May 13- MIL 8 FLA 6
Rec.: 20-14, TIED WITH STL AND CIN
Instant Replay and Rickie Almost Hits for the Cycle
Another come from behind victory, their 12th, as the Crew scored 5 with 2 out in the 4th to win. Patience pays off as Hart and Kendall sparked that rally with consecutive walks. Weeks started the game with a first pitch home run, a triple in the third and an RBI infield single in that important 4th. He just missed the cycle by a double. The Brewer's got in a 3 run hole early, before Braden Looper even recorded an out in the 1st, but he limited the damage enough for the bats to come through, only walking 1 in 6 innings, which probably helped the Marlins from putting together a really big inning.

The other reason the Fish didn't get a big inning was an instant replay reversal of a 2 run, pinch hit home run by Ross Gload in the 6th. Originally ruled a HR by Bruce Dreckman, who was chasing it down the right field line, the call was reviewed and Looper ended up striking out Gload to end the inning.

He got the win and is now 3-2, though a great deal of credit has to go to Trevor Hoffman for having another, no-stress save, which allows the rest of the bullpen to relax a bit, even if they give up another run like Coffey did in the 7th. I'm not sure why, however, Coffey get's credit for a HOLD with a line of ⅔ of an inning and 1 earned with a walk? Anyway, as I told Ryan as Hoffman was working on out number 3, that Hells Bells is in there. Situation under control. I hate to get to cocky this early in the season, but I can't remember a closer in recent memory who was so "lockdown". Maybe Coco but he was always an adventure in the 9th it seemed.

May 12- MIL 6 FLA 3
Rec.: 19-14, 1 GB STL
Fielder Leads the Slugfest
Ken Macha may be the difference. Yes, the Schedule has been weak, but this team, so far, is exceding the accomplishments of the '08 squad. A few posts back, I noted that the team was behind last years pace. In fact, I was wrong. Yes, that horrible start to this season left a bad taste in my mouth, and I carried that forward, even through this recent hot streak as some sort of indicator that the team was underperforming. They've now won 15 of 20 and are now only a game out of first with a trip to St. Louis on Friday. Two Fielder HRs tonight, off a lefty, that was how they put down the fish and overcame a 3-0 defecit. Strikes me that I haven't bought a Marlin's hat. Should know by now that superstitions are worthless.