KMAX: Sports

MIAMI (AP) San Francisco manager Felipe Alou stood in the dugout, stared at his right fielder in disbelief and muttered a profanity.

Jose Cruz Jr., one of baseball's best outfielders, had just misplayed a routine fly to start the 11th inning.

``I've never dropped one like that,'' Cruz said.

The Florida Marlins made Cruz and the Giants pay dearly. The error started a comeback that Ivan Rodriguez capped with a two-out, two-run single to beat the Giants 4-3 for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five NL playoff series.

``We lost a game that we should have won,'' Alou said. ``Against the wall that's where we are.''

Game 4 was scheduled for Saturday, with Giants right-hander Jerome Williams pitching against Marlins rookie sensation Dontrelle Willis.

Squandered opportunities and Cruz's defensive blunder hurt the Giants, and Rodriguez did the rest. He hit a two-run homer in the first and curtailed a Giants rally in the seventh by throwing out a runner trying to steal third.

``Having that kind of game made me feel pretty good,'' Rodriguez said. ``It was one of the best games of my career.''

Edgardo Alfonzo's RBI single in the top of the 11th put the Giants ahead 3-2, but they left the bases loaded. Those were three of the record 18 runners they stranded, including at least one in scoring position in each of the final seven innings.

After Rodriguez homered, the Marlins were shut out until Cruz gave them an opening in the 11th. He drifted toward the foul line, tried to make a one-handed catch of Jeff Conine's fly and dropped the ball to the surprise and delight of 61,488 fans.

``It was trailing away, but it was a ball I should have caught,'' Cruz said.

Florida seized the opportunity. Tim Worrell walked Alex Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera sacrificed, and Juan Pierre was walked intentionally to load the bases.

Luis Castillo grounded back to Worrell, who made a lunging, barehanded stop and forced Conine at the plate. But Rodriguez lined a 1-2 fastball for a hit to right field, and Cruz's throw home was wide as Pierre slid in headfirst with the winning run.

``I didn't get the job done,'' Worrell said. ``I left a fastball up, and he went with it.''

As the crowd celebrated, the Marlins poured out of the dugout to mob Rodriguez, a 10-time All-Star who joined Florida this season after 12 years with the Texas Rangers.

``He showed today why he's a Hall of Famer,'' teammate Derrek Lee said.

The finish was reminiscent of the 1997 playoffs, when the Marlins twice beat San Francisco in their final at-bat.

``We're a good team,'' Rodriguez said. ``Whoever plays against us has to play hard until the last out, because you never know.''

The return of postseason baseball to Miami after a six-year wait drew the Marlins' largest home crowd since Game 7 of the '97 World Series. The boisterous fans twirled souvenir towels, creating a remarkable spectacle in a stadium where empty seats are the more customary sight.

``It's exciting to see South Florida electrified,'' said Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez, a Miami native who was at Friday's game.

One of the biggest roars came when Ivan Rodriguez homered to put Florida ahead. Poor fielding by pitcher Mark Redman helped San Francisco rally to tie it in the sixth.

The Marlins almost managed to neutralize Barry Bonds, who went 1-for-4 with an infield single and two intentional walks. That made him 2-for-7 in the series with seven walks.

The Giants broke the division series record of 16 runners stranded, which they set in a 13-inning loss to the New York Mets in 2000.< ^Notes:@ The defeat gave the Giants consecutive losses for the first time since Aug. 28-29. ... The crowd was the third-largest for any division series game. ... Alfonzo's four hits tied a Giants postseason record. ... The Marlins won for the 17th time in their past 20 home games.