MARLINS 12 REDS 6
Milton rocked by Marlins’ homers
Reds starter tagged for three long balls in first two innings
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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CINCINNATI — Eric Milton has a lot more work to do if he hopes to convince Reds fans that 2005 was an aberration in his pitching career.
What happened against the Florida Marlins last night in Great American Ball Park didn’t help build the case for the veteran left-hander. The Marlins turned back the clock to the bad old days by blasting Milton for three homers and six runs in the first two innings of the 12-6 Florida victory.
Milton had performed so well this spring that the poor performance caught Reds manager Jerry Narron by surprise.
"Shoot, he’s thrown really well," Narron said. "We haven’t seen anything near like this all spring. He just could not seem to get the ball down early in the game."
Despite posting impressive numbers in his first two starts and wins this season, Milton (2-1) heard a few nervous boos as soon as Hanley Ramirez opened the game with a home run. The reason for the pessimism lay in his ’05 numbers. A season ago, he set a franchise record by surrendering 43 homers on the way to an 8-15 record.
Milton had surrendered just two homers in his first two starts. But memories of ’05 obviously linger because the 19,724 fans were booing lustily by the time Ramirez and Dan Uggla hit back-to-back home runs in the four-run Florida second.
"Early in the game, he was just up with all of his pitches," Narron said. "He couldn’t get anybody out early."
The faithful punctuated their unhappiness with Milton in the bottom of the second after David Ross pulled the Reds back into the game with a two-run home run. Jason LaRue had been on deck to pinch hit for Milton. As soon as Ross crossed the plate, LaRue disappeared down the dugout steps. Milton emerged with a bat to more boos.
"Well, when there was nobody on base right there (we) just let Milton hit and basically be a long man, too," Narron said. "He did that for us. I hate to say it when your starter is your long man, but that’s basically what he was. We definitely didn’t want to go to our bullpen."
Milton quieted the catcalls by retiring the Marlins in order in the third and fourth innings. He even drew cheers by doubling in the fourth. But the game flew apart on him and the Reds in the fifth. Milton left with the bases loaded and Cincinnati trailing 6-2.
"Just watching him throw the first two innings, I knew that he did not have his good stuff," Narron said. "I was glad to see him bounce back and throw well for a couple of innings."
He couldn’t say the same about the bullpen. Reliever Matt Belisle relieved Milton and promptly served up a two-run double to Miguel Olivo and a two-run single to Reggie Abercrombie. Florida led 10-2.
"If we could have held them there in the fifth, it would have been a different ballgame for sure," Narron said.
The dangerous Cincinnati offense wasn’t done yet. The Reds knocked Marlins starter Jason Vargas out of the game in the fifth. Rich Aurilia homered to open the inning. Vargas walked Dunn and Austin Kearns reached first on an error by third baseman Miguel Cabrera. Edwin Encarnacion followed with a three-run homer into the upper deck in left to cut the deficit to 10-6.
The Marlins kept the pressure on the bullpen. They roughed up Mike Burns for two runs and six hits in two innings and regained control of the game. The Florida relievers led by Josh Johnson (1-1) pitched four shutout innings.
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