Gload lifts Marlins
Pinch-hitter Ross Gload hit a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth, and the Florida Marlins rallied past the Atlanta Braves 4-3 Tuesday night.
Cody Ross walked against Rafael Soriano (1-2) to start the ninth and advanced on a sacrifice. Gload pulled a 3-1 pitch into the right-field seats and was mobbed by teammates when he reached the plate.
Soriano blew a save for only the second time in 16 chances.
Atlanta’s Garret Anderson hit a go-ahead homer to lead off the top of the ninth against Leo Nunez (3-3). Chipper Jones started the sixth inning with his 13th homer for the Braves to make the score 2-all.
Florida moved one game ahead of Atlanta, which fell to third place in the NL East.
NL batting leader Hanley Ramirez had a two-run double for Florida but later struck out twice with a runner in scoring position. The Marlins had at least one hit in every inning but the second.
Starters Jair Jurrjens and Ricky Nolasco departed with the score 2-2. Jurrjens pitched six innings, Nolasco seven.
Florida played without manager Fredi Gonzalez, serving a one-game suspension after a player from each team was hit by a pitch in the Marlins-Dodgers game Sunday.
Atlanta took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Ryan Church led off with a walk and later scored on Martin Prado’s single.
Rays 6, Yankees 2: Scott Kazmir outpitched CC Sabathia to win for the first time in more than two months, and Tampa Bay cooled off New York.
Evan Longoria hit a solo homer and Carl Crawford had an RBI triple off Sabathia (10-7), and the AL East-leading Yankees lost for just the second time in 12 games since the All-Star break.
A subject of speculation with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching Friday, Kazmir (5-6) responded with his strongest performance of the season to notch his first win May 9, against Boston. The left-hander took a four-hitter into the eighth inning and retired 10 of 12 batters he faced after giving up a RBI single to Hideki Matsui with one out in the fourth.