Orsulak Takes Turn for Marlins

They were miserable in April. Suddenly in May they can’t lose.

They are the Marlins, whose hero-of-the-night Tuesday was Joe Orsulak, whose two-run single in a six-run eighth inning broke a tie and pushed Florida to an 11-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Miami.

It was the Marlins’ ninth win in a row, the longest streak in franchise history and in the majors this season.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been on a team that won nine in a row,� said Orsulak, a 10-year veteran who has been on a lot of teams. “Everybody is contributing. It’s a case of good defense, great pitching and a few clutch hits.�

Florida came from behind for the third consecutive game, scoring nine runs in its final two at-bats, including six in the eighth inning.

“It seems like when we get down, we know we’re going to come back right now,� said Greg Colbrunn, who hit a 475-foot homer. “Every night it’s somebody different. Tonight it was Joe Orsulak.�

There were no confrontations or hit batsmen in the game, although one pitch sailed close to Gary Sheffield’s head. The dugouts emptied in the sixth inning Monday night when Andy Benes hit the Marlins’ Sheffield with a pitch.

The Cardinals have skidded from first to last in the Central by losing 16 of their last 21 games.

But Florida is going in the other direction.

“We’re probably as hot as we can get,� said Manager Rene Lachemann, whose team had baseball’s worst record at one time but has closed within one game of .500 (20-21). “I’ll ride this as long as I can.�

San Diego 9, New York 4--Steve Finley drove in three runs and Wally Joyner and Jody Reed each drove in two to boost a shaky Andy Ashby (5-2) in his victory in San Diego.

Ashby held a four-run lead, but it dwindled to 5-4 in the fourth inning. But Reed’s two-out, two-run single in the fourth knocked out rookie Paul Wilson and gave San Diego an 8-4 lead.

Colorado 5, Cincinnati 3--Dante Bichette’s three-run homer, his first in 22 games, ended the Rockies’ seven-game losing streak, giving them a victory in Cincinnati.

Bichette also had an RBI single and a sacrifice fly for Colorado, which is 1-7 and hitting only .194 on its current trip.

The Reds’ Pete Schourek (4-2) lost for only the third time in his last 20 starts in Riverfront Stadium.

Atlanta 7, Pittsburgh 3--John Smoltz became the only eight-game winner in the majors, getting homers and three runs batted in each from Fred McGriff and Javy Lopez in winning in Atlanta.

It was the Braves’ ninth win in their last 10 games, a streak in which they have scored 70 runs.

Philadelphia 7, San Francisco 0--Curt Schilling, in his first start since last July, gave up five hits and struck out 10 over seven innings for the Phillies, who won at home.

Schilling (1-0), who had shoulder surgery in August, was taken out after throwing 101 pitches.

Houston 6, Chicago 3--Derek Bell hit a two-run homer to break a 3-3 tie and Darryl Kile won his fifth decision in a row for the Astros, who won in Chicago and halted a four-game losing streak.

Kile (5-2), whose winning streak has come entirely on the road, gave up three runs and six hits in eight innings.