The Official Site of Hanley Ramirez

Fri, May 8th 2009, 10:05

Hanley homers twice in Marlins' loss

Video: First Homer, Second Homer

Hanley Ramirez connected twice for home runs on Thursday afternoon, but the Marlins rotation suffered a significant blow.

Despite Ramirez’s two long balls, the Marlins endured an agonizing 4-2 loss to the Braves at Dolphin Stadium.

The Marlins have now lost three straight, but more costly is right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who exited after 4 2/3 innings with right shoulder discomfort and was sent to see team physician Dr. Lee Kaplan to undergo an MRI and other tests.

Sanchez’s injury comes at a time the Marlins are in a downturn. After opening at 11-1, Florida has lost 13 of 17 after losing both games of its two-game set with the Braves.

“Like I always say, that’s life. Anything can happen at any time,” Ramirez said. “It’s happening to us right now. We have to fight and try to get out of it.”

At the plate, Ramirez had two of the Marlins’ four hits. Both left the yard, as the 25-year-old posted his ninth career two-homer game, and first since Sept. 12, 2008, against the Astros.

Ramirez raised his average to .303, and he’s starting to get locked in after missing four starts last week due to a sore right hand. The All-Star was plunked on the hand by a John Maine fastball on April 27, causing him to miss some time.

The offense still is struggling, especially at the top of the order. Emilio Bonifacio went 1-for-4 but was caught stealing after reaching in the first inning.

“We’ve got to play hard. That’s all you can control, the way you play hard,” Ramirez said. “You can’t control if you win or lose, you can only control what you can control.

“I feel better. I’m not quite [100 percent]. But I feel better at the plate.”

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