Once again the Marlins won in their last at bat and the celebration at the plate took place.
The thought did not cross Josh Willingham's mind until he saw the swarm of giddy teammates waiting to pounce at home plate. But when the Florida Marlins' latest hero was engulfed after putting an exclamation point on another dramatic final-inning victory, he remembered. "Somebody was yelling in the pile, 'Don't jump on him,' '' Willingham said. "I was hoping they wouldn't." Yeah, right. Willingham, and his back, survived the celebration caused by his leadoff home run in the bottom of the 10th inning Monday that gave the Marlins a dramatic 6-5 victory against the Washington Nationals. Willingham, who also homered in the third inning, disappeared then emerged from the celebration, no doubt a result of the left fielder's chronically bothersome back. "We just kind of took it easy," Hanley Ramirez said.
It's nice to know the Marlins have some kind of protocol for these type of celebrations, from not dropping Hanley to not piling on the Hammer. It is a good thing, whatever the rules are, that they are in place. Though how well they are being followed is an entirely different discussion.
Oh, do you know the trigger in both of the comeback wins?
If you guessed Hanley tying the game with a solo home run, you would be wrong.
In both games, right before Ramirez came to the plate, Helms pinched hit for the pitcher and struck out. Then Hanley hit the home runs. It looks like the Fish have found the formula for comeback wins. While it is a little unfortunate for Wes to always have to take one for team, I'm sure he is more than happy to do so.