BOTTOMSVILLE -- In case you missed it, the Marlins woke up this morning in last place when the Nats won their game with the San Diego Padres late Friday out on the West Coast. This marks the sixth time in franchise history the Marlins (24-25) have been in last at the 49-game mark, most recently in 2006 when they were 16-33. It's worth noting that the 2003 team was also in last place -- 12 1/2 games out of first place -- at this juncture with a record of 20-29. That team recovered and won the World Series.
HOW'S THAT TRADE LOOKING NOW UPDATE -- Mike Stanton hit his 18th home run for Double A Jacksonville on Friday, but Andrew Miller turned in another clunker, walking seven batters in 5 2/3 innings. Miller has walked 30 in 28 innings in his six starts this season at Jacksonville and Single A Jupiter. Meanwhile, Miguel Cabrera slammed three home runs on Friday for the Detroit Tigers while Dontrelle Willis labored. Cabrera, who is hitting .341, drove in all of Detroit's runs in a 5-4 loss to the Oakland A's. Willis gave up nine hits and walked four over 5 1/3 innings for the Tigers.
IF THE SEASON ENDED NOW....Washington's Cristian Guzman would win the NL batting title with a .325 average. Yep, .325 leads the pack and we're not even to Memorial Day. (The Dodgers' Andre Ethier -- at .392 -- is injured and doesn't have quite enough at bats to qualify). Still, averages at the top end of the spectrum look to be down this season, at least in the NL. "It is kind of bizarre," said Marlins outfielder Cody Ross, whose .306 average has him in contention. The last time a player won a batting title with an average as low as .325 was 1991 when Terry Pendleton captured the NL crown with a .319 average. Over in the AL, it's a different story, where the Twins' Justin Morneau leads the pack at .372 and Detroit's Magglio Ordonez rounds out the top 10 at .325.
LINEUPS
Marlins: 1. Chris Coghlan, lf; 2. Gaby Sanchez, 1b; 3. Hanley Ramirez, ss; 4. Jorge Cantu, 3b; 5. Dan Uggla, 2b; 6. Cody Ross, rf; 7. Brett Hayes, c; 8. Cameron Maybin, cf; 9. Josh Johnson, p.
Phillies: 1. Shane Victorino, cf; 2. Wilson Valdez, ss; 3. Chase Utley, 2b; 4. Ryan Howard, 1b; 5. Jayson Werth, rf; 6. Raul Ibanez, lf; 7. Juan Castro, 3b; 8. Carlos Ruiz, c; 9. Roy Halladay, p.
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