Marlins vs. Cardinals: Miami Avoids Shutout, Falls 4-1 In Opener

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Jose Reyes Breaks Up Kyle Lohse's No-Hit Bid In 7th

Kyle Lohse might not be the St. Louis Cardinals' best starting pitcher.

That's probably Chris Carpenter. Or Adam Wainwright. Or Jaime Garcia.

But it's Kyle Lohse who got the Opening Day start against the Miami Marlins, and it's Kyle Lohse who faced the minimum number of Marlins through the first six innings and didn't allow a single hit.

In the bottom of the seventh, with Jose Reyes leading off against Lohse, ESPN's Orel Hershiser read a quote from Lohse: "I'm trying to keep guys off balance, keep the ball off the middle of the plate, and get 'em to hit someplace weakly, and hopefully they will hit it at somebody."

Which is just about what he'd been doing, through six innings. Only two strikeouts, but zero hits and zero walks (and just one baserunner, a hit batter erased by a double play).

But Jose Reyes killed Lohse's no-hitter dreams by smacking a hanging curveball into right field for a no-doubt single. Lohse did escape the inning with no more damage -- though Giancarlo Stanton did propel a long drive to deep center field -- thus preserving the Cardinals' 3-0 lead.

And this was the longest no-hit bid in Lohse's career, which stretches back to 2001.

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Kyle Lohse Is Working On A No-Hitter

We told you that this wasn't a regular live-blog, and that we wouldn't be keeping you up to speed with all of the game action like we might in the playoffs. But the game action so far demands acknowledgment: in the middle of the seventh inning, the Cardinals are beating the Marlins 3-0, and the Marlins don't yet have a hit against Kyle Lohse.

The Marlins have been hit by Kyle Lohse. One of them has - Emilio Bonifacio, in the foot, in the bottom of the fourth. Outside of that, though, it's been outs. A whole mess of 'em. The Marlins gave their home-run sculpture a test run before the game started, and so far that's accounted for all of the fireworks.

Stay tuned. You already were staying tuned, but stay more tuned.

• about 1 year ago
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Oh.

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Hanley Ramirez At Third Base Looks Great

This is not really a live-blog of Wednesday's game between the Marlins and the Cardinals. We're not going to update you with all of the details. For example, it's 3-0 Cardinals right now. It's 3-0 Cardinals as we go to the third inning. How did the Cardinals score three runs? Who knows! You won't find your answer in here.

What you will find in here is the following video:

Hanley Ramirez was bumped from shortstop to third base to make room for shortstop Jose Reyes. Ramirez and Reyes are supposedly buddies, and should communicate pretty well. Based on a sample size of one play, Hanley Ramirez is a disaster at third base, and he and Reyes might not even speak the same language.

Ramirez: You!
Ramirez: You!
Ramirez: You!
Ramirez: Not me, you!
Reyes: ✉✆⌨⌨ ⌛#✇

It's all just beginning. The whole Miami Marlins experience is just beginning.

The Cardinals have a baserunner in the third inning now. I won't tell you how he got there.

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Marlins Park Opener: Muhammad Ali Throws Out First Pitch

The scuttlebutt from Miami was that the Marlins allotted five minutes for the ceremonial first pitch. If Dan Marino and Gloria Estefan rode into Marlins Park on the back of Xander Miami, the griffin for whom the City of Miami was named, the applause wouldn't have lasted five minutes. So what was the deal?

Turns out that it was a huge name scheduled to throw out the first pitch, and there were also logistical concerns to deal with as well. The Marlins gave the honor to Muhammad Ali, who won his first title in Miami:

There's Jeffrey Loria with his arm around Muhammad Ali, which isn't a sentence you expected to read today, nor is it an image you were expecting to see. But if the Marlins weren't going to get someone with a more regional appeal, they made sure to get one of the more beloved sports figures alive today.

• about 1 year ago
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Orel Hershiser