The Marlins begin June in first place (47 days now) after a 7-3 win over the Phillies. What is up with Cody Ross? 9 of his last 11 hits are home runs.

This one was painful.

The Marlins fought hard and used 2 Cody Ross home runs to take the lead until Kevin Gregg blew the save in the ninth. Then, in the 12th inning, an improbable Alfredo Amezaga home run gave the Fish the lead only to have Justin Miller blow the save in the bottom of the inning and take a painful loss.

We did witness a rarity: both Luis Castillo and Alfredo Amezaga hit home runs. I could never imagine that happening in the same game or even the same day.

Andrew Miller showed up big-time tonight holding the Arizona Diamondbacks scoreless over 7 innings while striking out a career high 9. Hanley Ramirez was back in his familiar lead-off spot, hitting a triple in his first at bat and scoring the Marlins first run. A Wes Helms pinch-hit 2-run double sealed the deal as the first place Marlins swept the first place D-Backs with a 4-0 win.

In another close post-season like game, the Marlins beat Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1. Arizona’s ace Brandon Webb was looking to start the season 10-0 having dominated all his opponents this year. But, Ricky Nolasco was up to the task, allowing only 1 run in 7 innings. The biggest play in the game came in the bottom of the 5th when Matt Treanor executed his second suicide squeeze of the year, bringing in Luis Gonzalez. Cody Ross then followed up with a solo home run.

The Marlins are 26-19 and have a 2-game lead in the NL East.

In the first game of a series matching two of the best teams in baseball, the Marlins beat the Diamondbacks 3-2 thanks to a Dan Uggla home run and a strong 1-2/3 inning from closer Kevin Gregg.

We all know that Hanley Ramirez is about to sign the big deal once the team returns to South Florida. That being said, it’s nice to see some confirmation when Hanley’s website posts this video:

The 7-game winning stream may be over but it seems like everyone suddenly likes us:

• Low budget hasn’t taken fight out of these Marlins (USA Today)
• The Rise of the Marlins - 79 Style (Sporting News Blog)
• First place to Marlins: What are you doing here? (CBS Sports)
• On Deck: The Marlins!? (AOL FanHouse)

Note to Andrew Miller: this is what happens when you do things right — first pitch strikes, staying focused, and throwing strikes (55 of 88 pitches were strikes). Also, looks like Dan Uggla seems to be enjoying hitting in the 6th spot as he hit another home run today.

Home runs by Mike Jacobs and Luis Gonzalez combined with Mark Hendrickson making it to the 6th inning, and the Marlins go to 9-5 and keep a 1.5 game lead in the National League East.

Scott Olsen kept throwing strikes and makes it through 7 innings - Marlins beat the Braves 4-0. With that kind of performance, you will win most of the time. Now we need the other starters to break through that 5th inning wall.