Fire Breaks Out As Marlins Down Dodgers
LOS ANGELES(AP) -- Greg Dobbs and pinch-hitter Wes Helms each drove in two runs, Gaby Sanchez doubled twice and scored twice, and the Florida Marlins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Saturday night.
In the middle of the fifth inning, smoke started billowing toward the field from behind the upper deck seats on the first base side, the result of a small fire in a contained storage area. The entire area was evacuated, and fans climbed the steps to the top of the ballpark to get themselves relocated.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was quickly on the scene, contained the fire and had everything under control. Public address announcer Eric Smith informed the crowd of 29,971 of the situation, adding that it wasn't necessary to evacuate the entire stadium.
Edward Mujica (5-2), the second of five Marlins pitchers, allowed one hit over two scoreless innings and struck out four to get the victory. The right-hander had made 16 previous appearances against the Dodgers, all in relief, giving up 16 earned runs, 18 hits, five homers and six walks in 18 innings.
With Marlins ace Josh Johnson on the disabled list because of shoulder inflammation, Brian Sanches made his first major league start in the same ballpark where he made his big league debut with Philadelphia on June 1, 2006.
Sanches threw 58 pitches over three innings, allowing a run and three hits before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter with a 3-1 lead. Sanches was 12-6 with a 3.21 ERA in 166 relief appearances with the Phillies, Nationals and Marlins.
The 32-year-old right-hander was the most logical choice manager Edwin Rodriguez had, primarily because he was coming off a three-inning scoreless stint in the game Brente started - and his pitch count was more built up than those of Mujica and Burke Badenhop.
Badenhop pitched two innings, and Mike Dunn and Steve Cishek each worked one to complete the Marlins' combined six-hitter.
Hiroki Kuroda (5-5) pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed five runs on 10 hits, tying season highs in both departments.
The Marlins grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first with the help of doubles by Chris Coghlan and Sanchez. Logan Morrison drove in Coghlan with a sacrifice fly and Sanchez scored on Dobbs' two-out single.
Kemp, who took a called third strike in the first after a two-out double by Andre Ethier, got the Dodgers on the board in the third when he grounded an 0-2 pitch just inside third base for an RBI double. The hit scored Kuroda, who drew a leadoff walk.
Sanchez doubled again leading off the fourth and scored on Infante's two-out single, giving the Marlins a 3-1 lead. They made it 5-1 in the sixth, when Helms batted for Mujica and drove in two more with a double to right-center. Both of those runs were charged to Kuroda.
Dobbs singled home another run in the seventh, giving him six hits and four RBIs in eight at-bats during the first two games of this three-game series.
Notes
The Dodgers, who have drawn at least 3 million in home attendance every year following the strike-shortened 1994 and 1995 seasons, will reach the one-million mark Sunday on their 27th home date. That's the longest it's taken them since 2003, when they needed 30 games to do it. ... Sanches' previous start in professional ball was in 2007 with the Phillies' Triple-A Ottawa club. His longest relief outing in the majors was on April 3, when he pitched four hitless innings against the visiting New York Mets. ... Helms leads all pinch-hitters with 73 pinch-hits since the start of the 2005 season. His 53 hits and 38 RBIs as a pinch-hitter are Marlins club records. ... Morrison singled in the ninth inning, and has reached base either on a hit or a walk in all 29 of his games this season - the longest current streak in the majors. He had a 42-game streak last year as a rookie. ... OF Marcus Thames, who hasn't played for the Dodgers since May 2 because of a quadriceps strain, is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A Albuquerque.
