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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MIAMI -- With all the champagne being passed around the
Florida clubhouse, it looked like the Marlins were headed to the
postseason.
|  | | Terry Francona brings out the lineup card the final time as the Phillies manager.
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Maybe they were just preparing for the future.
Preston Wilson drove in two runs to set a team record with 121
RBI as the Marlins beat Philadelphia 7-5 Sunday, closing out the
season with six consecutive victories and spoiling Terry Francona's final
game as the Phillies' manager.
Francona, whose club finished last in its division and with the
second-worst record in the National League at 65-97, was fired
Sunday morning. But he remained with the team through the season
finale.
"I've had better days," Francona said. "We all knew it was
coming. If you don't win, they move on. It didn't bowl me over, but
it was an emotional day."
It was an emotional day for Florida, too.
In addition to the season-high, six-game winning streak, the
Marlins won for the eighth time in nine games.
Wilson had three hits and broke Gary Sheffield's club mark of
120 RBI set in 1996 and Antonio Alfonseca tied the team record
with 45 saves.
"There were a lot of highlights," Marlins manager John Boles
said. "I wish we could play tomorrow. I'd like to see if we could
keep it going. But we have tremendous momentum heading into spring
training."
Not so with the Phillies, who lost 11 of their past 14 games and
now must find a new manager.
"I don't want to see him go," infielder Kevin Sefcik said.
"He was a class act, a players' manager."
Ryan Dempster (14-10) gave up five hits and three runs in five
innings, his shortest outing since June 9. He struggled with his
control, walking five and hitting a batter.
But he worked out of two bases-loaded jams.
"They're not always pretty," Dempster said. "Get the win -- it's the most important part of baseball."
Alfonseca struck out two in the ninth for his 45th save in 49
chances. He tied the team record for saves set by Bryan Harvey in
1993.
The Phillies helped out Dempster, committing two errors that led
to four unearned runs.
Philadelphia took a 2-0 lead in the first, but it didn't last
very long. The Marlins scored four runs in the bottom of the
inning.
Amaury Telemaco (1-3) gave up nine hits and seven runs, three
earned, in 4 2/3 innings.
Florida got five consecutive hits in the first, including a
two-run triple from Wilson. Mike Lowell and Mike Redmond also had
run-scoring singles.
Wilson struck out once, giving him 187 and leaving him two short
of Bobby Bonds' major league record.
"Everybody had something that they would like to do better,"
Wilson said. "For me, the strikeouts are it."
The Marlins added three runs in the fifth. Lowell's sacrifice
fly scored Kevin Millar, then Derrek Lee followed with his 28th
home run of the season, a two-run shot to left.
"We've got a lot of good things going on," Boles said.
Game notes
Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu stole his 28th base, breaking
his career high mark of 27 set last year. ... Florida's Mark Kotsay
had a chance to finish with a .300 batting average, but grounded
out in his final at-bat. ... The Marlins said they will not
exercise a one-year option on Henry Rodriguez's contract.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Philadelphia Clubhouse
Florida Clubhouse
Francona gets official word: He's fired as Phillies manager
RECAPS
Cleveland 11
Toronto 4
Detroit 12
Minnesota 11
Tampa Bay 3
Boston 2
Baltimore 7
NY Yankees 3
Kansas City 6
Chi. White Sox 2
Seattle 5
Anaheim 2
Oakland 3
Texas 0
Colorado 10
Atlanta 5
NY Mets 3
Montreal 2
St. Louis 6
Cincinnati 2
Florida 7
Philadelphia 5
Chicago Cubs 10
Pittsburgh 9
San Diego 4
Los Angeles 0
San Francisco 11
Arizona 4
Houston 6
Milwaukee 1
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