Paul Hoover's RBI single in the bottom of
the 10th inning lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-6 win over the Florida
Marlins in their regular-season finale.
With Dan Meyer (3-2) on the mound for Florida to start the 10th, John Mayberry
Jr. hit a leadoff single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Greg Dobbs
struck out before Jayson Werth was intentionally walked, but Hoover hit a
sharp grounder to third that Wes Helms couldn't handle, allowing Mayberry to
score.
Chad Durbin (2-2) took the win for throwing a scoreless top of the 10th for
the NL East-champion Phillies (93-69), who will have home field advantage for
their National League Division Series matchup with Colorado.
Miguel Cairo went 2-for-4 with a triple and his first homer in more than four
years for Philadelphia, which avoided the three-game sweep and snapped a
three-game slide overall. Cairo's last homer came on July 28, 2005, when he
played for the New York Mets.
Chris Coghlan concluded his rookie campaign with a 3-for-5 effort, as he
scored twice and drove in a run. Since making his debut on May 8, Coghlan has
piled up 162 hits.
Helms drove in two for the Marlins (87-75), whose four-game winning streak was
broken. Their 87 wins are three more than last season, as Florida has improved
in each of its three years under manager Fredi Gonzalez.
The Marlins got on the board in the first inning against Phillies starter J.A.
Happ, as Coghlan reached on an infield single and Cameron Maybin doubled
before Nick Johnson hit a sacrifice fly. Ronny Paulino hit an RBI double later
in the inning for a 2-0 lead.
Happ pitched two innings, allowing the two runs along with four hits and a
walk, with one strikeout.
The Phillies got those runs back in the fourth, which Cairo began with a homer
to left. Werth singled two batters later, stole second and third, and scored
on Ben Francisco's single.
The Marlins went back ahead in the fifth against Kyle Kendrick, who walked
Johnson to load the bases with two away. Helms followed with a two-run single
and Dan Uggla's subsequent RBI base hit made it a 5-2 game.
However, the Phillies again tied the contest with a rally in the bottom half.
After Andy Tracy tripled to lead off, Eric Bruntlett singled him home.
Bruntlett eventually stole second before scoring on Shane Victorino's pinch-
hit single. Two batters later Victorino scored on Dobbs' single, which chased
Florida starter Josh Johnson from the game.
Johnson allowed five runs and seven hits, walked one and struck out five in 4
2/3 frames.
Coghlan's run-scoring fielder's choice grounder in the sixth put Florida back
on top, but in the eighth Cairo hit a leadoff triple off Kiko Calero. The
relay throw from the outfield got past third base, and Cairo was awarded a
base to score and even the contest at 6-6.
Game Notes
Werth's two stolen bases gave him 20 for the season. He has stolen 20 bases in
back-to-back seasons. He also finished 2009 with a career-high 36 homers and
99 RBI...Bruntlett and Francisco each had two hits for the Phillies, while
Paulino had two for the Marlins.
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