PHOENIX - The Marlins could hardly blame a throbbing hangover from Sunday's 20-inning ordeal for Monday's 7-1 loss at Arizona. The Diamondbacks played a pair of nine-inning games at New York on Sunday before making a cross-country journey much like the one demanded of the Marlins.
Nor could they attribute their eighth straight setback at Bank One Ballpark to the presence of either Randy Johnson or Curt Schilling, the dynamic pitching duo that has done as it has pleased with Florida over the years.
Heck, they couldn't even point to rookie right-hander Justin Wayne. He wasn't exactly Roger Clemens, but he gave the Marlins what they needed: enough innings to give the weary bullpen a bit of a breather.
If the Marlins could point to one factor for the loss as they opened a seven-game trip, it was Arizona starter/Marlins killer Elmer Dessens. The right-hander, 32-37 in his career, improved to 4-0 against Florida.
Dessens held the Marlins to one run and five hits before exiting after the seventh, lowering his career ERA against them to 1.63.
The Marlins (13-14) fell behind early against the Diamondbacks and never posed a serious threat as their struggles in the desert continued.
Wayne was as much fodder for the Marlins as he was for the Diamondbacks. Because Florida had to go with eight pitchers Sunday in their marathon loss to St. Louis, Wayne was put on the mound Monday to eat as many innings as possible and spare the bullpen.
"We need innings out of Justin tonight,'' manager Jeff Torborg said before the game.
Wayne gave them 5-1/3 (103 pitches) before giving way to Toby Borland. Wayne, who made five starts for the Marlins last season as a September call-up, likely will return to Triple A Albuquerque (N.M.) as the Marlins continue to play musical chairs with a staff missing ace A.J. Burnett.
Arizona wasted no time to score. Craig Counsell reached on a leadoff walk in the first inning before Junior Spivey belted a 380-foot homer to left field on the first pitch he saw from Wayne.
In the fourth, Rod Barajas - called up Monday to replace disabled-listed Schilling - drove in Arizona's third run with a double to center that scored Matt Williams.
The Diamondbacks made it 4-0 in the fifth when Spivey and Luis Gonzalez delivered back-to-back singles and Danny Bautista cracked a long sacrifice fly to center.
The Marlins were unable to make much of a dent against Dessens.
It wasn't until the sixth that they broke a run of 16 straight scoreless innings that stretched to Sunday's ninth, when Mike Lowell's two-run homer capped a five-run rally that forced extra innings.
Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo reached on consecutive singles and advanced with a double steal. Juan Encarnacion's ground ball to Williams at third drove in Pierre. But Lowell, who started the game with back-to-back doubles off the wall in left, lined out to Williams to end the inning.
Lowell also doubled to right in the ninth, matching a club record with three overall.
The Diamondbacks put the game out of reach in the eighth by scoring three runs against Michael Tejera, who will take Burnett's spot in the rotation beginning Saturday.
Steve Finley's double off the wall in right-center brought in Lyle Overbay from first. Barajas lashed a single to left that sent Finley across the plate. And Counsell singled in Barajas.
© 2003, The Miami Herald.
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