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Donnelly (calf) heads to DL after loss

The Marlins lost more than an important 4-3 decision to the Atlanta Braves Saturday night. They lost a valuable member of their bullpen, too.

Brendan Donnelly, who has a 2.04 ERA in 21 appearances since the Marlins signed him July 5th, suffered a right calf strain in the eighth inning and is being placed on the disabled list.

The Marlins will make the announcement of who they are calling up Sunday morning, but it's likely either Tim Wood or Cristhian Martinez, who have done fairly well when they've been up in the big leagues.

Donnelly was the news. Chris Volstad's early troubles and home run woes continue to be the story. He gave up two long balls and four runs on four hits in the first inning, before settling down for the next three innings as the Marlins tried to play catchup.

Volstad said he can't put a finger on why he's given up 26 home runs this year when he was so good at not allowing many a year ago (three Hrs in 84 1/3 innings).

"I don’t know. It’s just the way the year is going I guess," Volstad said. "I don’t know how else to explain it. I don’t feel like anything has changed. Pitch location, I guess, I just haven’t been able to locate as well."

Manager Fredi Gonzalez said both of his home run pitches were up in the zone. But Volstad said he saw it on replay and says they weren't. "I watched both of them," Volstad said. "First one he did a good job getting on top of the pitch. It would have been a ball. The second one was a changeup down. Escobar did a good job keeping his hands back. It wasn’t my best changeup. It just kind of floated in there."

Here's an interesting Volstad stat I discovered during the game: He has given up 39 earned runs during within his first 30 pitches in 43.2 innings (8.03 ERA). But once he gets past 30 pitches, he's has been better, giving up 39 earned runs in 103.2 innings (3.40 ERA).

> Jorge Cantu got into Saturday's game and came up with a clutch two-run single during the Marlins rally in the sixth. But he still isn't over his neck pain.

"I’m just trying not to think about it. Even though I’m hurting a little bit, I’m just trying not to think about it and do the job," Cantu said. "I drove him in, but it doesn’t change the fact I’m not 100 percent yet. Hopefully, I’ll come back tomorrow and this thing will be gone. It’s tough to battle."

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