Phillies Rally Through the Rain

by 6 ABC - Action News (AP) | Apr 10, 2001

Walking to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out in the ninth inning, Marlon Anderson didn`t think about the fact that he had just two hits and an RBI in his first 18 at-bats.

Instead, a relaxed Anderson came through with an RBI single to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 win over the Florida Marlins on Monday night. "I felt like I had nothing to lose," said Anderson. "He had to throw me something to hit and I wanted to be aggressive."

Mike Lieberthal, Travis Lee and Pat Burrell led off the ninth with singles against Ricky Bones (0-1) to load the bases.

Anderson, who had a tying sacrifice fly in the seventh, hit a line drive to right off Bones to win it.

"It definitely felt good, it helps my confidence," said Anderson. "Hopefully, we`ll continue to play well."

Ricky Bottalico (1-0) went two innings, giving up one hit.

The game was interrupted by an 88-minute rain delay in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The rain, which began falling in the top of the fourth inning, became heavier in the seventh with Phillies runners on second and third and nobody out. At the time, the Marlins held a 4-2 lead.

The delay chased Marlins starter Brad Penny, who was relieved by Braden Looper when play resumed. Burrell`s RBI grounder and Anderson`s sacrifice fly made it 4-all.

For Penny, being rained out isn`t a rare occurrence. He had five starts disrupted by rain last season, prompting someone to scrawl "Rain Man" on tape over his locker.

"When Penny pitches, he`s got a dark cloud over him," said Marlins manager John Boles, who added that "he probably would have kept him in," after the first two batters got on in the seventh.

Penny retired 13 straight batters at one point. Philadelphia starter Bruce Chen went 6 2-3 innings, giving up four unearned runs and four hits.

The Marlins scored all four runs in the third on only one hit, a three-run homer by Cliff Floyd.

The Phillies scored a run in the first as Doug Glanville, who had doubled to lead off the inning, scored on a double play.

Bobby Abreu hit his third home run in the Phillies` sixth.

Notes: All six of the Phillies` home runs this season have been solo shots. ... The Marlins acquired John Mabry from St. Louis in exchange for cash on Monday. This season, Mabry appeared in five games and was hitless in seven at-bats. ...Bottalico has yet to allow a run in six innings this season. ...The Marlins are now 0-3 this season in one-run games, with all coming against the Phillies.

(Copyright 2001 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Instead, a relaxed Anderson came through with an RBI single to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 win over the Florida Marlins on Monday night. "I felt like I had nothing to lose," said Anderson. "He had to throw me something to hit and I wanted to be aggressive."