Homers help Miller to first win

04/23/2008 11:45 PM ET

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Homers help Miller to first win
Ramirez, Jacobs go deep in opening frame to back lefty
By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

ATLANTA -- Home run totals keep rising for the upstart Marlins.

Hanley Ramirez and Mike Jacobs each went deep in the first inning, providing Andrew Miller with enough support to hold off the Braves, 7-2, on Wednesday night in front of 19,852 at Turner Field.

For the season, the first-place Marlins now have 32 homers in 21 games. Jacobs and Ramirez each have seven.

Power has certainly been prevalent in this young lineup, but the team still feels it isn't being taken seriously.

"I think the one thing that we don't lack in this clubhouse is confidence," said Jacobs, who drove in three runs. "I think everybody in this clubhouse from Day 1, whether this year or going back to '06, was being counted out.

"I think their pregame thing on their [video scoreboard] was something like, 'The Braves [are] facing an unproven lineup.' We've got guys in here who have hit 30 home runs. Hanley has hit over .300. [Josh Willingham] has hit 20 homers in back-to-back years. It just goes to show you that people don't give us ... I don't know if it is respect or what it is. What we don't lack is confidence."

Watching Miller collect his first win as a Marlin also was a boost.

Still, getting the left-hander through innings remains a battle. He qualified for the win by lasting the necessary five innings, and he finished with 98 pitches. He allowed nine hits and had at least two on in every inning but the fifth. Still, the 22-year-old, obtained from the Tigers last December collected his first win with the Marlins in three decisions.

"We got outs kind of when we had to," Miller said. "But being in trouble all night was pretty taxing. I've got to try to stay out of that the next time."

Manager Fredi Gonzalez has been incredibly supportive of Miller, who has electrifying stuff, but struggles with command and consistency.

In the dugout after Miller was removed from the game, Gonzalez told his young starter: "We believe you belong."

Gonzalez also joked that the Marlins may get a memo from Commissioner Bud Selig regarding the frequent mound visits from pitching coach Mark Wiley.

"I'm seeing him a lot this year, and it's usually not a good thing," Miller said of his regular consultations with Wiley. "Sometimes he comes out and says, 'How do we want to attack the hitter?' Other times he comes out to give you a breather and other times it may be, 'I see you're doing this,' or, 'You're not doing this.' But more often, it's how we are going to attack the next guy."

As they have all season, the bullpen picked up the remaining four frames, keeping Atlanta off the board. Matt Lindstrom worked out of trouble in the seventh. With Florida ahead by a run and Mark Teixeira on third, Matt Diaz tapped a slow roller down the third-base line. Lindstrom made a barehanded play and threw Diaz out at first.

Jacobs noted that Lindstrom, the hardest thrower on the team, buzzed his throw to first base at "94 mph" with movement. Still, Jacobs made the grab as Diaz grazed him after the putout.

The bullpen yielded three hits over four innings.

In the eighth inning, reliever Taylor Tankersley made a nice play to throw out Kelly Johnson, who was trying to bunt his way on.

"Both those guys made terrific plays," Gonzalez said of Lindstrom and Tankersley. "That's a one-run game with Lindstrom and a three-run game with Tank, and here come their big boys. It was a terrific job by the bullpen."

The ability to add on runs once again was present for Florida, with two runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings.

The Marlins tacked on insurance runs in the eighth on Willingham's fielder's choice RBI grounder and Jacobs' sacrifice fly. Dan Uggla provided a two-run triple in the ninth to break open a five-run lead.

After allowing a home run to Diaz, Miller escaped a bases-loaded situation in the second inning. From there, the bullpen stepped up again to help the Marlins take the opener of a two-game set in Atlanta.

Boosted by the pair of first-inning homers, the Marlins jumped out to a three-run first-inning lead. Ramirez opened with his seventh homer of the season, and fourth in four games. It was his 17th career leadoff homer, a club record, and his second this season. With two outs, Willingham singled to extend his hit streak to 11 games. Jacobs' two-run blast to right-center made it 3-0.

Miller got into a bind and allowed an unearned run in the first inning. Yunel Escobar reached on Ramirez's throwing error, and he scored on Teixeira's single to left.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

First win for Miller! Congrats!

Yay Andrew!