‘03 Fish take 2 of 3 from ‘65 Dodgers

9/2 - Dodger Stadium
GAME 1 - '65-Dodgers 4, '03-Marlins 3
The great Sandy Koufax went the distance and outlasted Dontrelle Willis.  Koufax was not his usual dominant self as evidenced by the 3 run on 8 hits that he allowed in this complete game effort, but it was enough for victory.  Koufax broke down in the 9th and allowed 2 runs to the Marlins, which tied the game.  Derrek Lee hit a 2 run shot that barely cleared the fence in the cavernous parkin Chavez Ravine.  LA's gritty offense rallied in the bottom of the 9th when John Roseboro and Willie Davis led off with singles against Wilson Alvarez.  Pinch hitter Junior Gilliam was strangely given a free pass, which advanced the runners 90 feet to load the bases.  Koufax hit for himself and struck out.  Maury Wills popped to short and it looked like the Fish were going to escape.  ”Sweet” Lou Johnson waited out reliever Rick Helling and walked on a 3-1 count to force in the game winner.  A rare walk off walk ended it in favor of the Dodgers.  Koufax (2-1, 2.76) got the victory.

9/3-9/4- Pro Player Stadium
GAME 2 - Marlins 5, Dodgers 3
Claude Osteen looked like a sure bet protecting a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 7th. Florida unloaded on the Dodger's lefty for 4 runs in the 7th to take a 5-3 lead that they would never relinquish.  Osteen completely lost his control as evidenced by the 3 walks and one hit batsmen.  Juan Pierre was right in the middle of the inning with his 2nd of 3 consecutive singles on the day.  Braden Looper (8th) and Ugeth Urbina (9th) held down the fort for the final 2 innings as the Marlins won by 2.

GAME 3 - Marlins 3, Dodgers 0
Johnny Podres had one blow up inning where he Fish scored 3 runs.  He would be perfect in the other 6 innings of this rain shortened 7 inning contest.  Juan Encarnacion led off with a single.  With 1 out Andy Fox singled as well to score Encarnacion, who stole second when Mike Redmond struck out.  Mike Lowell, who was hitting 8th, slammed his first homer of the season...a 2 run shot, to round out the scoring.  Marlin starter Michael Tejera went 6+ scoreless innings to get the win.  Both teams waited around two and a half hours before the game was officially called.