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Saturday, Jun. 24 7:05pm ET
Wilson hits two dingers | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MIAMI (AP) -- A dramatic win and the biggest home crowd of the season left the Florida Marlins feeling pretty good about themselves. Preston Wilson homered twice, including a three-run drive off Rick Aguilera in a five-run eighth inning as the Marlins rallied past the Chicago Cubs 7-4 Saturday night for their eighth win in 10 games. The presence of Sammy Sosa and a floppy-hat promotion helped draw 35,140, including a walkup of 8,550, the second-largest in team history. "I was watching people in the stands and they were having fun," Marlins manager John Boles said. "They didn't come for the floppy hats." Florida's attendance plunged following its 1997 World Series title, when nearly every veteran was purged as H. Wayne Huizenga sold the team. The Marlins, who went 54-108 in '98 and 64-98 last year, are 37-38, fourth in the NL East, ahead of only last-place Philadelphia (31-41). "That was a major league crowd. It was like New Year's Eve," Boles said. "This is a resurrection for this club. It's time we were forgiven." Wilson's homer put the Marlins ahead 6-4, giving him his first multihomer game of the season, the second of his career. Derrek Lee followed with his second homer of the game. It was the first time two Marlins homered twice in the same game. "Those two guys strike out a lot, but they put four homers over the fence," Chicago manager Don Baylor said. With the Cubs leading 4-2, Dave Berg began the rally with a one-out double off Tim Worrell and scored on Mark Kotsay's RBI single off Felix Heredia (3-2). Cliff Floyd walked, Aguilera relieved and Wilson hit his 16th homer of the season. Aguilera blew a save for the fifth time in 20 chances. "You get behind him 2-0, obviously there's my mistake," Aguilera said. "It goes with the job, but I'm not happy with the way I threw the ball and wasting a great effort by Tap." Kevin Tapani, pitching on three days' rest because scheduled starter Ismael Valdes was bothered by a blister, struck out nine in seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits. Valdes has a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, a problem that plagued him earlier this year. Tapani had been scheduled to start Sunday and will be replaced by Ruben Quevedo, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa. Eric Young went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Jose Nieves was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple. "The people you feel sorry for are Tap, Nieves, the young guys who had really good games," Nieves said. Joe Strong (1-1), Florida's 37-year-old rookie, pitched one-third of an inning for his first career win. Antonio Alfonseca pitched a perfect ninth for his major league leading 22nd save. Florida's Chuck Smith, a 30-year-old rookie, made his third major league start and allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings. Young hit an RBI single in the third, but Wilson's first homer tied it in the fifth. Chicago took a 3-1 lead in the seventh on Young's RBI single and Sosa's sacrifice fly, but Lee homered in the bottom half, his first at home since Aug. 5, 1998. Nieves' eighth-inning RBI double off Strong put the Cubs ahead 4-2. Game notesLee has three multihomer games, all this season. Of Lee's 37 career homers, only six have come at home. ... Florida's Luis Castillo stole his 32nd base, one shy of Colorado's Tom Goodwin, the major league leader, but was thrown out attempting to steal third by Jeff Reed. Castillo has been caught stealing an NL-leading 13 times. ... Floyd struck out his first two at-bats, and each time a runner was thrown out attempting to steal, for inning-ending double plays. ... Marlins C Mike Redmond, sidelined since June 17 with a sprained knee ligament, was scheduled to start Sunday. ... The Marlins are 13-2 when Wilson homers. ... Kotsay, who was 3-for-4 with an RBI, has gone 13-for-19 with eight RBIs, raising his average from .262 to .309 since June 9. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chicago Cubs Clubhouse Florida Clubhouse RECAPS Cleveland 8 Detroit 1
Detroit 14
Florida 7
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