Marlins-Rays: Florida Lost This Game When It Was Tied

Fredi Gonzalez described last night's contest between the Marlins and Rays as the battle of the bullpens, and predictably, we knew what the ending was going to be like. The Marlins bullpen would find a way to lose the game, and that's what happened in the ninth inning when the Rays scored the game-winning run. To be fair, the Marlins pen did all they could to match up with the Rays relievers, but in the end, the Rays have more talent in their relief corps than the Marlins do. If anyone wants to pinpoint how the Marlins lost this game, go back to the fifth inning when the Rays tied the game at 2. Chris Volstad gave up couple of base hits to start the inning, and then when Ross Gload could not tag B.J. Upton for an out, Jason Bartlett (he scored the game-winning run) scored the tying run. The game was lost there because there was no way the Marlins relievers were going to keep a scoreless inning for so long especially with a depleted bullpen. It's hard to blame it on Volstad, who pitched ... (link)