Marlins 5, Phillies 1
WP – Carlos Zambrano (4-3, 2.81)
LP – Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.27)
PHILADELPHIA — Carlos Zambrano dominated and embarrassed the Phillies every possible way he could Sunday afternoon.
He pitched beautifully, homered and singled a bunt in the Marlins 5-1 win over the Phillies.
Zambrano went 7 2/3 innings, allowing only one run on four hits, two walks and struck out seven. At the dish, he mashed a 418-foot homer off Joe Blanton to give him 24 in his career to highlight a 2-for-3 day.
Blanton got roughed up again, allowing five runs on nine hits and walk while striking out six through six-plus innings pitched.
Blanton has been monumentally bad in his last four starts for the Phillies. In that span, Blanton has a 10.98 ERA (24 earned runs in 19 2/3 innings) and has allowed 10 home runs, two of them to pitchers which he has done in his last two starts.
Zambrano’s solo homer in the 3rd and Jose Reyes’ in the 4th gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead. Blanton was pitching fine despite those two mistakes until the 7th inning marred his otherwise solid outing.
Blanton gave up a lead-off walk, a broken-bat single and bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Reyes then hit a two-run double to make it a 4-0 game and chase Blanton from his start. Chad Qualls threw a wild pitch to allow the fifth run to score, with it being credited to Blanton.
The Phils tacked on their lone run of the game in the 8th inning. Juan Pierre hit an RBI single up the middle, his third hit of the day. Pierre had three of the Phillies four hits off Zambrano.
2B: Pierre (5).
TTB 