G61: Marlins 4, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 000 001 000 - 1  5  1
Marlins - 310 000 00x - 4  6  0

Scott Podsednik began the game with a single to center field. He stole second, and Dustin Pedroia walked. That turned out to be the high point of the evening.

Josh Johnson (7-4-1-1-7, 116) retired the next three batters, and watched as Josh Beckett (7-6-4-1-5, 97) allowed four hits and three runs in the bottom half, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Red Sox and their noodle bats. Miami snapped a six-game losing streak with the victory.

Jose Reyes led off the home half of the first with a triple and scored on a sac fly. With two outs, Giancarlo Stanton singled, Logan Morrison doubled (Stanton scored on Adrian Gonzalez's fielding error in right), and Gaby Sanchez singled in the third run. Donovan Solano had an RBI single in the second.

Beckett recovered and found his groove, retiring 14 Marlins in a row at one point (and 16 of 17 and 18 of 20), but the damage had been done. Boston's stagnant offense could do next to nothing with Johnson.

The Red Sox's lone run came in the sixth. Podsednik (who had three of Boston's five hits) singled to center and took third on Dustin Pedroia's double to left. Adrian Gonzalez brought Pod home with a sac fly to left.

What appeared to be a blown call at first base snuffed out a potential rally in the top of the eighth. With two outs and Podsednik on first, Pedroia appeared to beat out a ground ball to third, but first base umpire D.J. Reyburn called him out. A safe call would have brought Gonzalez up as the potential tying run.

This was NESN's only replay. (Man, their production gets worse every night.) The blur of the ball is visible on the far right-hand side, coming into the frame just below the coach's box's chalk line.


The Red Sox have lost seven of their last eight games and are 6.5 GB the Rays in the East.

Josh Beckett / Josh Johnson

Podsednik, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Gonzalez, RF
Ortiz, 1B
Saltalamacchia, C
Youkilis, 3B
Sweeney, CF
Aviles, SS
Beckett, P

In his last five starts, since his ire-inducing stint against Cleveland one month ago, Beckett has a 2.21 ERA: 36.2 innings, 30 hits, 5 walks, 25 strikeouts, 0 home runs allowed.

Johnson has a 4.56 ERA for the season, but a 2.95 mark in his last six starts.

The Marlins new park features a Red Grooms sculpture that is activated whenever a Miami player hits a home run. This is either the most tacky thing in baseball history or it is a celebration of the game in the finest Veeckian tradition.


Here is Grooms talking about the sculpture.


Finally, the Miami Marlins' theme song. (You have been warned.)