Fish Bytes

Solano's first hit conjures up memories for Guillen

Donovan Solano celebrated his first hit in his first major league at-bat Tuesday night with an array of phone calls from back home in his native Colombia.

The 24-year old utility infielder -- just the 12th Colombian to make it to the majors -- kept the ball he hit and the lineup card from Tuesday's game, which he plans on getting everyone on the Marlins roster to autograph.

"Everybody was happy. Everybody was proud of me," said Solano, who led the team in hitting during spring training but was surprisingly sent down to Triple A. "I just had a lot of good feelings in my body, good thoughts when I reached first."

Manager Ozzie Guillen, who said everyone in the Marlins dugout stood and cheered Solano after his hit, recalled his first hit Wednesday -- a bunt single in the ninth inning of a come-from-behind win over the Brewers on April 9, 1985 in Milwaukee. 

What did Guillen do with his game ball? He donated it to a church in his native Venezuela. 

"I flew to Margarita and gave it to the priest," Guillen said. "He was laughing because he had gold, medals, diamonds, other stuff, and I gave him a little ball. But it meant a lot to me and my family."

> Closer Heath Bell picked up his fourth consecutive save in as many chances Tuesday. But perhaps the more encouraging sign was how he was ringing up the radar gun with a fastball that topped off at 95, 96 miles per hour. 

"My mechanics are starting to feel good. I feel like I can roar back and give it a little bit more and actually hit my spot," Bell said. "For awhile, I haven't felt like that. I've just been trying to stay under control, hit my spots and keep the ball down."

> Second baseman Omar Infante was back in the Marlins lineup Wednesday after taking three days off to return home to his native Venezuela and attend the funeral of his paternal grandfather.
Infante said he was scheduled to come back and play in Tuesday's game, but didn't because his flight was delayed because of stormy weather.

WEDNESDAY'S LINEUPS

> Rockies (15-27): 1. Eric Young CF, 2. Marco Scutaro 2B, 3. Carlos Gonzalez LF, 4. Troy Tulowitzki SS, 5. Jason Giambi 1B, 6. Michael Cuddyer RF, 7. Jordan Pacheco 3B, 8. Ramon Hernandez C, 9. Alex White P.

> Marlins (24-19): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Omar Infante 2B, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Greg Dobbs 1B, 5. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 6. Chris Coghlan LF, 7. Brett Hayes C, 8. Bryan Petersen CF, 9. Carlos Zambrano P.

Stanton's grand slam is historic, memorable for more reasons than busted scoreboard

Giancarlo Stanton's 438-foot laser-beam grand slam Monday night drew plenty of attention across the country because it temporarily knocked out a portion of the left field scoreboard at the Marlins' new ballpark.

But it was historic and memorable for many more reasons than just a busted scoreboard.

For starters, it was clocked at 122.4 miles per hour -- the fastest home run ball hit since hittrackeronline.com started charting baseball's biggest blasts in 2006. The next fastest this season was five miles per hour slower -- a 117.5 mph burner by two-time reigning home run champion Jose Bautista in Toronto.

Historically, the grand slam put Stanton, 22, in exclusive company. The only other players in Major League history to hit four grand slams prior to their 23rd birthdays are Ted Williams, Eddie Mathews and Ken Griffey Jr. Williams and Matthews are Hall of Famers. Griffey ranks fifth all-time with 680 home runs.

Stanton turns 23 on November 8th.

"That's good company," Stanton said Tuesday when told of his achievement. "Maybe I'll get five before I'm 23. Hopefully, I'll keep it going. I had a chance to get another one [Monday night], but I failed."

Stanton, once pretty shy talking about home runs, has mellowed out some in now his third season in the big leagues. Asked if he'd received a phone call from Marlins brass about damaging the scoreboard in left field, Stanton quipped: "It came back to life. But either way, I'm not paying for it, so..."

Through 291 games and 1,028 at-bats, Stanton has now homered 65 times in his career. That's an average of once every 15.81 at-bats. Historically, that ranks right behind Frank Thomas (521 homers) for 29th all-time -- and eighth among active players.

But manager Ozzie Guillen, who predicted earlier this season Stanton would injure someone with a batted ball, believes the 6-5, 246-pound slugger is on his way to becoming the most powerful hitter in baseball. If he isn't there already.

""I thought Jim Thome had some power. But this kid has some ridiculous power," Guillen said. "It's not because he plays for us. I've never seen anyone that the ball jumps off their bat like that...

"I don't see anybody has more power than him in the big leagues. Nobody. All my respect to Jim Thome. I've seen Jim Thome hit. But this kid is out of control. He's out of hand. He has some legit power."

What Stanton is also learning how to do is avoid swinging at pitches outside the zone. Although replays Monday night showed the 2-2 changeup Jamie Moyer threw Stanton was close enough to the zone to be called strike three, Stanton said Tuesday he was right not to swing at it and said he's learned in three years how to become a much more disciplined hitter.

"Coming up through the minors I did absolutely terrible with the bases loaded -- or so it seemed like," Stanton. "It seemed like every time I wouldn't get the job done. Now, I sort of just zone it out. Basically, nobody is on base. I try to do that as much as I can. Before, I'd kind of be like 'Man on 1st, Man on 2nd, Man or 3rd, Oh and I have to hit the pitch?' It's just like one runner in scoring position. The more you think about -- try to get four runs in -- you're not going to be successful.

"[At age 20] I would have been hacking at everything [Moyer threw Monday]. I fouled some balls off still. But I would have been a lot worse off. I wouldn't have had the thought process, being younger. He would have known to live off my aggressiveness to work it off the plate and what not."

> Second baseman Omar Infante, who left Sunday to return home to Venezuela and attend the funeral of his grandfather, returned to South Florida on Tuesday according to Guillen. The manager said he expects the Marlins everyday second baseman to be back in the starting lineup Wednesday. Asked if he would use Infante -- who missed batting practice -- on Tuesday, Guillen said "only in an emergency situation."

TUESDAY'S LINEUPS

> Rockies (15-26): 1. Jonathan Herrera 2B, 2. Jordan Pacheco 3B, 3. Carlos Gonzalez LF, 4. Troy Tulowitzki SS, 5. Todd Helton 1B, 6. Michael Cuddyer RF, 7. Willin Rosario C, 8. Dexter Fowler CF, 9. Juan Nicasio P.

> Marlins (23-19): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Bryan Petersen CF, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Austin Kearns LF, 5. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 6. Logan Morrison 1B, 7. John Buck C, 8. Donnie Murphy 2B, 9. Ricky Nolasco P.

Nolasco goes for franchise wins record -- again

ATLANTA -- Ricky Nolasco will take to the mound Thursday once again looking to break a tie with Dontrelle Willis for the most victories in franchise history.

Nolasco had a shot it at Saturday against the Mets, but had his worst outing of the season. He walked three in the first inning, hit two batters late in the outing and gave up six runs on nine hits in his first loss of the season.

It won't be easy though. The Braves rank second in the National League in runs scored and batting average. Right-handed pitcher Brandon Beachy (4-1, 1.60 ERA) will start for the Braves. He touts the best ERA among NL starters, and is 1-0 with a 4.01 ERA in four career starts against the Marlins.

Throughout his career, Nolasco has had mixed results against Atlanta, going 5-7 with a 4.80 ERA in 20 career starts. But he does have fond memories here. Atlanta is where the righty broke the Marlins' single-game strikeout record three years ago, fanning 16 over 7 2/3 innings on Sept. 30, 2009. That day, Nolasco struck out the side in the third, fourth and fifth innings, falling one strikeout shy of the Major League record of 10 in a row.

> Good news Marlins fans. Looks like Giancarlo Stanton, who tweaked his left shoulder attempting to catch a sinking line drive off the bat off of Erik Hinske, is okay. He's back in the starting lineup. Stanton had the shoulder covered in ice last night and said his shoulder "freaking hurt."

THURSDAY'S LINEUP

> Marlins (20-17): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Omar Infante 2B, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Logan Morrison LF, 5. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 6. Gaby Sanchez 1B, 7. Emilio Bonifacio CF, 8. Brett Hayes C, 9. Ricky Nolasco P.

Ozzie may have finally settled on keeping Omar 2nd, Boni 7th in Marlins lineup

ATLANTA -- A week after dropping Emilio Bonifacio from the No. 2 spot in the batting order to seventh, and bringing Omar Infante up to bat second, manager Ozzie Guillen sounded Wednesday like his days of juggling the Marlins lineup to find the right combination may be over.

"When I first got this job, that was my idea. How do I put Omar batting second?," Guillen said before the Marlins took on the Braves at Turner Field. "But I needed some production in the bottom of the lineup, too. Early in the season Bonifacio was doing good, and then he started struggling a little bit. 

"I think the lineup we have is a lot better now because we have speed also in the bottom of the lineup. We can steal bases late in the game. Before we couldn't, we had slow guys in the bottom. I think it makes the lineup a little bit better overall."

Bonifacio went into Wednesday's game hitting .417 (10 of 24) with a double, three triples and two RBI since being moved down to seventh in Houston. He was just .152 as the No. 2 hitter in the 17 previous games before that.

Infante, meanwhile, is hitting .381 (8 of 21) with four RBI since being moved back into the second spot. Last year, Infante hit .278 with six homers and 37 RBI in 110 starts in the two-hole.

"I think Infante is going to see more fastballs because Reyes is on base," Guillen said. "But it's all about getting on base and good at-bats. Little by little we've started getting better. Hopefully, we start to feel each other out and not wait until the ninth [inning] to score some runs."

The Marlins finally did that in their win Tuesday, scoring five runs in the fourth inning. The Marlins, though, have been infamous this season for waiting until after the sixth inning to get their offense going.

Tuesday, Infante had the ninth four-hit game of his career. He said the bunt single in the third inning, which ended an 0-for-11 string, got him going. "After that I felt better with my approach," Infante said.

Asked if his move to the seventh spot has taken some pressure off him, Bonifacio said: "I don't know. I just know I'm not swinging at bad pitches like I was before. That's really the difference. 

NO CELEBRATING FOR JJ

There was no post-game celebration for Josh Johnson after he picked up his first win in 13 months on Tuesday night. Asked Wednesday how many bottles of champagne he popped, the two-time All-Star joked: "Too many to count."

Johnson didn't even keep the game ball. "You just move onto the next one," he said.

Johnson, who was born and raised in Minnesota, will make his next start Sunday in Cleveland. He said he's been to Progressive Field just once -- as a 12-year old. "We were playing in a World Series Tournament somewhere nearby," Johnson said. "I think I saw five innings there."

> The radar gun at Marlins Park wasn't operating Tuesday. Johnson said he's not sure what his velocity was because of it. Pitching coach Randy St. Claire said the velocity of Johnson's pitches Tuesday "looked about the same as usual to me."

> Wednesday's game was a chance for Guillen to reunite with his former White Sox hitting coach Greg Walker, who is now on Fredi Gonzalez's staff with the Braves. Walker -- along with Guillen -- was fired after nine seasons in Chicago last October. 

> Guillen said he plans on using Logan Morrison, Greg Dobbs and Austin Kearns in the designated hitter spot when the Marlins play at American League parks during Interleague play. 

WEDNESDAY'S LINEUPS

> Marlins (19-17): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Omar Infante 2B, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Austin Kearns LF, 5. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 6. Gaby Sanchez 1B, 7. Emilio Bonifacio CF, 8. John Buck C, 9. Mark Buehrle.

> Braves (23-14): 1. Tyler Pastornicky SS, 2. Martin Prado LF, 3. Freddie Freeman 1B, 4. Dan Uggla 2B, 5. Brian McCann C, 6. Matt Diaz RF, 7. Jason Heyward CF, 8. Juan Francisco 3B, 9. Mike Minor P.

Bonifacio out of the top of the lineup -- for now according to Guillen

HOUSTON -- Through the Marlins' first 30 games Emilio Bonifacio has hit in either the first or second spot in the lineup. Game 31 on Wednesday will be different.

Bonifacio, who leads the National League with 15 stolen bases, has been dropped to 7th in the order -- a move manager Ozzie Guillen said he's making to try to take a little pressure of the struggling center fielder.

"We just want him to relax a little bit... try to get him out of a tough spot -- the pressure to be on base and do stuff for the team," Guillen said. "Hopefully we can put him down a couple days and get him back to where he belongs."

"Boni, when he gets hot, he's very hot. When he's cold 'Wow.' I don't know why. This guy's game is running, speeding. He's struggled on this road trip. Hopefully we move him down for a couple days and then back up. I think we have a better team with Boni in the top of the lineup."

Since starting the season hitting .348 through the first dozen games, Bonifacio gone just 11 for his last 70 at the plate (.157) with nine walks and 18 strikeouts.

"It's no big deal," Bonifacio said. "I have no problem with that... I think right now I've been swinging at pitches outside of the zone. This doesn't change anything. I just have to get on base, get base hits and swing at good pitches."

Donnie Murphy, starting in place of Omar Infante at second base, will hit second behind Jose Reyes. Giancarlo Stanton, who had his 10-game hitting streak snapped Tuesday, has moved up a spot to fifth. He's hitting .308 with six home runs and 12 RBI over his last 11 games.

Asked if Infante (.309, 6 HRs, 13 RBI) might be his option to hit second if Bonifacio continues to struggle, Guillen was non-commital.

"He can be a good one," Guillen said. "But at the same time I don't want to leave the back of the lineup dry. I want to have somebody batting 5th, 6th helping too. I want to keep Boni in the top and not try to change the lineup too much."

> Guillen said he wanted to try and give Hanley Ramirez his first day off this season while getting Murphy at-bats. But Ramirez insisted on staying in the lineup. Guillen said he then decided to give Infante the day off to rest his legs. Infante has been battling hamstring issues all season.

LINEUP

> Marlins (15-15): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Donnie Murphy 2B, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Logan Morrison LF, 5. Giancarlo Stanton, 6. Greg Dobbs 1B, 7. Emilio Bonifacio CF, 8. John Buck C, 9. Josh Johnson P.

> Astros (14-16): 1. Jordan Schafer CF, 2. Jose Altuve, 3. Jed Lowrie SS, 4. Carlos Lee 1B, 5. Travis Buck LF, 6. Chris Johnson 3B, 7. Brian Bogusevic RF, 8. Chris Snyer C, 9. Lucas Harrell P.

Marlins bullpen well rested heading into Tuesday's game in Houston

HOUSTON -- After working their butts off in relief of Josh Johnson Friday in San Diego and working overtime to save Heath Bell's rear-end two nights prior to that in San Francisco, the Marlins bullpen has to feel pretty well rested heading into Tuesday night's game at Minute Maid Park.

With Mark Buehrle and Carlos Zambrano tossing complete games two of the last three nights, Marlins relievers have played the role of happy spectator for the most part.

New closer Steve Cishek, who worked a career-high three innings of relief Friday to pick up the win, has had three days off. Edward Mujica has pitched just once over the last four days.

Right-hander Ryan Webb, who along with left-handed specialist Randy Choate and Mujica are the only relievers to work since Saturday, said despite Bell's struggles the bullpen has proven over this 7-0 West Coast trip it can get the job done in some pressure situations.

"That's what you need," Webb said. "That's what's going to count. Our goal is to get to the postseason, and that's going to help in the postseason. That's going to help in a tight race at the end of the year in this tough division.

"We're going to be playing some good teams, but we've got a good team too. So we've played a lot of close games, a lot of good pitching matchups. So to get the experience early is good for a lot of guys, especially for some of the younger guys that we do have, stepping up to do these late-inning roles. We've got guys that can pitch in all those situations. So it gives [manager] Ozzie [Guillen] a lot of options to go to."

Take Bell (0-3, 4 blown saves, 11.42 ERA) and demoted left-hander Mike Dunn out of the mix and the Marlins bullpen would rank much better than sixth in the National League in ERA (3.45 ERA). They also might not rank right behind Colorado for the league-lead with seven blown saves.

Together, Webb, Cishek, Mujica, Choate, and right-hander Chad Gaudin have combined for a 1.81 ERA in 59 2/3 innings with 49 strikeouts and 21 walks. Opponents have hit just .189 off those five in 216 at-bats.

> The Marlins are off to their best May start in franchise history. The previous best start was 5-2, done three times (last, 2008). The Marlins finished that month with a 16-11 record, which tied for the most May wins in Club history (also, 1997 and 1996). The Franchise record for most wins in any month is 19, done in August 1997.

TUESDAY'S LINEUP

> Marlins (15-14): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Emilio Bonifacio CF, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Logan Morrison LF, 5. Omar Infante 2B, 6. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 7. Gaby Sanchez 1B, 8. John Buck C, 9. Anibal Sanchez P.

Different hand placement, approach have helped Stanton break out of early struggles at the plate

Four inches. 

That's what's made all the difference in Giancarlo Stanton's swing since the end of April.

"Basically, I'm keeping my hands about four inches further back," said Stanton, who is hitting .344 with two doubles, five home runs and nine RBI since April 28th. "Keep them here and the shoulder stays down. Four damn inches is the whole thing."

Well, four inches and a better approach -- one that relies less on trying to destroy the ball and more on trying to put backspin on it.

Hitting coach Eduardo Perez said creating more backspin on swings has been something he's trying to get all Marlins hitters to do more of this season because of the larger dimensions at Marlins Park. Instead of just crushing the ball and see it fly out of Sun Life Stadium like they did in the past, Perez said his hitters realized through a painful month of April that creating backspin is a necessary ingredient to hitting success.

"Flyballs don't get out of that ballpark," Perez said. "What gets out is line drives. I think you saw it early in the [Cubs] series with Hanley the way he hit those home runs to straight away center. It was more of a line drive. Left-center is a line drive. Those balls have to have backspin in order to leave that ballpark.

"Can the ballpark hold these guys? No. But you have to have the right approach. Right now, we're working on approach more than anything. We have to be able to backspin baseballs. We have to use gap to gap [hitting]. We have to be conscious of base hits, starting rallies and keeping the lines moving. That's the way to go there."

The Marlins hit just .228 in the month of April and produced a franchise-low 73 runs. At home, the they actually hit better than they did on the road, posting a .255 average with 46 runs scored in 11 games. But they hit just nine home runs at Marlins Park and had a lot of long, meaningless fly ball outs.

"I don't think it was about listening to me. I think it was about their experiences," Perez said. "You could see their flustered faces on the way back to the dugout. They were like 'Wow. I got a hold of that.' Or, I hit it well and in a lot of ballparks it goes.' Well, no. You got to get some backspin on it. We get some backspin going the ball is going to go no matter what.

"You look at Murph. Right now, he calls himself the all-time leader in home runs at the stadium. He's turning on pitches on the inside part, has good backspin on it and it goes. It's a matter of having the right approach, looking for the pitch you have to look for and driving the ball to the gaps. If you get out it front, with that rotation, it's going to go [out]. I don't care who you are -- how big or how small. If you try to lift, my friend you're in for a long night."

Stanton said before he adjusted his swing he felt like he had hit "maybe three home runs" out at Marlins Park only to be disappointed to see them land in opposing mitts as outs. Before his three-run blast to center on April 29th, Stanton went a career-long 97 at-bats and 27 games without a home run.

"I had some line drives too that just didn't go far enough either," Stanton said. "The same ones I got in Frisco -- my homers in Frisco -- those wouldn't have gone out at home.

"For guys like me, Gaby [Sanchez], [John Buck], we kind of hit those high fly balls if we're going to hit homers. Now, those are routine fly balls at home. It's just more stick to the gaps and line drive approach like we've been doing. Hanley's balls. My balls in Frisco. Subconsciously you see that big ballpark and you try to put a little more into it. But that's what you have to stay away from."

> Manager Ozzie Guillen said he thought about putting Stanton back in the cleanup spot Monday in Houston, but decided against it.

"LoMo is hitting about .500 against the kid who is pitching today -- Wandy," Guillen said. "But [aside from that] I think when you're winning you try to leave stuff as it is, make it easy for everyone. I'm not going to start moving people around and start playing around with the lineups when you're winning."

MONDAY'S LINEUPS

> Marlins (14-14): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Emilio Bonifacio CF, 3. Hanley Ramirez SS, 4. Logan Morrison LF, 5. Omar Infante 2B, 6. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 7. Gaby Sanchez 1B, 8. John Buck C, 9. Carlos Zambrano P.

> Astros (13-15): 1. Jordan Schafer CF, 2. Jose Altuve 2B, 3. J.D. Martinez LF, 4. Carlos Lee 1B, 5. Jed Lowrie SS, 6. Chris Johnson 3B, 7. Travis Buck RF, 8. Chris Snyder C, 9. Wandy Rodriguez P.

Reyes back in leadoff spot as Bonifacio struggles to make contact; plus Petey, Jennings arrive

Jose Reyes' stay at the No. 2 spot in the lineup turned out to be a mere, 2-game pit stop.

Reyes is back in the leadoff spot for the Marlins (8-13) today as the club tries to end their four-game set with the visiting Diamondbacks (11-11) with a split.

The reason Reyes is back in the top spot probably has to do with struggling Emilio Bonifacio, who struckout three times Sunday and is now the team leader in whiffs with 22.

"That surprise me," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Boni's game should be put it in play, try to get on base... His game is speed. He should be on base more."

Bonifacio was hitting .340 on April 19th. But over his last eight games he's 3 for 31 at the plate with 11 strikeouts.

"Right now I don't feel that great at the plate," Bonifacio said. "I'm swinging at a lot of pitches outside the plate. But I'm not giving up. I'll fix my approach."

PETERSEN RETURNS FOR A SIXTH TIME

Outfielder Bryan Petersen, called up after Sunday's 8-4 loss to Arizona along with left-hander Dan Jennings, arrived at the ballpark Monday just 15 minutes before the Marlins went out to stretch and take batting practice.

"It's been a crazy past 14 hours," said Petersen, who said this is the sixth time he's been called up. "I got pulled out of a game around 4 and had a flight at 6:30 out of New Orleans to get here. I had like an hour and half to pack my bags and race to the airport.

"I just hope to bring some form of positive energy to the ballclub. I don't think they're too down right now. They know its a 162-game schedule."

Petersen has a career .273 average as a pinch-hitter for the Marlins with four runs scored, two doubles, a home run and five RBI. He was hitting .316 with 13 runs scored and eight RBI for the Zephyrs. He replaces the struggling Chris Coghlan, who was hitting a mere .118 in 34 at-bats.

Jennings, meanwhile, replaces the struggling Mike Dunn (0-0, 9.53 ERA). It's his first call up to the big leagues.

"You could see how excited he was, calling people up and letting them know," Petersen said. "He'll do a good job."

MONDAY'S LINEUPS

Marlins (8-13): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Emilio Bonifacio CF, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Austin Kearns LF, 5. Omar Infante 2B, 6. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 7. Gaby Sanchez 1B, 8. John Buck C, 9. Mark Buehrle P.

Diamondbacks (11-11): 1. Willie Bloomquist SS, 2. Ryan Roberts 2B, 3. Justin Upton RF, 4. Jason Kubel LF, 5. Paul Goldschmidt 1B, 6. Cody Ransom 3B, 7. A.J. Pollock CF, 8. Henry Blanco C, 9. Patrick Corbin P.

After ending slump and losing streak, Hanley Ramirez feels like he can smile again

Hanley Ramirez was all smiles in the Marlins clubhouse Sunday morning.

After driving in the winning run Saturday night and putting an end to both an 0-for-26 slump and the Marlins six-game losing streak, Ramirez said he feels like he can finally smile again.

"It's not easy when you're losing," Ramirez said of enjoying the game. "You don't want to be smiling out there. People are going to be thinking you don't care about the game. It's different when you're winning."

If you haven't noticed by now, having fun is important for Ramirez's psyche. After the Marlins were shutout Friday, the first thing manager Ozzie Guillen said he was worried about was that his team wasn't having any fun and putting too much pressure on themselves.

Ramirez, 28, has been around long enough where a losing streak or a slump shouldn't have such an affect on him. But it's apparent it still does.

"Good players stay at the same level all year long. You can't get down when you're not good. You have to be the same guy all the time," Guillen said Saturday when asked if he though Ramirez's game-winning RBI would break him out of his funk.

"Hopefully, he stays like that and gets going."

Ramirez said he plans to start having fun "from the first inning" on Sunday.

"I think everyone is relaxed now," Ramirez said. "It was a good win, good for our confidence. Maybe we'll come back with that confidence and enjoy the game."

As for his 0-for-26 slump, Ramirez said: "What can I say? I've been hitting balls right at people. It's not like I was striking out. I was putting the ball in play. I've just got to keep improving and keeping my swing down."

For the record, Ramirez struckout nine times during his 0-for-26 skid and grounded into a double play once.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ramirez's game-winner Saturday marked the longest hitless streak that ended in a walk-off since the Phillies Charlie Hayes ended an 0-for-31 streak in a 10-inning victory over the Rockies on July 25, 1995. Ramirez, by the way, now leads the majors with walk-off hits this season with two. He also hit a game-winner April 15 vs. Houston.

INFANTE BACK IN LINEUP

Despite still feeling tightness in his sore left hamstring, second baseman Omar Infante is back in the lineup Sunday for the Marlins. "I feel better," Infante said before Sunday's game.

Guillen said Saturday his plan was to give Infante two days off to rest because he "didn't like the way he was moving." But it now appears Infante, the team leader in batting average and home runs, is going to try and play through the pain as much as he can and this could end up being a day-to-day situation whether he's in the lineup or not.

As for the pain, Infante said he feels it most when he tries to stop running and when he swings. Every morning, he says, he comes in for extra therapy and stretching. Between how feels and what Guillen thinks ultimately determines whether or not Infante is in the lineup.

TODAY'S LINEUPS

> Marlins (8-12): 1. Emilio Bonifacio CF, 2. Jose Reyes SS, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. LOgan Morrison LF, 5. Omar Infante 2B, 6. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 7. Gaby Sanchez 1B, 8. John Buck C, 9. Josh Johnson P.

> Diamondbacks (10-11): 1. Willie Bloomquist SS, 2. Gerardo Parra CF, 3. Justin Upton RF, 4. Jason Kubel LF, 5. Miguel Montero C, 6. Cody Ransom 3B, 7. Lyle Overbay 1B, 8. Aaron Hill 2B, 9. Wade Miley P.<.p>

Reyes, Bonifacio flip flop at top as Guillen shakes up struggling Marlins lineup

Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, looking to jump start an anemic offense that's produced just six runs and has hit .150 during a six-game losing streak, has shaken up the lineup a little heading into Saturday night's game against Arizona.

Jose Reyes, who hit .205 as the Marlins lead-off hitter over the team's first 18 games, has been flip-flopped with Emilio Bonifacio at the top. Reyes will hit in the second spot. He's hit there 47 times in his career, posting an average of .317 (58x183), eight doubles, three triples, two home runs and 10 RBI.

Second baseman Omar Infante, meanwhile, who collected one of the Marlins' three hits Friday, is sitting out. So, too, is Giancarlo Stanton, who is still looking for home run number 1 after a career-worst stretch of 93 at-bats. Greg Dobbs will start in his place in right.

THE LINEUP: 1. Emilio Bonifacio 2B; 2. Jose Reyes SS; 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Logan Morrison LF; 5. Gaby Sanchez 1B; 6. Greg Dobbs RF; 7. Brett Hayes C; 8. Chris Coghlan CF; 9. Anibal Sanchez P.