Great American ballpark is known for giving up lots of home runs, but Sunday was something extraordinary. With the exception of a two run double for the Reds in the ninth, every run was scored via homer. The Marlins had five as a team, the Reds had two.
Hanley Ramirez finally freed himself of his homer-less drought beginning May with a bang, jacking a two-run shot to left field. Jay Bruce proceeded to tie the game on a two-run shot of his own, but Greg Dobbs retook the lead for Florida in the second with a solo blast.
Brandon Phillips re-tied the score in the sixth inning with a shot of his own, but the Fish responded quickly. John Buck hit a two-run tater in the top of the seventh to give the Marlins a 5-3 lead.
Running out of nicknames for home runs, I need not say how hard Mike Stanton hit a ball to center field in the eighth. This kid, 6′ 5″ and 230 pounds, has a reputation for crushing the life out of baseballs, and certainly did so with his solo home run.
Emilio Bonifacio’s only major league home run entering Sunday was an inside-the-parker on opening day in 2009. He finally muscled out his first outside-the-parker, and collected three RBIs while doing so in the eighth inning. This was Florida’s last home run of the day to increase the lead to 9-3.
Ricky Nolasco remained unbeaten recording his third win of the year. Leo Nuñez closed out his ninth save of the season, second most in the NL.
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