The Kings of Never Quit, aka the Arizona Diamondbacks, made it another close game, but couldn't completely overcome a five-run deficit nor beat the Florida Marlins at the game of longball in Friday night's loss at SunLife Stadium.
The Marlins tagged Arizona starter Joe Saunders for three home runs -- a two-run shot for Logan Morrison in the first, a two-run blast by Mike Stanton in the sixth and a solo shot by John Buck to make it back-to-back homers in the inning.
Buck also had the key RBI of the game with a two-out single to center off D-backs reliever Esmerling Vasquez in the seventh to drive in Omar Infante from second base. The D-backs had scored four runs in the top of the seventh to go from a 5-0 deficit to 5-4.
Justin Upton led off the frame with a triple, just the third hit off Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez. Upton scored on Stephen Drew's single and the rally continued with two out.
Miguel Montero muscled up for a two-run shot to straightaway center field to make it 5-3. Sanchez was taken out in favor of reliever Mike Dunn, then D-backs manager Kirk Gibson removed first baseman Juan Miranda for a pinch hitter, Xavier Nady. Nady made the skipper look like a genius by hitting a home run to right field.
The next batter, Gerardo Parra, singled, but Melvin Mora grounded out to end the inning.
Even after the Marlins went up 6-4 with Buck's hit off Vasquez, the Diamondbacks fought. Ryan Roberts tripled off Ryan Webb to lead off the eighth, but Webb fanned Kelly Johnson and Upton and Randy Choate came on to strike out Drew swinging.
Bryan Shaw, called up by Arizona earlier in the day, made his major-league debut when he came on in the bottom of the eighth for Joe Paterson with a man on second and nobody out. It was Shaw's trial by fire, and he struck out pinch hitter Scott Cousins (the guy who slammed into the Giants' Buster Posey's leg and injured him in a collision at home plate recently) before getting Emilio Bonifacio to ground out, walking Infante and Morrison to load the bases and inducing a flyout by Gaby Sanchez to end the inning.
Nady reached on a two-out single in the ninth, but the Marlins' Steve Cishek earned his first career save, retiring Parra on a ground out.