Major League Baseball

Marlins 9, Reds 5

Published May. 2, 2011 1:22 a.m. ET

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It's going to take more than one swing for Hanley Ramirez to feel as though his slump is over.

Ramirez hit his first home run of the season and the Florida Marlins went deep a season-high five times Sunday in a 9-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

John Buck homered to snap a seventh-inning tie. Greg Dobbs, Mike Stanton and Emilio Bonifacio also connected for the Marlins, who have won eight of 11.

''It feels good to get the first one, but I really want my timing back,'' said Ramirez, who had an awful April.

His manager wasn't worried, and never gave a thought to moving him out of the third spot in the batting order.

''I'm not concerned about his numbers,'' Edwin Rodriguez said. ''I am more concerned with how he is handling the slump. I know the numbers will be there. So far, he's handled it well.''

Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips homered for the Reds.

Buck followed Dobbs' leadoff single with his third home run of the season and second of the series, giving the Marlins the lead in a game in which all of Florida's runs came on homers. Buck, who finished with three hits, had a three-run shot in the first inning of Florida's 7-6 win on Friday.

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo (3-3) allowed a season-high three home runs. The right-hander gave up seven hits in seven innings while falling to 1-3 in his last four starts. He is 0-3 in 10 career appearances against the Marlins.

''It was really disappointing when they get the lead and you tie it, then you give them the lead again,'' Arroyo said. ''The ball is really carrying well here now.''

Florida right-hander Ricky Nolasco (3-0) allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings to help the Marlins take two of three in the series. He struck out five and walked one.

Nolasco is 31-22 in 57 starts following a Marlins loss.

''It's great for us to bounce back,'' he said. ''You have to tip your cap to our hitters. They put up a ton of runs.''

Cincinnati scored two in the ninth on pinch-hitter Chris Heisey's bases-loaded double. Leo Nunez got two outs for his ninth save in nine tries.

Ramirez started the flurry of homers with a two-run shot on an 0-1 pitch with one out in the first inning. The 384-foot drive into the left-field seats was his first homer since Sept. 6 - including spring training.

''We couldn't keep the ball in the ballpark,'' Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. ''We need to find a way to keep it in the ballpark.''

Bruce tied the game in the bottom of the first with his fifth homer of the season and second of the series, a 379-foot fly into the right-center seats. Bruce hit a solo home run in the first inning on Friday.

Joey Votto followed by drawing a walk, extending to 28 his major league-leading streak of consecutive games reaching base at least once with a hit, walk or being hit by a pitch. He is six away from tying the club record of 34 games to start a season, set by Dave Collins in 1981.

The Marlins regained the lead at 3-2 with Dobbs' leadoff homer in the second, a 429-foot shot halfway up the right-field seats. The homer, one of Dobbs' three hits, was his second of the season and first since April 9 at Houston.

The Reds tied the score again on Phillips' fourth homer, an opposite-field drive into the right-field seats with one out in the sixth.

The Marlins broke the game open in the eighth, scoring four runs off Cincinnati reliever Nick Masset with two outs. Stanton cracked a 442-foot solo drive to center field, his third homer of the season. After Dobbs walked and Buck singled, Bonifacio hit a 348-foot drive into the right-field seats - his first of the season and the first of his two career homers to leave the park. His other homer was an inside-the-park grand slam on opening day in 2009.

''The guys were laughing when I came to the dugout,'' Bonifacio said. ''I hit one in the winter league, but it's much better to hit one in the major leagues.''

The Marlins are 14-0 when they hit at least one home run.

Rodriguez praised his team's ability to bounce back and win its seventh series in nine chances.

''It shows the character of this team,'' he said. ''Everyone has been battling. Everyone has contributed. Now Bonifacio has as many home runs as Hanley. He should take that to arbitration.''

NOTES: 2B Omar Infante returned to the Marlins' starting lineup after leaving Saturday's game in the middle of the fifth inning with cramps in both hamstrings. ... Reds RHP Johnny Cueto needed 99 pitches to get through 4 2-3 innings of his rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Louisville. Cueto allowed five hits and one earned run with two walks and six strikeouts. ... According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Florida RHP Josh Johnson's 18 hits allowed in 41 innings are the fewest by any pitcher with at least 40 innings since 1900, one fewer than the 19 allowed by Nolan Ryan in 1978. Johnson's 0.88 ERA is the fourth-lowest of pitchers with at least 40 innings through the end of April since 1913, when earned runs became an official statistic.

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