(Sports Network) - Florida interim manager Edwin Rodriguez got one of the biggest ovations prior to his club's opener with New York at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on Monday night.
Thanks to some power at the plate, the Marlins left the opener just as happy as their manager.
The Marlins try to make it two wins in a row this evening when they continue their three-game set in San Juan, Puerto Rico with the Mets.
Rodriguez became the first Puerto Rican-born manager in baseball history last week when he took over for the fired Fredi Gonzalez and has been greeted as a hero since his club arrived.
"That's huge," Rodriguez told the Marlins' website of his pregame ovation. "I had a lot of feelings, a lot of sentiments. I could feel the people here in the stadium sharing those feelings with me. It was huge."
Rodriguez's Marlins didn't disappoint those in attendance as Cody Ross, Chris Coghlan and Mike Stanton all homered in a 10-3 win that snapped Florida's four-game losing streak. Ross ended with three hits and Ricky Nolasco hurled seven innings of three-run ball for the Marlins.
Jason Bay connected on a pair of home runs for the Mets, who had won four of six coming in. However, R.A. Dickey was tagged for five runs over just five innings to suffer his first loss in seven decisions this year.
New York features four Puerto Rican-born players on its active roster, not including the injured Carlos Beltran, though Angel Pagan wasn't able to play on Monday as he didn't start for a sixth game in a row due to a right rib cage injury.
"I do think there was a lot of activity," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said about the atmosphere at the stadium. "But I think to be a good team you have to remain somewhat in character regardless of what the activity is surrounding you."
The loss dropped the Mets 1 1/2 games back of the first-place Braves in the National League East and they hope to get some consistency out of starter Hisanori Takahashi this evening. Takahashi has allowed five or more runs in three of his last five starts, but just one total run in the other two.
The 35-year-old held the Yankees to just four hits over six shutout innings on June 18, but was then tagged for six runs, eight hits, two homers and four walks over four innings of a loss to the Tigers on Thursday.
"The most important thing is his control," Manuel told the Mets' website. "When he begins to walk guys or guys take walks -- they don't get overly aggressive with him and are patient -- then he has to make the adjustment and come back to the zone."
After posting a 3.12 earned run average in 15 relief outings, Takahashi is 3-2 with a 4.23 ERA in seven starts. He faced the Marlins three times in relief to begin this season before starting against them on June 6, when the lefty gave up five runs over 5 1/3 innings of a no-decision.
Ross is 4-for-6 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI versus Takahashi, while Dan Uggla has a pair of solo homers in five at-bats against him.
Nate Robertson makes the start tonight for the Marlins and he has lost three of his last four decisions. The 32-year-old is also coming off his shortest outing of the season as he lasted just 2 1/3 innings in a setback to the Orioles on Thursday. Robertson allowed five runs on seven hits before his exit, falling to 5-6 with a 4.89 ERA this year.
The southpaw has made three starts already versus the Mets in 2010, going 2-1 with a 5.28 ERA. He'll need to find a way to slow down David Wright, who is 3- for-6 with two homers and four RBI versus Robertson this season.
Rookie Ike Davis is 4-for-6 versus the Marlins hurler in this year's season series, connecting on three doubles.
The Marlins have won seven of 11 versus the Mets this year, but New York notched a three-game sweep when the clubs last met in the Big Apple from June 4-6.