Marlins beat Dodgers 8-6 with Hanley's 3 RBIs

[July 27, 2009]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Dan Uggla homered and NL batting leader Hanley Ramirez drove in three runs, leading Florida to an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday and helping the Marlins win their third straight series at Chavez Ravine.

Chris Volstad (8-9) allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. The 22-year-old right-hander was helped by three double plays, one of them in the first when Orlando Hudson took off from first base on Andre Ethier's long drive to center fielder Cody Ross and couldn't get back in time after having to retouch second.

Ramirez was 2 for 4, raising his career average at Dodger Stadium to .344. He's hitting .348 overall this season and .427 with runners in scoring position -- second in the majors. Last season, the two-time All-Star shortstop had a .239 average in that department.

The Marlins were leading 8-0 when Dodgers reliever Jeff Weaver hit Ramirez with two out and the bases empty in the sixth, resulting in an emphatic warning to both benches by plate umpire and crew chief Bob Davidson. Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez took issue with Davidson, coming out to argue and then picking up the discussion again between innings.

Volstad surrendered hits to four of his next five batters as the Dodgers cut the eight-run deficit in half. James Loney hit a two-run double and Russell Martin added a two-run homer on Volstad's 88th and final pitch.

Burke Badenhop, who relieved Volstad, plunked Hudson on the rear end with one out in the seventh and was immediately ejected along with Gonzalez. When he got back to the dugout, Badenhop received high-fives from just about everyone.

Jason Schmidt (1-1) gave up five runs and five hits in three-plus innings, leaving the game after Uggla led off the fourth with a homer on the 26-year-old right-hander's 51st pitch. Schmidt, making his second start since undergoing two shoulder surgeries that sidelined him for the entire 2008 season, lost to the Marlins for the first time in nine career decisions.

Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez did not start for the third time in 19 games since returning from his 50-game drug suspension on July 3. His left hand was still sore from being hit by Cincinnati's Homer Bailey last Tuesday. The next night, Ramirez hit a pinch-hit grand slam.

Volstad is 4-0 with a with a 1.80 ERA in four career starts in California. His first big league start was against the Dodgers on July 11, 2008, when Martin spoiled his bid for a complete-game shutout with a two-out RBI single in the ninth and Kevin Gregg came in to get the final out in the 3-1 victory at Los Angeles.

NOTES: Badenhop did not hit a batter in his previous 52 innings this season. ... Schmidt plunked Emilio Bonifacio during Florida's three-run third. ... Baker threw out Juan Pierre trying to steal in the third, only the 13th runner he's cut down in 65 attempts this season. Pierre led the NL with a career-high 65 RBIs for the Marlins in 2003, the year they beat Joe Torre's Yankees in the World Series. ... RHP Leo Nunez game up two-out RBI singles to Ethier and Loney in the ninth. ... The Marlins have won eight of their last 11 games at Dodger Stadium. ... The Marlins have hit only 14 home runs this month with four games remaining. They had 30 in June. ... The Dodgers were 6-4 on their first homestand following the All-Star break.

[Associated Press]

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