The Marlins series opener with the Braves went from good to bad to walk-off Monday night at Sun Life Stadium, as the Fish put a little kink in Atlanta's post season plans.

Against Mike Minor, Mike Stanton hit a mammoth home run into the upper deck to put the Marlins in the lead in the first, and he added another solo shot in the third to make it 2-0. The homers were Stanton's 33rd and 34th of the season.

Ricky Nolasco sailed along against the Braves and didn't give up a hit until Dan Uggla's infield single in the fifth. Unfortunately, the next hit he allowed was a solo home run to Jason Heyward in the sixth, which cut the Marlins lead in half.

Logan Morrison answered Atlanta with a home run of his own in the bottom of the frame, hitting a two-run shot that gave the Fish a 4-1 lead, but the lead was short lived.

For the second start in a row, the proverbial wheels fell of for Ricky in the seventh. The Braves put up four runs--three of those with two outs--and took the lead from the Marlins. Dan Uggla went deep to lead off the inning, and after two quick groundouts, Alex Gonzalez singled, and Ricky walked two to load the bases. 

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The Marlins saw their four-game win streak snapped Tuesday night at Turner Field as the Braves topped them 7-1 to bring the series even.  

Brad Hand pitched well enough through the first five innings of the game, pitching out of some trouble to hold the Braves scoreless, but as Jack McKeon so eloquently put it: "it’s a nine-inning game."  

Hand lost his lead with one out in the sixth, after he walked Dan Uggla and gave up a single to Matt Diaz. The result of a coaching visit to the mound was a 2-0 count to Brian McCann, who launched a three-run homer on the next pitch to give the Braves the lead.  

The Fish weren’t exactly boosting their pitching staff with any kind of runs support. The team scored their lone run off of Mike Minor in the fifth when Donnie Murphy led off with a walk, moved to third on a single by Matt Dominguez, and scored on Emilio Bonifacio’s RBI single.  

In the seventh, Dan Uggla added his own three run shot off of Brian Sanches, and the Braves were up 6-1. Atlanta would add their seventh and final run in the eighth when Alex Gonzalez doubled and later scored on a sac fly by Michael Bourn.  

The Marlins have a chance to take the series with the rubber match Wednesday afternoon.

Anibal Sanchez was the star of the show Saturday night at PNC Park as he tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout, striking out 11 and leading the Marlins to a 3-0 victory over the Pirates.

Neil Walker was the lone batter to manage a hit off of Sanchez in the game when he doubled in the second inning. But that was as much as Ani would allow in his stellar performance that none of us got to see because FSFL values football over baseball.

The Fish backed their pitcher with three runs off of rookie lefty Jeff Locke, who made his Big League debut against the Marlins Saturday. Locke lasted five innings, giving up three runs on five hits while walking four.

The Marlins score all three of their runs off of Locke in the third. Emilio Bonifacio singled to lead off the inning before Bryan Petersen and Gaby Sanchez worked walks to load the bases. A single by John Buck plated Boni and Petey, and Donnie Murphy hit a sac fly to center to score Gaby and put the Fish on top 3-0.

The Marlins have taken the series, and go for the sweep Sunday afternoon.

A game at PNC Park is apparently just what the doctor ordered for the Marlins, who kicked off their series Friday night with a 13-1 victory over the Pirates.

Ricky Nolasco allowed three runs on nine hits through his six innings of work, and enjoyed the support of his teammates' offensive outburst, nabbing his tenth win of the season. 

It wasn't Ross Ohlendorf's night. The Pirates starter lasted just two innings against the Fish, and pitched to four batters in the third before the bullpen took over. 

In the first, Omar Infante hit a solo home run to give the Marlins the lead, and added an RBI double in the second to make it 2-0. Infante's big night was just getting started. The second basemen went 4-for-6 in the game and drove in 5 runs.

Nolasco allowed a run to the Pirates in the bottom of the second, but in the third, the Marlins erupted for nine runs, sending 14 batters to the plate and collecting 10 hits to put a very safe distance between themselves and Pittsburgh. 

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The Marlins wrapped up their season series with the Mets on a low note Wednesday afternoon at Sun Life Stadium, thanks to an RBI double by Lucas Duda and the mysteriously baffling pitching of R.A. Dickey.

Brad Hand was on the Hill for the Marlins and gave up his only earned run in the first inning. Jose Reyes singled to lead off the game, and Duda doubled him in to plate what would prove to be the game-winning run.

Other than the first inning trouble and a handful of walks, Hand pitched well through six innings, allowing just one run on three hits. Unfortunately for the rookie pitcher, his teammates once again couldn’t figure out R.A. Dickey. Dickey shut out the Fish through seven innings, allowing just four hits, and collected his third win against the Marlins this season.

One bright spot in the loss was Matt Dominguez, who made his first Major League start at third base, and also collected his first Big League hit—a one-out single to center in the bottom of the second.

The Marlins had chances to tie the game or gain the lead, but they couldn’t manufacture a run when the opportunity presented itself, and left 8 on base in the game.

In the second, the team had runners on second and third with one out, but couldn’t drive in a run. They squandered a 2-on, 1-out situation in the third when Omar Infante was caught stealing third base. A double by Donnie Murphy went to waste in the fourth. In the eighth, Emilio Bonifacio hit a bunt single and moved to third on a sac bunt and groundout, but was left stranded.

Logan Morrison gave Marlins fans something to cheer about with an outfield assist in the eighth inning. David Wright tried to score from second on a single, but LoMo’s throw beat Wright to the plate, where John Buck tagged him out to keep the Marlins’ deficit at one run.

Steve Cishek, Mike Dunn, Ryan Webb and Burke Badenhop combined for three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, but the Marlins offense couldn’t back up the pitching, and the Fish dropped their final series with New York.

With the loss, the Marlins broke even with the Mets, going 9-9 on the season.

There are few moments in baseball as exhilarating as the walk off...walk. And after 14 innings, the Marlins delivered one to victory-hungry fans (there were a few Fish fans in attendance, I'm sure) on the final Sunday afternoon game at Sun Life Stadium. 

With the game all tied up at 4, the Marlins loaded the bases in the 12th and 13th innings, but weren't able to push a run across. In the 14th, Emilio Bonifacio led off with a walk, Greg Dobbs was walked intentionally, and with two outs, Herndon put Logan Morrison on as well to load the bases. Mike Cameron was the fourth Fish to get a free pass in the inning, plating the winning run after nearly five hours, in what was the Marlins' longest game of the season.

Of course, the game was played under protest by the Phillies, so perhaps the walk-off will be rendered null and void. With the game tied at 2 in the sixth, Ryan Howard led off with a walk, and Hunter Pence hit a long fly ball to right that Bryan Petersen lept to catch. A large, annoying Phillies fan reached out and knocked the ball away, and Petersen's glove as well. The play was initially ruled a double, but after review, Joe West called fan interference and Pence was out.

Charlie Manuel didn't like the call, obviously, and was ejected for arguing with West, and the Philths decided to play the game under formal protest.

Whatevs.

Roy Halladay must not have brought his magical pitching rubber with him, because he gave up three runs on nine hits through six innings. 

Bonifacio tripled to lead off the bottom of the first, and Omar Infante singled him home to give the Marlins an early lead. They would score again in the third thanks to an error by Halladay.

The Phillies took the lead in the second off of Anibal Sanchez, who went six innings and allowed two runs on six hits.

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After dropping both games of Monday’s doubleheader, the Fish managed to do something right in Flushing Tuesday night as they topped the Mets 6-0 at Citi Field.

It was a milestone night for Javier Vazquez, who scattered just three hits and shut out the Mets through seven innings, striking out six to round out his career K total to 2,500. Javy became the 30th pitcher in Major League Baseball to reach the 2,500 mark. .

While the Mets struggled to hit against Vazquez, Mike Pelfrey had things pretty well under control through six scoreless innings of his own. In the seventh, however, the Marlins tagged him for four runs in the 5-run inning. .

Mike Cameron led off the inning with a double, John Buck worked a walk, and Javy’s bunt single loaded the bases. Emilio added a single to drive in the first run of the game, and after Tim Byrdak replaced Pelfrey on the mound, a groundout by Greg Dobbs made it 2-0.

Byrdak intentionally walked Mike Stanton to load up the bases once again, and Logan Morrison made him pay with a two-run single that put the Fish on top 4-0. Gaby Sanchez would add another RBI single to make it 5-0 before the Marlins made their third out of the frame.

In the ninth, the Fish rounded out their scoring courtesy of Mike Stanton and his 31st long ball of the season, and the Fish ‘pen completed the shutout and the 6-0 victory.

There may not be any baseball to entertain us this weekend (I'll leave it to you to decide whether, given the current state of the Marlins, that is a good or bad thing), but we have something far more important to occupy our time as hurricane Irene destroys the world. Put on those party hats, FishStripers. It's Craig's birthday!!!

Thanks for all you do for us 'round these parts, Craig. And may your...uh...29th year of life be the best one yet. Happy Birthday!!!

Game One: Marlins 6, Reds 5

In anticipation of bad weather brought on by hurricane Irene, the Marlins made a late decision to play a double-header Wednesday rather than finishing up the series Thursday. So, in front of roughly 11 people, the Marlins and Reds kicked off game one at Sun Life Stadium Wednesday at 4:10 PM.

Despite the lack of supporters there to, well, support him, Logan Morrison made his triumphant return to the lineup after being demoted ten days ago, and sufficiently rubbed it in the faces of the powers that be as he had two hits, including a home run, and scored twice to help the Fish bring their six-game losing skid to a halt.

Javier Vazquez had a good start for the Marlins, striking out 11 and allowing three runs over seven innings. Javy gave up two runs in the third inning when Homer Bailey led off with a double, and Joey Votto hit a two-run homer to put the Reds in the lead.

Bailey nearly matched Vazquez’s performance on the mound, going seven innings and allowing three runs of his own. The Marlins took the lead in the fourth when LoMo led off with a solo shot, Mike Stanton doubled, and Jose Lopez went deep to put the Marlins on top 3-2.

The Reds tied up the game in the next inning when Javy walked Edgar Renteria to lead off the frame, and Brandon Phillips doubled him home.

Jose Arredondo replaced Bailey in the eighth inning, and the Fish scored three times to regain a comfy lead. Emilio Bonifacio tripled and scored on a single by Infante to make it 4-3, and after LoMo added a single, Greg Dobbs doubled in both runners to put the Marlins up 6-3.

Wait, did I say "comfy" lead? It was only comfy until Edward Mujica entered in the ninth and gave up a double to Drew Stubbs and a two-run homer to Todd Frazier to bring the Reds within one.

But Mujica got the hook after he walked Yonder Alonso with only one out, and Steve Cishek took over on the mound to earn the second save of his Big League career and preserve the ever-elusive win for the Fish.

Game Two: Marlins 2, Reds 3

Chris Volstad struggled in the opening inning, as he usually does, giving up four straight hits to the Reds to start the game. After Brandon Phillips and Fred Lewis singled, Joey Votto hit an RBI single to put the Reds up 1-0. Jay Bruce followed with a run-scoring double to make it 2-0.

In the third, Volstad gave up his customary long ball, another solo shot by Votto to put Cincinnati up 3-0.

Bronson Arroyo had a much better evening on the mound. He allowed six hits through eight scoreless innings before Francisco Cordero came in to close out the game.

The Marlins weren’t prepared to go down without a fight, and scored two runs off of the closer. Stanton reached on an error and scored on Greg Dobbs’ RBI double. Gaby Sanchez followed with a single to bring the Fish within a run, but Cordero got the final two outs without further incident, and the Reds took game two.

The Marlins lost their third game in a row Friday night at PETCO Park, out-played by the San Diego Padres as the Fish went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.

It didn't help that Mike Stanton had to be scratched from the lineup for pain resulting from a stubbed toe, or that Gaby Sanchez went 0-for-4 in response to Jack McKeon putting him in the number two spot in hopes of shaking the lineup into production.

The Fish got on the board in the top of the first against Wade LeBlanc, who walked Gaby Sanchez with one out, and gave up an RBI double to Jose Lopez.

Unfortunately, the Padres answered right back against Chris Volstad, who allowed four runs on six hits in his five innings on the mound, and struck out seven. The Pads tied up the score on a run in the bottom of the first, an RBI single from former Fish Cameron Maybin. The hit scored Will Venable, who Vols walked to lead off the inning.

The Marlins would add another run in the fourth when Chris Volstad helped out his own cause with an RBI double to score Mike Cameron, who had singled.

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When Jason Giambi blasted a two-out two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to bring the Rockies within a run, it appeared the Marlins were poised to lose another heartbreaker late.

But when the dust settled, Leo Nunez held on to log his 33rd save of the season, and break the losing streak for the Fish.

On a late night at Coors Field, Anibal Sanchez returned to form against the Rockies and bounced back from his putrid 1 2/3-inning outing against Atlanta last week. He gave up three solo homers for his only runs of the game, and struck out seven through eight innings to earn his first win since June 10th.

While the Marlins couldn’t keep up with the Rockies’ homerfest, their bats did come to life and they chased Jhoulys Chacin after just four innings. Bryan Petersen tripled with one out in the top of the first, marking the second night in a row he had a three-base hit in the opening frame. Mike Stanton followed with a walk, and Greg Dobbs singled in Petersen to make it 1-0, Fish.

Dobbs moved to second on a bobble in center by Dexter Fowler, and the Marlins were set up with runners at second and third for Mike Cameron. Cam singled on a grounder to left, plating both runners, and the Marlins had a comfy 3-0 lead after one inning.

The Rockies fought back in the second, closing within a run thanks to solo home runs by Troy Tulowitzki and Seth Smith, but the Fish would add to their lead off of Chacin in his fourth and final inning of work.

Jose Lopez doubled to left to lead off the inning, and Emilio Bonifacio brought him home with a single. Petersen was up next, and hit his second triple of the night to score Boni and give the Marlins a 5-2 lead.

The bottom of the fourth was shaky for Anibal, who gave up a leadoff home run to Carlos Gonzalez and followed that up by allowing a double to Tulo. Ani settled down, however, and got through the inning without allowing another run.

In the seventh, Mike Stanton added on some insurance with his 28th home run of the season, a solo shot that put the Fish on top 6-3. It would turn out to be a very important run for the Marlins.

Although Javier Vazquez delivered a quality seven-inning performance, Tim Lincecum went one or two better and allowed only two hits to the Marlins through seven scoreless innings as the Giants shut out the Fish in game two Saturday night at Sun Life Stadium.

Javy gave up the deciding run in the first inning when Jeff Keppinger hit a solo home run to left, but the Giants would add on two more against the starter.

In the fifth, Nate Shierholtz led off with a double and moved to third on a throwing error by Logan Morrison, then scored on a wild pitch by Javy.

The Giants added their third and final run in the sixth. Cody Ross singled to lead off the inning, and moved to second when Javy threw another wild pitch. Aubry Huff doubled to left to score Cody, and the Giants took a 3-0 lead.

The Marlins scraped together just three hits in the game, and the Giants evened the series.

At this point in the season we should know better than to hope, but that willful emotion swelled within us nonetheless as John Buck launched a three-run home run to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday against the Braves.

The hope of bringing the Marlins five-game losing streak to a halt was deflated, however, when Martin Prado’s 11th-inning RBI single gave the Braves the lead, and ultimately the win.

The Fish have now lost six in a row, and fall to 6-11 in extra innings. Not that one would have expected a different outcome, with the team’s long list of walking wounded, and the fact that they mustered four meager hits in the game. Despite the lack of hits, the Marlins did have chances, including a bases-loaded, one out situation in the eighth on which they failed to capitalize. The team went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on their way to the loss.

To kinda, sorta add insult to injury, Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to thirty games with an infield single in the fifth.

Home woes continue for the Marlins, who dropped their series to the division rival Braves with Tuesday’s loss, and have yet to win a game this homestand.

Sigh.

It feels like just yesterday that we were celebrating the team’s triumphant return to .500, but back on their home turf, all forward progress has come to a screeching halt.

After a 1 hour, 21-minute rain delay, the Marlins continued their home field suckitude Sunday as the Cardinals completed their sweep, and handed the Fish their fourth loss in a row.

Javy Vazquez went six innings and gave up four runs to the Cards. He pitched well, but the defense behind him was sloppy. Logan Morrison and Emilio Bonifacio ran into each other attempting to catch a pop up, and Mike Stanton committed an error to help out the Redbirds score three times with two out in the sixth.

Thanks to Bryan Petersen, the Fish tied it in the bottom of the inning. Petey hit his first Big League home run—and the Marlins’ first pinch-hit homer—a two-run shot to tie up the game.

The ugly defense wasn’t finished, however. Boni committed a throwing error in the top of the seventh, and the Cardinals scored three times to take a 7-4 lead.

They would round out their scoring off of Steve Cishek in the ninth, and go on to complete the sweep with an 8-4 victory.

Well it sucks to be Jason Isringhausen this week. Or maybe it just sucks to be a Mets fan.

On Monday night, New York's closer gave up a game-winning grand slam to Mike Stanton in extra innings, and in game two of the Marlins/Mets series Tuesday, he struggled again, logging his second blown save and loss in as many days.

With the victory Tuesday at Citi Field, the Marlins won their series against the Mets, tied them for third place in the NL East, and finally broke even at .500 for the first time since June 12.

But the win didn't come easily.

Chris Capuano made the start for the Mets, and gave the Marlins trouble, allowing only four hits in his six innings. Fortunately for the Fish, two of those hits were solo home runs by Omar Infante in the third and fifth innings. 

Brad Hand was on the hill for the Marlins, and the rookie allowed just two runs in his five innings of work. The Mets tied the game in the third inning when Jose Reyes hit a solo home run, and added another tying run in the fifth when Chris Capuano singled, moved to third on Justin Turner's ground rule double, and scored on a groundout by David Wright.

The bottom of the sixth sucked. For starters,  Brian Sanches took over on the mound, and with the game tied at 2-2 he gave up the go-ahead run to the Mets. Angel Pagan singled, stole second, and moved to third on a wild pitch before Lucas Duda's sac fly gave the Mets a 3-2 lead.  To top things off, Hanley Ramirez injured his shoulder trying to make a play, and had to be assisted off the field.

The Marlins didn't have any luck at all against the Mets' bullpen after the sixth inning, either, until the beautiful ninth rolled around. (Well, beautiful if you're a Florida fan.)

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With one swing of Lucas Duda's bat Monday night at Citi Field, the collective hearts of Marlins fans sank into the depths of despair. And with one swing of Mike Stanton's bat an inning later, they were lifted to the heights of elation.

Um, perhaps it wasn't as poetic as all that, but Monday night's series opener in New York was every bit as dramatic.

After seven strong one-run innings by Javier Vazquez, Leo Nunez took the mound in the bottom of the ninth, charged with holding the Marlins 3-1 lead for his 31st save of the season. But rather than saving the game, just one strike away from a win, Leo blew the lead on a two-run homer by Duda that tied the score.

Jason Isringhausen took over for the Mets in the top of the tenth, and after recording one out, gave up singles to Gaby Sanchez, Hanley Ramirez and DeWayne Wise to load the bases. After a visit to the mound, Mike Stanton stepped into the batters box and hit a grand slam to left field, giving the Fish a 7-3 lead.

Burke Badenhop sat down the Mets 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, and the Marlins took game one of their series with the Mets in ultra dramatic fashion.

With the help of Ricky Nolasco, the Marlins managed to salvage the final game of their series with the Braves on Sunday afternoon at Turner Field.

Ricky held the Braves to just one run in his 6.2 innings on the mound, and the lone run he allowed came in a shaky first inning. Jose Constanza doubled to lead off the inning, Martin Prado singled, and Freddie Freeman grounded into a double play, allowing Constanza to score.

After his undesirable first inning, Ricky didn't allow another run to the Braves.

The Fish tied up the game in the second inning after Hanley worked a leadoff walk and stole second base. Mike Stanton singled to plate Hanley, and the Marlins were even with the Braves.

Tommy Hanson would give up two more runs to the Fish. In the third inning, Omar Infante hit a bunt single, and Greg Dobbs doubled to score him and give the Marlins the lead.

Emilio Bonifacio added an insurance run in the fifth when he hit a solo shot--his second homer of the season--to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead. 

Leo Nunez worked a scoreless ninth inning for his 30th save of the season, and the Fish left Atlanta with at least a small shred of dignity.

Dan Uggla continued to stick it to his former team, blasting another three-run home run to power the Braves to a 5-1 victory over the Marlins Saturday at Turner Field. 

Anibal Sanchez had one very bad inning in his five frames against the Braves, and it would end up being the difference in the game. In the third, the Braves scored 4 runs off of Sanchy, three of those via another three-run homer by the streaking Uggla. 

Meanwhile, the Fish had next to no luck against Tim Hudson, who went seven innings and allowed just one run on six hits. The lone run came in the top of the sixth when Emilio Bonifacio doubled, then scored on Omar Infante's RBI single. 

One run obviously wasn't enough, and the Marlins dropped the series-decider to the red-hot Braves.

The Marlins completed a three-game series sweep of the Nationals Thursday afternoon, despite getting just 3 2/3 innings out of starter Brad Hand.

Hand was called up from AAA New Orleans to make the start at Nationals Park, and he didn't give the Marlins a quality start. Though he held the Nationals to just one run on three hits, the rookie walked six in only 3 2/3 innings before the bullpen was called in to take over. 

John Lannan made the start against Florida, and gave up 4 runs in his 5 2/3 innings. The Marlins took a 1-0 lead in the third when Bonifacio walked to lead off the inning, moved to third on a single by Omar Infante, and scored when Logan Morrison reached on a throwing error. 

The Nats would get the run back against Hand in the bottom of the inning. Brad loaded the bases on a single and two walks before Jayson Werth drove in a tying run with a single.

Brad Hand helped the Marlins regain the lead in the top of the next inning. Mike Cameron walked and Brett Hayes singled before Hand's sac bunt gave the Marlins a 2-1 advantage. 

The Marlins would add two more in the top of the sixth. After Mike Stanton went deep for his 24th homer of the season, Brett Hayes hit a two-out double and Bryan Petersen singled to put runners at the corners for Emilio Bonifacio. Boni took sole possession of the second-longest hitting streak in franchise history when he singled, marking 26 straight games with a hit, and simultaneously extending the Marlins' lead to three runs.

There was still a little fight left in the Nationals, however. 

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A splendid performance by Javier Vazquez and a couple of long balls by the Mikes propelled the Marlins to a 7-5 victory over Livan Hernandez and the Nationals Wednesday Night in DC

The Fish took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Mike Stanton hit his 23rd home run of the season on a line drive to right center. 

In the fourth inning, the Marlins grabbed two more runs. Greg Dobbs led off with a single, Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton walked, and John Buck hit a two-out two-run single that put the Marlins up 3-0.

Javy Vazquez held the Nationals scoreless through three innings, but in the top of the fourth, he gave up a solo shot to Laynce Nix. It was the only run Javy allowed in his seven innings of work.

Livan Hernandez walked Emilio Bonifacio to open the fifth inning, and after he gave up a single to Omar Infante, the former Fish was pulled for Ross Detwiler. Hanley Ramirez doubled off of Detwiler to score Boni, and the Marlins took a 4-1 lead.

With the way the pitching staff was handling the Nationals, it seemed a 4-1 lead would be enough for the Fish. But Mike Cameron had other ideas, and went deep twice in the final two innings. Cam led off the eighth with a solo shot, and added a two-run homer in the ninth.

As it turned out, the Marlins would need those runs.

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Let the celebration begin! The Marlins are no longer in last place in the NL East! (Here at FishStripes, it's the little things that keep us going.)

The Fish broke out the whooping sticks against the Nationals Tuesday night in DC, and moved out of the cellar with a convincing 11-2 victory. Third place, here we come.

Coming off of his horrendous 1 1/3-inning outing last week, Ricky Nolasco recovered nicely, allowing just two runs over 5 1/3 innings. The first hit Ricky allowed was a solo home run by Laynce Nix to lead off the fifth, and after an RBI double in the sixth put the Nats' second run on the board, the bullpen took over for Ricky from there.

Greg Dobbs was in the lineup Tuesday, filling in for Gaby Sanchez, who was nursing a tight hammy. Dobbs made the most of the opportunity and had a big night at the plate, going 3-for-5 and driving in 5 of the Marlins 11 runs. After his groundouts in the first and third both scored runs, Dobbs hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth, and added a two-run double in the Marlins' 5-run ninth inning. 

It was also a good night for Emilio Bonifacio, who extended his hitting streak to 24 games, and is now just one hit away from tying the Marlins franchise record. 

Logan Morrison had an interesting game, hitting a two-run homer in the top of the third, which led to a bit of a scuffle in the dugout between LoMo and the team's new mascot, Manny the Marlin. FishStripes has obtained exclusive video (and by exclusive, we mean we are one of only 3 billion people with access to this gem).

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John Buck had the day off in the series finale against the Mets Sunday afternoon at Sun Life Stadium, but he still managed to be instrumental in the Marlins 5-4 win over their NL East rivals.

With the game tied up at four in the bottom of the eighth, Buck collected his first pinch-hit RBI, giving the Marlins the lead, and ultimately, the series win.

On a miserably hot afternoon, both teams scored in the first inning. Jose Reyes and Josh Turner singled to open the game, and a sac fly by Carlos Beltran put the Mets on the board. In the bottom of the frame, Emilio Bonifacio and Omar Infante singled back-to-back before a groundout by Hanley Ramirez tied up the game.  

In the bottom of the second, the Fish would take a two-run lead off of Dillon Gee. Mike Stanton hit a leadoff homer to center field, giving the Marlins a 2-1 lead. Next, Brett Hayes singled and moved to second on Sanchy’s sac bunt, and Boni drove him in with a single to center. 3-1, Fish.  

Anibal Sanchez settled in somewhat after his shaky first inning, and didn’t allow another run to the Mets until the sixth. David Wright and Daniel Murphy singled to start the inning, and after Ani got one out, Jason Bay singled in New York’s second run of the game.  

Anibal’s start still would have been considered a pretty solid one, but with two outs in the seventh inning, he gave up a two run bomb to David Wright, putting the Mets back on top, 4-3.  

The Marlins ‘pen took over in the eighth, and Steve Cishek and Randy Choate worked a scoreless inning before Logan Morrison tied up the game for the Marlins in the bottom of the inning. He hit a solo homer to deep center off of reliever Bobby Parnell, making it 4-4. Mike Stanton followed the dinger with a single, and would score the winning run on Buck’s RBI double.  

To the surprise and delight of Fish fans, Leo Nunez didn’t bring his traditional drama to the mound, working a 1-2-3 ninth inning. The Marlins took the series from the Mets, and helped to cleanse a bit of the sour taste the Padres left in our mouths this homestand.

Though the Marlins made a valiant effort to come back against the Mets Friday night, they fell short in their series opener, and lost their fourth game in a row.

Their wonderful 2011 tradition of first-inning runs put the Fish in a 3-0 hole against the Mets. Chris Volstad gave up the three runs after allowing a one-out single to Justin Turner, and a walk to Carlos Beltran. David Wright's RBI double scored the first run, Daniel Murphy drove in the second with a single, and Angel Pagan's sac fly gave the Mets a 3-run lead.

The Marlins have allowed two runs or more in every game of their current losing streak. Coincidence? Uh, no.

The Fish would tie up the game by scoring single runs in the first, second and third innings against Mike Pelfrey. Emilio Bonifacio extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a single to lead off the first, stole second, and moved to third on Omar Infantes fly out. Logan Morrison added a sac fly to score Boni, and cut the Mets' lead to two. 

Mike Stanton's solo shot in the second brought the Marlins within a run, and in the third, Bonifacio struck again. He walked to lead off the inning, and tied the game on a single by Omar Infante, thanks to Lucas Duda's less-than-enthusiastic throw back to the infield. 

Chris Volstad would go just five innings for the Marlins, and he gave up an unearned run to the Mets in the fourth. Reyes singled, and Turner reached on a fielding error by Bonifacio before a single by Beltran put the Mets back on top, 4-3.

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The one part of Wednesday night's Marlins/Padres game that is worth recapping came in the ninth inning, when Bryan Petersen was called on to pitch. Petey Pipes tossed a scoreless inning, and became the Marlins' first position player to pinch pitch since Ross Gload tossed an inning in relief against Tampa Bay back in 2009. 

If Petey had started the game rather than finished it, the outcome might have been different. As it was, Ricky Nolasco allowed 9 runs on 9 hits, marking what he deemed "probably the worst start of my career." It was definitely the shortest start of his career at a measly 1 1/3 innings. 

To really scrape the barrel for another highlight, we move on to Emilio Bonifacio, who stretched his hitting streak to 19 games in the Marlins' 14-3 loss.

The Fish have dropped their series with the Padres, and will try and avoid a sweep this afternoon at Sun Life Stadium.

The Marlins were shut out in their series opener with San Diego Tuesday night at Sun Life Stadium, thanks to some stellar pitching by the Padres. 

Tim Stauffer stifled the Marlins bats through six innings, giving up a stingy 4 hits to the Fish. The Padres bullpen picked up right where Stauffer left off and scattered just two more hits through the ninth, completing the combined shutout.

Anibal Sanchez allowed two runs on seven hits in his six innings of work. Both runs came with two out in the top of the first. Cameron Maybin singled and stole second base, then scored on Ryan Ludwick's ground rule double. Orlando Hudson followed with another RBI double to put the Pads on top 2-0.

The Padres could have stopped there, but they padded their lead off of the Marlins bullpen. With two out in the top of the seventh, some sloppy defense, including a throwing error by Steve Cishek, resulted in another run for San Diego. 

Brian Sanches would give up the fourth and final run on an RBI single by Cameron Maybin, who didn't play nice against his former club, and the Fish dropped their series opener with the Padres.

What should have been an off night for the Marlins ended up being a big night for reliever Clay Hensley, who made his post-DL debut as a starter Monday night, and led the Fish to a 4-1 victory over the Mets at Citi Field.

K-lay shut out the Mets through five one-hit innings in his first start since 2008, and his first game-action with the Marlins since early June. He struck out three, walked two, and the lone hit he allowed was a double to Willie Harris in the bottom of the first.

Hensley was also the first Fish to reach base against Chris Capuano when he worked a two-out walk in the top of the third.

Capuano would take the loss as he tossed 7 2/3 innings for New York and allowed four runs to the Fish. The starter didn't allow a hit to the Marlins until two outs in the top of the fourth when Hanley Ramirez singled. Gaby Sanchez worked a walk to put two on for Mike Stanton, who doubled them both home to make it 2-0 Marlins. Mike Cameron added an RBI single, and the Fish were on top 3-0 after four.

In the top of the eighth, the Marlins added an insurance run on a RBI single by Logan Morrison. The single scored Bonifacio who had singled, moved to second on Infante's groundout, and stole third with LoMo at bat.

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Leading up to the Midsummer Classic, FishStripes is counting down our top 10 "hats-off" moments in Marlins All Star Game history. The Fish have 18 All Star Games under their belt, so clearly, with such a wealth of thrilling game moments to choose from, your opinion on the order and relevance of each moment may vary. Feel free to jump in on the comments and post your personal top ten, or simply rip ours to shreds. Or, ya know, just post your Ichthy picks and ignore me completely.

Here at FishStripes, we are no strangers to forecasting the future (ichthyomancy, anyone?), so it would stand to reason that our #2 hats-off All Star moment in Marlins history will not occur until Tuesday night at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Gaby Sanchez will be the lone player representing the Marlins in this year's ASG, and it is exciting to see the homegrown South Florida native repping the Fish. It is Gaby's first trip the Midsummer Classic, and although we have no idea what he's going to do in the game, or if he'll even get an at-bat, we figure it can't be any less exciting than the majority of the Marlins All Star Game appearances over the years.  

In fact, we're willing to place a little wager on it. 

Post your predictions for Gaby's performance tomorrow night in the comments of this post, and if you can accurately foretell what the first baseman will do in the game, you will be awarded ichthyomancy points to add to your regular-season total.

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