Bullpen Blows it Again as Phils Fall to Marlins

MIAMI -- Andy Fox helped erase another shaky effort by the Florida Marlins' bullpen.

Fox's single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning scored Cliff Floyd with the go-ahead run as the Marlins posted an 8-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

	Pat Burrell is thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double during the fourth inning of the Phils' loss, Thursday night. (AP)

Ricky Bottalico (0-1) started the eighth for the Phillies and hit Floyd with a pitch. Floyd moved to second on a passed ball by Mike Lieberthal before Bottalico retired the next two batters.

Fox, however, came through with his hit into left field that scored Floyd without a play and snapped a 7-7 tie.

"I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit," Fox said. "I was looking for something out over the plate. It ended up being a breaking ball and I was able to slap it to left field. You don't want to do too much in that situation."

"He just went down and hit it," Bottalico said. The hit by Fox came at an opportune time for Marlins, who watched their bullpen squander a 7-3 lead in the top of the eighth. Michael Tejera was the main culprit, failing to retire a batter while allowing three runs.

"I was not concerned to start the season, then I was concerned, then I felt better, now I'm concerned. I'll worry about it tomorrow," Torborg said of his bullpen. In Wednesday's loss, Tejera and Braden Looper combined to allow four runs and four hits in four innings.

Vladimir Nunez (2-1) gave up a run in the eighth but picked up the win.

Leading 7-3 entering the eighth, the Marlins watched their bullpen give back the lead.

Tejera started the inning and gave up singles to Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Anderson. After a double steal, Bobby Abreu laced a double into the left-center field gap, pulling the Phillies within 7-5.

Nunez came on and surrendered an RBI triple to Scott Rolen. After Lieberthal fouled out, Travis Lee lofted a sacrifice fly to tie it.

Marlins prized-prospect Josh Beckett, still in search of his first win of the season, got off to a bit of a rough start as Rolen and Lieberthal had RBI doubles in the opening inning.

A run-scoring single by Pat Burrell in the fourth extended the lead to 3-0.

Beckett lasted five innings before leaving for the second straight start with a blister on his pitching hand. The 21-year-old righthander gave up three runs and four hits, walking one and striking out four. The Marlins got the youngster off the hook and even gave him a chance for the win after rallying.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Marlins erased a 3-0 deficit on RBI doubles by Eric Owens and Preston Wilson and a two-run homer by Floyd.

The Marlins added more runs in the seventh. Mike Redmond and Owens delivered RBI singles and a wild pitch by Cliff Politte allowed another run to score

ComcastSportsNet.com wire services