Miguel Cabrera hit one of four Florida homers and the rookie-laden Marlins roughed up Andy Pettitte for 10 runs and 13 hits on Tuesday in an 11-2 rout of the Houston Astros.
Josh Willingham connected twice, Mike Jacobs added a three-run shot and Hanley Ramirez had four hits and three RBIs. Florida, with six rookies in its starting lineup and a major league-low payroll of about $15 million, gave first-year manager Joe Girardi his first win.
Things went bad early for Pettitte, who allowed seven earned runs in 4 2-3 innings.
Cabrera, who was 0-for-4 in Monday's 1-0 loss, hit a two-run homer to right in the first. He also doubled and scored in the fifth.
Willingham, who spent most of last season at Triple-A Albuquerque, got his second major league home run when his long fly bounced off the left-field wall two pitches later. Willingham also connected against Chad Qualls in the sixth.
Pettitte, who ended last season with a seven-game winning streak, hadn't allowed three homers in a game since 2003 with the New York Yankees.
Brewers 7, Pirates 5
At Milwaukee, Gabe Gross homered as a pinch-hitter in his first at-bat with Milwaukee and Chris Capuano pitched six solid innings.
With runners at second and third in the ninth inning, Pirates pinch-hitter Freddy Sanchez hit a liner up the middle that appeared headed for center field and a tying, two-run single.
But closer Derrick Turnbow reacted quickly and caught it, then retired Nate McLouth on a popup to end the game.
Gross' two-run shot in the sixth landed on a catwalk in right-center, putting the Brewers ahead 5-2. J.J. Hardy added an RBI single later in the inning.
Capuano, an 18-game winner last year, gave up two runs and struck out seven for the win and Turnbow worked the ninth for his second save in two days.
Gross became the fifth player in Brewers history to hit a home run in his first plate appearance for the team.
Dodgers 5, Braves 4
At Los Angeles, Brad Penny pitched five strong innings, J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer and Los Angeles beat Atlanta on a rainy night for Grady Little's first victory as the Dodgers' manager.
Penny allowed five hits and one run while walking none and striking out eight before giving way to Jae Seo, who worked three innings.
Penny, who threw 92 pitches, didn't allow a hit after the second, retiring 10 of his last 11 batters to earn the win.
Danys Baez pitched the ninth for his first save in place of suspended closer Eric Gagne.
Drew put Los Angeles ahead for good by connecting against loser John Smoltz in the first. The Dodgers got two more runs in the inning on RBI singles by Bill Mueller and Jason Repko.
Brian McCann and Adam LaRoche homered for the Braves.
The Dodgers placed first baseman Nomar Garciaparra on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained muscle in his right side.
Aaron Boone took some glimmer off Chicago's ring ceremony on Tuesday, lifting the Cleveland Indians to an 8-2 victory over the White Sox.
Boone homered, drove in four runs and crashed into catcher A.J. Pierzynski to score a run for Cleveland, which put a damper on another day of celebrations by the World Series champions.
Winner Jake Westbrook allowed two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings for the Indians, who put ace lefty C.C. Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list before the game with a strained abdominal muscle.
RSS