Game: Florida Marlins @ Seattle Mariners
Venue: Safeco Field
Start Time: 10:10 P.M.
Attendance: 24.163
Length of Game: 3:03
Starting Pitchers: Ryan Tucker ( Marlins) vs R.A. Dickey ( Mariners)
Those free-swinging, home run-slugging Florida Marlins actually have a patient side, however rare its appearance.
Dan Uggla and Mike Jacobs both hit long two-run shots for the majors' top home-run hitting team, and the Marlins beat the Seattle Mariners 8-3 on Wednesday night.
But it was the Marlins' season-high 10 walks that left them chuckling in the dugout about the unlikely effort from a group drawing only three walks per game this season.
Uggla and his teammates could share a laugh after taking two of three in the interleague matchup, and winning their first road series since a sweep of the Washington Nationals from May 9-11.
While the walks were nice, it was again the long ball taking center stage. Jacobs ripped his 17th home run of the season in the third off Seattle starter R.A. Dickey, and Uggla followed in the sixth with his 21st, thudding off the out-of-town scoreboard behind the Marlins bullpen for a 7-2 lead.
The Marlins have 106 home runs, three ahead of NL East rival Philadelphia. Uggla, who connected against Seattle's Felix Hernandez on Tuesday night and claimed not to even see the pitch, said he saw the offering from Mariners reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith just fine.
The two home runs were plenty of offense for 21-year-old Florida starter Ryan Tucker, who held down the punchless Mariners in only his third start of the season. Tucker, who never pitched above Class A before this season, went a career-high six innings, allowing two runs and seven hits while striking out four.
Tucker (2-1) was magnificent in his Marlins debut, giving up only one run and two hits in five innings against Cincinnati on June 8. Then he was battered in his second start against Tampa Bay when he struggled to control his fastball.
Facing the light-hitting Mariners, Tucker allowed an RBI single to Raul Ibanez in the first, then scattered four hits during his final five innings. Jeremy Reed had a two-out RBI single in the fourth, but otherwise the Mariners did little against the hard-throwing right-hander.
Seattle was trying for back-to-back victories for only the third time since mid-April when it won a season-best three straight.
Florida got to Dickey (1-3) early, as the journeyman knuckleballer struggled. Manager John McLaren said after the game that Dickey would get another starting chance, despite his second successive bad outing.
Dickey was moved into the starting rotation last week to face Washington, but was battered for seven runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings against the Nationals.
He didn't fare much better versus Florida. Dickey gave up five runs on six hits and walked four batters in 3 2/3 innings. He left after a two-out walk to Jorge Cantu in the fourth, but Rowland-Smith couldn't close the inning. Jacobs followed with an RBI single and back-to-back walks forced home another run. Cantu also had an RBI single in the first and doubled ahead of Jacobs' home run.
Rowland-Smith settled down in the fifth, but then allowed Uggla's two-out shot in the sixth, moving Uggla one home run behind Philadelphia's Chase Utley for the major league lead.
Up Next: The Marlins are off Thursday as they travel to Oakland to face the Athletics in a 3- game series that begins on Friday night at 10:05 P.M. Eastern Time.