep going. Everything has been happening to us. We've lost games every way, shape or form. It can happen to them, especially in a game like this, where a base hit here can get a rally going."

 

The last time Florida dropped as many as seven in a row was from July 7-18, 2002, when they lost eight straight. The franchise record is 11, done twice in 1998.

 

With such an inexperienced roster, and playing without prize rookie shortstop Hanley Ramirez for the entire Tampa Bay series, the Marlins are competing without much to show for it.

 

"You look at our record, and I don't think it's indicative of how we've played," said Girardi. "We've been in a lot of games. It takes time to learn how to win in the big leagues when you're a young team. It just takes time.

 

"You think they've got it one day, and we might take a step back. But there are a lot of good things happening here. You can't overlook that and focus on the record. To me, that's not fair to the players."

 

The scoreless deadlock lasted until two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Julio Lugo reached on an infield single that skipped off the glove of first baseman Wes Helms.

 

If Helms makes that catch, it's likely a different inning. It was ruled a hit, although the official scorer gave it a second look after the game to decide whether it was an error.

 

"It's a tough play by Wes," said Girardi. "It's a play we're going to make more times than not. The bottom line is, we couldn't get that third out. That's been something for us a lot this year. When you give up three runs with two outs, it's tough."

 

Helms said that the liner crossed him up.

 

"What happened was, it caught me in-between," said Helms. "I thought it was going to short-hop, and I played it like it was a short-hop, and it stayed in the air, and it hit my glove first. It kind of bent my glove to the side."

 

With a runner on, Damon Hollins bounced into a fielder's choice, with Lugo being forced out at second. Needing one out to escape the jam, Willis surrendered three straight hits.

 

Jonny Gomes logged his first triple of the season, a drive to the gap in right-center. Ty Wigginton added an RBI single to right and went to second on a Joe Borchard error. Greg Norton brought home Wigginton with a single to center.

 

The Marlins were shut out for the second time this season. The other time was on Opening Day, when they lost, 1-0, at Houston in a game Willis started. "There is no one to blame," said Helms. "It's everybody. It seems like we've got this thing upon us, but we can't pull there. That's where we've got to stay strong. We can't get down. This is a learning year for the whole team. This is what young guys have got to tell themselves. Let's learn from it, rather than just sulk. It's easy to sit back and quit. We've got to keep pushing and keep pushing. We'll figure out how to win these one-run games."

 

flamarlins.com

 

I love Dontrelle's quote about keep fighting :thumbup

Hopefully he is still around after the season (Trelle). I am really dreading what is going to go on with our FO.

"You look at our record, and I don't think it's indicative of how we've played," said Girardi.

 

im getting sick and tired of hearing that

Hopefully he is still around after the season (Trelle). I am really dreading what is going to go on with our FO.

 

 

I don't want to lose him either. But if we do, I feel pretty confident that Beinfest will get a king's ransom for him or else he won't deal.

Hopefully he is still around after the season (Trelle). I am really dreading what is going to go on with our FO.

 

 

I don't want to lose him either. But if we do, I feel pretty confident that Beinfest will get a king's ransom for him or else he won't deal.

thats probably true :thumbup

I thought there was a rule in MLB that said if you get swept by the Devil Rays you're no longer allowed to have a team.

The the Bronx would be out of a team as well

Hopefully he is still around after the season (Trelle). I am really dreading what is going to go on with our FO.

 

 

I don't want to lose him either. But if we do, I feel pretty confident that Beinfest will get a king's ransom for him or else he won't deal. Yeah I am not doubting that for a second. I have confidence in Beinfest. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the FO. I think I am more worried about the fan backlash. I mean if we get a stadium and Dontrelle is gone what are they going to have to lure fans back? Perhaps I am looking too far ahead but the writing is on the wall. There are not enough fans now. Will a stadium help get more fans back when there are no stars left?

 

Sorry to bring out all the bad vibes but all these losses make me think towards the future alot.

I thought there was a rule in MLB that said if you get swept by the Devil Rays you're no longer allowed to have a team.

 

maybe..the rays do have some good players now..cantu, gomes, crawford , baldelli (when he's healthy),huff, upton, delmon young, gathright, hall, lugo, and of course kazmir. they have a powerhouse in the making..

hate to say it but i overheard a fellow marlin fan talking about this as well as much as the Marlins dont have the talent and they dont have the talent , and it is very early in girardi's managerial career but I dont think Girardi has managed this team well so he can talk about the record all he wants and how it doesnt reflect the effort , Girardi has not put players in the best position to get the best result . additionally , in several games i have seen the team basically quit midway through the game an example was the series against the cardinals saturday night they were way behind and came back only to lose 7-6 , the next day they fall behind early and basically did nothing against sidney ponson and a bunch of middle relievers. Not alot of fire on the team . Btw I am not calling for Joe's head but there are things that concern me about his managerial style.

"You look at our record, and I don't think it's indicative of how we've played," said Girardi.

 

im getting sick and tired of hearing that

We are going to hear that all season long. :plain

Hopefully he is still around after the season (Trelle). I am really dreading what is going to go on with our FO.

 

 

I don't want to lose him either. But if we do, I feel pretty confident that Beinfest will get a king's ransom for him or else he won't deal. Yeah I am not doubting that for a second. I have confidence in Beinfest. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the FO. I think I am more worried about the fan backlash. I mean if we get a stadium and Dontrelle is gone what are they going to have to lure fans back? Perhaps I am looking too far ahead but the writing is on the wall. There are not enough fans now. Will a stadium help get more fans back when there are no stars left?

 

Sorry to bring out all the bad vibes but all these losses make me think towards the future alot.

 

You are right there will be a fan backlash if the Marlins deal Dontrelle, especially if he is dealt this season. There is no reason to deal him when he is a proven star locked up in arbitration. If and when we get our stadium deal down here, we lock him and Cabrera up ASAP. We have a lot of starting pitching prospects in our system, but they can always be dealt to other teams for hitting prospects or vets. I would rather keep the proven commodity. You never know how prospects will turn out. With Dontrelle you know you have a premier starter and a team leader.

Hopefully he is still around after the season (Trelle). I am really dreading what is going to go on with our FO.

 

 

I don't want to lose him either. But if we do, I feel pretty confident that Beinfest will get a king's ransom for him or else he won't deal. Yeah I am not doubting that for a second. I have confidence in Beinfest. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the FO. I think I am more worried about the fan backlash. I mean if we get a stadium and Dontrelle is gone what are they going to have to lure fans back? Perhaps I am looking too far ahead but the writing is on the wall. There are not enough fans now. Will a stadium help get more fans back when there are no stars left?

 

Sorry to bring out all the bad vibes but all these losses make me think towards the future alot.

 

You are right there will be a fan backlash if the Marlins deal Dontrelle, especially if he is dealt this season. There is no reason to deal him when he is a proven star locked up in arbitration. If and when we get our stadium deal down here, we lock him and Cabrera up ASAP. We have a lot of starting pitching prospects in our system, but they can always be dealt to other teams for hitting prospects or vets. I would rather keep the proven commodity. You never know how prospects will turn out. With Dontrelle you know you have a premier starter and a team leader.

Yeah me and you think like that but how does our dumb FO think? I mean I can picture them sitting back in there big leather chairs having offers thrown there way for Dontrelle and biting on em simply to save some more money in the longrun.

 

For the sake of this fanbase and the sake of them looking like idiots when they do get a stadium and still not drawn a good attendance, do not trade Dontrelle, or Miggy for that matter.

 

Perhaps I am just overreating b/c of all the rumors floating around. I was watching the Braves game last night and they were even talking about Dontrelle being picked up by Arizona. It's really upsetting to hear. I am not doubting the talent we have b/c I am really impressed by guys like Shadez and Uggla but they are not proven stars that fill seats like Cabs and Dontrelle would in a new stadium.

"You look at our record, and I don't think it's indicative of how we've played," said Girardi.

 

im getting sick and tired of hearing that

I disagree with Joe on this one.

hate to say it but i overheard a fellow marlin fan talking about this as well as much as the Marlins dont have the talent and they dont have the talent , and it is very early in girardi's managerial career but I dont think Girardi has managed this team well so he can talk about the record all he wants and how it doesnt reflect the effort , Girardi has not put players in the best position to get the best result . additionally , in several games i have seen the team basically quit midway through the game an example was the series against the cardinals saturday night they were way behind and came back only to lose 7-6 , the next day they fall behind early and basically did nothing against sidney ponson and a bunch of middle relievers. Not alot of fire on the team . Btw I am not calling for Joe's head but there are things that concern me about his managerial style.

 

 

 

So they dont have the talent but your questioning Joe G's managerial style???

 

:lol :lol :lol :lol

I do not think Joe should have a "managerial style" yet with this team. To lock in a style would be based on knowing what to expect from your players. This is a big fat work in progress, with a lot of trial and error. Letting a pitcher throw an extra inning to see what he can do. Sometimes giving a player the chance to gain confidence, rather than going by the book-like letting Jacobs bat against a lefty late in the game, which he recently did and came through, rather than going righty lefty. Just basically letting everyone sink or swim with the opportunities. There is minimal track record with most of these guys and I am glad Joe is not stuck on a pattern. This is all about the future, not eeking out a few more wins along the way. Oh, it hurts just as much to lose, but only for a day. Let's go sweep the Cubs.

Hopefully he is still around after the season (Trelle). I am really dreading what is going to go on with our FO.

 

 

I don't want to lose him either. But if we do, I feel pretty confident that Beinfest will get a king's ransom for him or else he won't deal.

thats probably true :thumbup

 

If only MLB would impose a salary floor, say 40-50M, we'd have no worries about this.