Lo Duca Makes Quick Impression in Florida

Paul Lo Duca was poised to be the star in his debut with the Florida Marlins until Terrmel Sledge stepped up and spoiled it.

Sledge hit the first grand slam of his career after Lo Duca hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat for the Marlins to lead the Montreal Expos, 8-5, Saturday night at Miami.

Lo Duca, acquired with outfielder Juan Encarnacion and reliever Guillermo Mota from the Dodgers on Friday, joined the Marlins in the dugout in the fifth inning and pinch-hit in the sixth.

He homered to put the Marlins ahead, 5-4, and received a loud ovation from the crowd. Lo Duca took over as catcher and finished one for two, with a fly out to center field in the eighth.

“That was pretty awesome,” Lo Duca said. “It’s one of the best feelings I’ve had as a player. I said earlier that I’m going to play my butt off here, and we’re going to win some games. This is too talented of a team not to win.”

Lo Duca endured a long day. He was up before 5 a.m. and took a cross-country flight that featured a 90-minute delay. The plane landed in Miami at 6:30 p.m., about the time the game started. Lo Duca, Encarnacion and Mota hustled to get to the stadium, were in the dugout by the fifth inning and were warmly greeted by teammates, coaches and Manager Jack McKeon.

“I didn’t want to leave L.A., but that was a warm reception here,” Lo Duca said. “I wanted to be in the [starting] lineup, but we couldn’t get here on time.”

Sledge hit reliever Josias Manzanillo’s first pitch in the seventh inning over the wall in right field to give the Expos an 8-5 lead. Sledge had a single in the fourth to end an 0-for-21 slump.

San Francisco 8, St. Louis 7 -- Ray Durham’s three-run triple capped the Giants’ eight-run first inning at San Francisco.

Matt Morris of the Cardinals gave up seven hits, walked one batter and hit another in two-thirds of an inning.

Scott Rolen homered for the Cardinals in the ninth against closer Matt Herges and Jim Edmonds doubled and scored on pinch-hitter Roger Cedeno’s single, but Jason Christianson retired Tony Womack on a grounder for the final out.

Atlanta 8, New York 0 -- Jaret Wright (9-5) stayed unbeaten in July and Johnny Estrada homered at Atlanta, where the Braves spoiled the Met debut of Kris Benson.

The Mets acquired Benson (8-9) from Pittsburgh on Friday. But the right-hander, who was pitching against the Braves for third consecutive start, lasted only five innings and lost for the second time in a row.

Wright (4-0) joined teammates Russ Ortiz (5-0) and Mike Hampton (5-0) with unbeaten records in the month.

Pittsburgh 4, Milwaukee 1 -- Ryan Vogelsong pitched five strong innings to lead the Pirates at Milwaukee.

Vogelsong (3-7) gave up three hits and one run in his first start since June 23, when he was sent to the bullpen following a seven-game losing streak.

Cincinnati 3-0, Houston 2-8 -- Josh Hancock earned the victory after Jason LaRue’s double drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning of a game suspended by rain Friday night.

Hancock (1-1) was acquired late Friday from Philadelphia and didn’t arrive until shortly after the game resumed Saturday in the top of the sixth with the score tied, 2-2.

In the scheduled game, Darren Oliver (3-3) gave up one single in five innings for the Astros.

Philadelphia 4, Chicago 3 -- Mike Lieberthal and Bobby Abreu each hit two-run homers after Cub errors at Chicago, helping the Phillies end a five-game skid.

Kevin Millwood (9-6) retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced and struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings.

Colorado 8, Arizona 4 -- Shawn Estes pitched six solid innings and the Rockies took advantage of shoddy defense in a five-run sixth inning at Denver.

The Diamondbacks committed three errors to lose for the 15th time in 17 games since the All-Star break.