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  Saturday, May 20 7:05pm ET
Sheffield unloads on former team
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

MIAMI (AP) -- Gary Sheffield came up in the seventh inning 0-for-4 and the Pro Player Stadium crowd was getting to him.

So, he let his bat do the talking Saturday night.

Sheffield hit a grand slam to dead center field against his former team, capping off the Los Angeles Dodgers' 12-6 victory over the Florida Marlins.

"Sheff took a little frustration out on that one ball," Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said. "That's unbelievable. He unloaded on that one."

Sheffield's seventh career slam in the seventh inning made it 12-3. His 442-foot shot was his 13th home run and came against rookie Joe Strong.

"I don't know where it landed, but it landed hard," Johnson said.

"That was a rocket," Marlins manager John Boles said. "No matter how deep center field was, you knew it was gone."

Sheffield, who played for the Marlins from 1993-98, did not speak to the press after the game.

Eric Karros homered and drove in three runs as the Dodgers won their fourth in a row. Shawn Green added a triple, double and single as the Dodgers improved to 5-0 against the Marlins this season.

Los Angeles finished with 15 hits and Florida 14, with every position player in both starting lineups getting at least one hit.

"They're a lot better team this year," Boles said. "They're loaded. They have a ferocious offense and they showed it tonight."

Carlos Perez (4-2), who entered the game with a 7.40 ERA in five road starts and was coming off an outing in which he allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings, pitched six innings. He gave up three runs and nine hits.

"When I see my team wake up so early bringing runs in, it keeps me in the game," said Perez, who has allowed 12 runs in eight first innings this season. "Everytime I'm on the mound, my team is responding."

Green's RBI triple sparked a two-run first inning and Adrian Beltre's triple in the third inning drove in two more runs to stake the Dodgers to a 4-1 lead.

Green had two shots at the cycle, but walked and struck out.

"Sure, I was going for it," said Green, who raised his average to .329. "Our offense flows really well. We all feed off each other."

Brad Penny (3-6) gave up four runs in three innings and left because of lower back spasms. After a 3-1 start, he is 0-5 with a 7.46 ERA in his last five starts.

Karros hit his 12th homer and Alex Cora added an RBI single in the fifth. Karros later walked with the bases loaded.

Cliff Floyd and Danny Bautista hit solo homers for the Marlins. Alex Gonzalez had a three-run double in the seventh off Dodgers reliever Antonio Osuna.

Game notes
The Dodgers will send Alex Cora down to Triple-A Albuquerque and will activate starting shortstop Kevin Elster in time to start Sunday's game. Cora batted .297 (11-for-37) since being recalled on May 5. Elster was batting .250 with six homers before a pulled right groin landed him on the DL on May 5. ... Floyd made two diving catches in left field to rob Sheffield and Todd Hollandsworth of hits. Floyd had a single, homer, a sacrifice fly and a walk in four at-bats. ... Penny said he first felt a twinge of back pain during a catch Friday. "I was more worried about how I felt throwing with a little pain then their lineup," Penny said. "My concentration wasn't there." ... The Dodgers had two triples in one game for the first time this season. ... Sheffield's homer was his fourth against the Marlins this season. His 64 homers at Pro Player Stadium are the most in the park's history.

 


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