Fair warning: This post may lack any real substance. Between the constant flow of Sam Adams and the NCAA Tournament, the amount of time I could spend focusing on the Marlins game was minimal. I’ll still attempt to give my analysis of a game seen through fuzzy vision… just for you.

When Hanley Ramirez homered to lead off the bottom of the first, I was home and sober. When the Pirates tied the game in the top of the 4th, I was in a car, on my way to watch the NCAA Tournament, and hopefully catch the rest of the Marlins game on another TV at the bar. It wasn’t very long after, but by the time Mike Jacobs jacked a grand slam in the 5th, UNC was getting a proper ass beating and I was completely tanked.

The Marlins saw, first hand, what happens when hitting and pitching come together on the same night. Mark Hendrickson’s solid 5 1/3 innings allowed only 5 hits and 1 earned run. On the other side of the ball, Hanley Ramirez homered to lead off the bottom of the first and Mike Jacobs posted the first grand slam of his career in the fifth, sending the Marlins on their way to a 7-3 victory, a 3-2 record and the first winning streak of the young season.

For Mike Jacobs, the last 2 games have been a baseball player’s dream — hitting a grand slam on Saturday night and a walk-off the night before. He’s batting .444 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI in that span. Not too shabby for a guy who was 1 for 11 before the series began.

As for the pitching, Mark Hendrickson lowered his ERA to just over 6 (ouch!) and improved to 1-1 on the season. Logan Kensing, Reynal Pinto, Justin Miller and Matt Lindstrom allowed just 3 hits over the final 3 2/3 to dash any comeback hopes the Pirates may have had. It was the second strong outing by the bullpen in as many days, having allowed only 2 hits in 3 innings of work on Friday night.

Other notes:
For the second straight game, Brett Carroll (RF) gunned a runner down at second base, showing further proof that he is, in fact, a pimp.

AP Photo/J. Pat Carter