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Friday, Sep. 8 7:05pm ET
Mantei pitches perfect ninth for 12th save | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MIAMI (AP) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks needed Matt Williams to break out of his slump, maybe even as much as they needed a win. Williams had two hits, including his seventh home run of the season, and pinch-hitter Matt Mieske delivered a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning Friday night to give the Diamondbacks a 2-1 win over the Florida Marlins. Williams snapped out of a 3-for-40 skid with a single in the second and a solo homer in seventh. "I've been struggling all year. It's been a tough year physically and mentally," Williams said. "Hopefully it's a sign of things to come." With the win, the Diamondbacks gained ground on the New York Mets in the wild-card race. Arizona is 4½ games behind the Mets, who lost to Philadelphia 2-0. "This time of year, it's tough to get wins," said Mieske, whose RBI gave the Diamondbacks their fifth victory in 16 games. Steve Finley got it started with a leadoff double in the ninth against Ricky Bones (2-3). Bones hit the next two batters, Williams and Danny Bautista, to load the bases. With one out, Mieske hit a fly ball to score Finley. Byung-Hyun Kim (5-5) got the final out of the eighth and the win. Matt Mantei pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 14 opportunities. "It was a tough game to lose," Marlins manager John Boles said. "There were a lot of ifs, but the fact of the matter is the old scoreboard read `1.' A game like this hurts, it hurts." The Marlins, who lost their fourth straight game, tied it at 1 in the eighth inning when Cliff Floyd singled home pinch-runner Andy Fox from second base. Dave Berg drew a walk from Brian Anderson to lead off the inning. Fox, running for Berg, moved to second on Luis Castillo's sacrifice. Anderson struck out Alex Gonzalez, but was pulled in favor of Dan Plesac, whose first pitch was lined into right field by Floyd. Anderson retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced before allowing singles to Derek Lee and Mark Smith to start the fifth. But the lanky left-hander worked out of the jam. He got Ramon Castro, Brad Penny and Castillo to ground out to end the threat and the inning. The Marlins also stranded a runner in scoring position in the seventh after Mike Lowell led off with a single and moved to second on Williams' throwing error. "We hit some balls hard with runners in scoring position, but they just didn't get through," Smith said. "Sometimes we have games where we score runs and then we have games like this. It's hard to figure out." Penny, making his first start since July 13, gave up seven hits and the lone run in a career-high 7 2-3 innings. His only costly mistake was a hanging curve ball thrown to Williams in the seventh. "Brad didn't make too many mistakes, but the one he did make Matt made him pay for," Arizona manager Buck Showalter said. Penny, acquired from Arizona last season, missed six weeks with a right shoulder strain. "Brad pitched great. That was the best I've seen him pitch with his command," Boles said. "He really looked polished and composed tonight. We just came out on the short end." Game notesShowalter and Boles returned to their clubs after missing games. Showalter missed Thursday's game at Atlanta to spend time with his mother in Century, Fla. Boles missed two games while visiting his 82-year-old father, who was hospitalized in Chicago. ... Florida's Alex Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 13 games, including seven straight since coming off the disabled list on Sept. 1. ... Arizona's Luis Gonzalez has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Arizona Clubhouse Florida Clubhouse Roundup: Marlins sign manager Boles to one-year extension
RECAPS NY Yankees 4 Boston 0
Pittsburgh 3
Arizona 2
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