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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Despite being ahead by five or more runs four
times, Florida manager John Boles never felt comfortable against
the New York Yankees.
He kept looking at the hitters in the home dugout and the World
Series flag in left field and knew no lead was safe.
|  | | Florida's Mike Lowell hits a three-run homer in the first inning that put the Yankees down early.
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Yet his young Marlins held on, getting early three-run homers by
Mike Lowell and Derrek Lee off Orlando Hernandez to beat New York
11-9 Thursday night for their eighth victory in 10 games.
"It's not easy here," Boles said. "Our guys walk in and look
at all of those monuments. This is the cathedral. This is not an
easy place to play. They're the two-time defending world
champions."
But the Yankees sure didn't play that way, allowing 14 hits,
making a costly error, throwing three wild pitches and stranding 11
runners.
"You fall behind early and then you try to creep closer and
fall further behind," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "It was
just that we couldn't pitch well enough."
Florida held leads of 6-1, 8-3, 10-4 and 11-6 before being
forced to call on closer Antonio Alfonseca with the tying run up
and two outs in the eighth.
"I said they don't need me tonight," Alfonseca said. "Then I
look up in the eighth and they started scoring and I said.
'Uh-oh."'
He got Jorge Posada to pop out and finished for his major
league-leading 29th save in 32 chances.
The Marlins (46-43), the worst team in baseball in 1998 and
1999, have more victories than the Yankees (45-39).
Brad Penny (5-7) allowed three runs and six hits in five
laborious innings for his second victory in 14 starts since April 23.
He needed 118 pitches to make it through five innings, but left the
bases loaded in the second and two runners on in the third.
Hernandez (8-7), pitching on an extra day of rest because of the
All-Star break, was not able to avoid the big inning. In his third
start since returning from a minor elbow injury, Hernandez allowed
eight runs -- seven earned -- and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
"He had good stuff but he wasn't sharp because of the long time
between starts," Posada, his catcher, said. "I think he works
better when he pitches every five days."
El Duque was shaky from the start, allowing Lowell's 13th homer
in the first inning to fall behind 3-0.
Lowell, a former top Yankees prospect, was traded to Florida
before last season because Scott Brosius was entrenched at third
base for New York. Lowell's homer -- coming one day after the
Yankees traded four minor-leaguers to Cincinnati for left-hander
Denny Neagle -- was a reminder of the peril of trading prospects.
"A home run feels good anywhere," Lowell said. "But it is
special here, having come up in this organization. I'd be lying if
I told you differently."
Lee homered in the third inning, his 19th of the season and 11th
in the last 27 games, to make it 6-1.
The Yankees closed to 6-3 in the bottom half on a run-scoring single by
David Justice and a sacrifice fly by Posada. Ryan Thompson,
called up from Triple-A Columbus, then struck out swinging with
runners on second and third, ending the threat. Thompson did have
a run-scoring double in the second.
The Marlins scored two more in the sixth to knock out Hernandez.
Luis Castillo, who came into the game with four RBI in 260
at-bats, had a run-scoring infield single and a second run scored when
shortstop Derek Jeter threw the ball away for an error.
Brosius hit a solo homer in the sixth for the Yankees before
Florida added two more in the seventh off Craig Dingman. Yankees
second baseman Chuck Knoblauch left the game that inning with a
bruised left wrist after being hit by a line drive by Preston
Wilson. He is day-to-day.
Game notes
Mark Kotsay singled in the eighth and moved around the
bases on three wild pitches -- one by Randy Choate and two by Jason
Grimsley. ... Penny had been winless in five decisions on the road.
... Wilson tied his career high with two stolen bases. ... The
Marlins are a major league-leading 38-24 record in interleague
play. ... Hernandez is 1-6 with a 6.33 ERA at home. ... Justice,
who came into the game 4-for-26 as a Yankee, went 3-for-5 with two
RBI. ... A $5 dollar bill blew onto the field in the first inning
and Martinez picked it up and threw it toward the stands. "It blew
away from one of the vendors. I was just trying to get it back to
him," he said.
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