MIAMI - A sloppy game that at times resembled beer-league softball ended with good baseball theater today.

The Phillies were down by four runs, and they had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth inning.

Their next two batters were Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell, who have 54 home runs between them.

"I've got faith that we're going to tie the game there," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We've got two big guys who can hit the ball out of the yard."

Manuel paused.

"But the pitcher did a good job," he said with resignation.

Florida Marlins closer Kevin Gregg struck out Howard on three pitches, the final one a 94-m.p.h. fastball that the majors' leading home-run hitter swung through. Gregg then got Burrell to bounce into a fielder's choice on a 2-0 fastball (95 m.p.h.) on the fists.

Ball game. Marlins 9, Phillies 5.

"That's one of those situations that if you don't want to be in, you shouldn't be playing," said Burrell, who had belted his 24th and 25th homers earlier in the game. "He beat me with that pitch. That's frustrating."

The Phils, who had started the day leading New York by a game atop the National League East standings, were just 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position. What's more, they did a poor job with situational hitting, especially during a second-inning threat that screamed for a fly ball but resulted in a flurry of grounders to third base. One was misplayed into a run.

Two Phillies runners were cut down at the plate in that inning, one on what Manuel called a base-running mistake by Howard.

In the field, rightfielder Jayson Werth misplayed a catchable ball into a generously scored triple in the fourth inning, and his replacement, Geoff Jenkins, later lost one in the sun.

That's not even the bad news. Starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick was abused for seven runs in 41/3 innings. He gave up three homers, which accounted for six runs. The Marlins (138 long balls) lead the Phils (136) for first-place in the league in that department.

"They want to mash," Marlins outfielder Cody Ross said. "We can mash with them."

Kendrick (8-4) does not have an overpowering fastball, but he has a chance when it is sinking and moving. Today, there was no sink. Almost everything was up in the nitro zone. All three Florida home runs came on fastballs, and two of them - John Baker's three-run shot and Dan Uggla's two-run blow - came on first-pitch fastballs.

"They hunt fastballs to hit," Manuel said of the Marlins. "When you make a mistake, they hit it."

"No excuses," Kendrick said. "I just didn't have my stuff. All I can do is flush this. I can't dwell on it."

Flush it. Not a bad idea for the team considering how ugly this game was.