Brantly Drives in Game-Winning RBI

Sept. 19, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins catcher Rob Brantly (19) heads towards the dugout during the bottom the of the fourth inning against he Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Issuing two walks and two strikeouts in a no-earned-run 5-inning appearance last night, Wade LeBlanc had a short but successful understudy appearance for the hamstring/hip flexor-addled Josh Johnson. The Mets’ Jeurys Familia, however, couldn’t find the plate early on, and issued six free passes in four innings. Miami pitchers Tom Koehler and Dan Jennings started the Bullpen on Parade with a shared sixth inning, and then it was successive innings by Ryan Webb, Heath Bell, and Steve Cishek for frames 7,8, and9 respectively. Koehler had the roughest appearance, giving up three hits and one earned run.  The remainder of the bullpen gave up a total of one hit and one walk. Heath Bell pitched the only other punchout of the night.

Scoreless into the fifth inning, it was Giancarlo Stanton who opened the dance with a rising line drive that would have landed on the Rickenbacker causeway if it wasn’t for the pesky concourse wall in left-center. His 37^th blast of the year, the Marlins offense woke up, scoring one in the sixth, the tying run in the seventh, and the winning run off of Rob Brantly’s RBI double in the eighth.

Please refer to Ehsan Kassim’s  upcoming preview of tonight’s game for a look at the R.A. Dickey and Adam Greenberg story.  Wednesday features Met RHP (3-7, 5.32 ERA) faces TBA, a fire-breathing strikeout machine from the depths of hell win an 0,01 ERA. Or maybe it will be Chad Gaudin, if the report on the Marlins team site is accurate. Either way, it’s the end of the season, so look for Ozzie to take a look at some guys he’d like to watch closely next spring.