Florida @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 1, 2010 ) Florida 3, St. Louis 1
The Florida Marlins are a different team without Hanley Ramirez in the lineup. And at this rate, it doesn’t look like Ramirez will be playing for a while.
The Marlins might have to get along without their All-Star shortstop when they open a two-game set tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ramirez was pulled from Monday’s game by Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez in the third inning after he accidentally kicked a ball in the outfield and jogged after it instead of hustling to make the play. Ramirez’s lack of effort allowed a pair of runs to score.
Prior to Tuesday’s game, Ramirez said he would not apologize to his manager and teammates and suggested that Gonzalez did not understand because he had never played in the big leagues.
Gonzalez, who played six seasons in the minor leagues, said he knows what it takes to play the game and understands the effort it takes.
Ramirez, who is batting .293 and is on the short list of the best players in baseball, is the highest-paid player on the Marlins after signing a six-year, $70 million contract extension in 2008. The contract was expected to keep him as the face of the franchise when Florida moved into its new stadium in 2012.
The rest of the Marlins team seems to be firmly in the corner of their manager, with fellow All-Star Dan Uggla saying that Gonzalez did what he needed to do and Cameron Maybin mentioning that the benching was the right decision.
Florida managed to secure an 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks without Ramirez on Tuesday. Maybin hit a three-run homer and Uggla added a solo shot – his 10th of the year – in support of ace Josh Johnson.
Brian Barden started in place of Ramirez and went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, forcing in the Marlins first run when he was hit by a pitch in the fourth and singling in a run to spark Florida’s five-run rally in the sixth.
The Marlins could use Ramirez’s help today when they face one of the hottest pitchers in the league in Cardinals rookie Jaime Garcia. The 23-year-old left-hander has yet to allow more than two earned runs in any start this season and has yielded only one homer in 44 1/3 innings.
Garcia is coming off a win at Cincinnati last Friday in which he surrendered two runs and five hits while walking one and striking out six in 6 1/3 innings.
Florida will counter with right-hander Anibal Sanchez. The 26-year-old has not allowed more than two runs in any of his last five starts and is coming off a win over the New York Mets on Friday, when he allowed two runs on four hits in a season-high seven innings.
St. Louis is coming off a 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. Ryan Ludwick hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth for the deciding run.