MARLINS 7, PHILLIES 2
Individual exploits stand out in Florida Marlins' victory
Rick VandenHurk pitched six solid innings and Jorge Cantu drove in three runs as the Marlins beat the Phillies.
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BY CLARK SPENCER
cspencer@MiamiHerald.com
PHILADELPHIA -- It wasn't about the postseason, and who would go and who wouldn't. That much was decided before Friday. The Phillies are in. The Marlins are out. And all that was left for the two teams to determine over the season's final weekend were the details, without the drama.
The Phillies, for example, already have wrapped up the division title and are only playing for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The Marlins?
Well, their 7-2 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park moved them into a tie with the Atlanta Braves for second place in the division. And there's runner-up money -- ``Christmas money,'' said reliever Brendan Donnelly -- if the Marlins can finish in the second spot.
Other than that, it was mostly about individual numbers.
PINCH-HIT TANDEM
Stuff like Wes Helms collecting his 17th pinch-hit with a single in the seventh, when the Marlins added insurance. Helms and teammate Ross Gload, who has 21 pinch-hits, need one more between them to tie the major-league record for most pinch-hits by a tandem.
``It means a lot to us because that's been our role this year,'' Helms said.
Stuff like Jorge Cantu driving in three runs, giving him 99.
``There's a lot of difference between 99 and 100,'' Cantu said. ``You try for three-digit numbers as a run producer.''
It was Cantu who put the Marlins on the board with a two-run single in the first. He drove in another run later with a sacrifice fly, leaving him within close range of triple digits for the first time since 2005 when he was with Tampa Bay.
MAYBIN SHINES
Stuff like Cameron Maybin coming up with four hits, including a pair of doubles, and scoring three times. Maybin has 11 hits in his past 21 at-bats.
And Rick VandenHurk remained on the upswing with his winning performance over the Phillies. Though his victory on Friday was his first decision since mid-August, the Marlins have won each of his five starts since Sept. 2.
``Obviously, your record is your record,'' said VandenHurk, who is 3-2. ``But at the end of the day, if I don't get the win on my record, that's fine as long as the team wins.''
VandenHurk, who has been hit hard by the Phillies in the past, held them to five hits over six innings. One of the hits was Ryan Howard's 44th home run, a two-run shot in the bottom of the first that instantly erased the Marlins' early lead.
``Nice job of pitching, just one bad pitch,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said of VandenHurk. ``When he first started the year, he was injured. He's kind of proven he can pitch at the big-league level consistently. He can go into spring training and battle for a job.''
With the victory, Gonzalez moved into a tie with Jack McKeon for most wins by a Marlins manager with 241.
The Marlins are hoping to give him his 242nd and 243rd before the end of the season. And they showed more life on Friday than the Phillies, who came out flat.
After Howard tied the score with his home run, the Marlins got the runs back in the second when Chris Coghlan and Maybin drove in runs with back-to-back doubles.
Coghlan's 108 hits since the All-Star break are the most in the majors.
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