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  Thursday, May 18 7:05pm ET
Marlins can't be caught; Padres hook win
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

MIAMI (AP) -- The Florida Marlins stole everything but the game.

Florida stole 10 bases Thursday -- one short of the modern National League record -- yet still lost to Stan Spencer and the San Diego Padres 6-2.

"If I would have known that I might have kept him in there," San Diego manager Bruce Bochy joked about Spencer. "Tonight, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they were going to run on him."

And run they did.

Luis Castillo and Cliff Floyd stole three bases and Mark Kotsay and Preston Wilson swiped two for the Marlins, who were 10-for-10 on steal attempts.

The post-1900 NL record of 11 was set by the New York Giants in 1912 and tied by St. Louis in 1916. The modern major league mark of 15 was set by the New York Highlanders, later the Yankees, in 1911.

"It's frustrating to lose like this," Marlins manager John Boles said. "Ten stolen bases and only two runs. It makes you feel like your skin is crawling. "You think you've seen it all, but I haven't seen this."

The last time any team had 10 steals in a game was June 30, 1996, when Colorado did it against Los Angeles. The Marlins' previous team record for stolen bases was six, done on two occasions.

A day after Castillo set a team record with four stolen bases in a game, the Marlins set a team mark by swiping four in the first inning. Castillo scored both runs after steals.

"With me it's no mystery. I think a lot of teams know they can run on me," Spencer said. "We're going to have to work on some things, I know it's something I need to get better at. I need to make sure that if they take second, not to let them take third -- that's unacceptable."

Ryan Klesko, who homered, and Al Martin each stole a base for the Padres. Bret Boone was caught stealing.

Spencer (1-1) won for the first time in 14 starts. He had not earned a victory since making his major league debut on Aug. 27, 1998, against Philadelphia, going 0-8 with a 7.20 ERA in that span.

Spencer pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits. He struck out six.

"He had some good stuff," Bochy said. "Obviously he didn't hold the runners very well -- and that's an understatement. What I liked about him was he focused on getting the hitters out and it helped us get out of some trouble."

Florida loaded the bases in the seventh, but Donne Wall struck Wilson out to end the threat.

Klesko hit a solo home run for the Padres. Eric Owens hit a two-run single in the second inning and Ruben Rivera had a two-run single in the eighth.

Alex Fernandez (4-4), who missed his last start with a strained elbow ligament, was pitching for the first time since a May 6 win against the New York Mets.

Fernandez threw 29 pitches in the first inning alone, and struggled to get ahead of hitters. He gave up three runs and nine hits in five innings, and left after throwing 100 pitches.

Klesko's eighth home run made it 3-1 in the fifth. The Marlins scored in the bottom half when Castillo singled, stole second and third and came home on Floyd's single. Castillo drew a leadoff walk in the first, stole second and scored on Floyd's single.

Phil Nevin tripled home a run in the Padres ninth.

After the wild game was finished, Bochy was happy Spencer finally got a win, but not excited by the way it transpired.

"You never want to get into a game when the other team can just run on you at will," Bochy said. "We don't want him to keep giving up stolen bases, you have to draw the line somewhere. Tonight, he went over it."

Game notes
Marlins SS Alex Gonzalez has committed seven errors in the last 22 games. ... Florida reliever Dan Miceli had a 10-minute throwing session Wednesday and didn't feel tightness in his right forearm. Boles said the right-hander could pitch in this weekend's series against the Dodgers. ... It appears as if Marlins starter Ryan Dempster is a good-luck charm for the Miami Heat. Dempster has pitched and won on the same days the Heat has knocked off the New York Knicks in Games 1, 3 and 5 of their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. ... Floyd tied a career high with two stolen bases, both in the first inning. ... Padres OF Tony Gwynn, who was 2-for-8 since coming off the disabled list, was given the night off. ... Klesko set a career high with his seventh stolen base of the season.

 


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