THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI - The major league's first inside-the-park homer on opening day since 1968 left Emilio Bonifacio a bit winded.
"He came into the dugout, and he was gassed and he couldn't breathe and he was asking people for water," Florida teammate Cody Ross said.
Meanwhile, the crowd kept roaring, so Ross and Dan Uggla gave Bonifacio a push up the steps for the first curtain call of his life.
Bonifacio became a crowd favorite in his Marlins' debut Monday, going 4 for 5 with a thrilling homer in a 12-6 victory against his former team, the Washington Nationals.
Florida also hit three homers over the fence, including Hanley Ramirez's grand slam.
"That's the way you start a season," Ramirez said.
The offense was a bonus coming from Bonifacio, who joined Florida with a reputation as a slick-fielding but light-hitting speedster. It turned out he's fast enough to beat out a homer.
His first big league homer landed short of the warning track but sailed over center fielder Lastings Milledge because he was playing so shallow.
The last inside-the-park home run on opening day was hit on April 10, 1968, by Boston's Carl Yastrzemski. Bonifacio said he never heard of the Hall of Famer, but then Yaz probably never heard of the 23-year-old Bonifacio, who's known more for his speed than his bat.
"He's the fastest guy I've ever seen in my life," Ramirez said.
Bonifacio stole three bases and scored all four times he reached. Jorge Cantu and Jeremy Hermida hit Florida's first two homers. Ramirez drove in five runs and Cantu three. Ricky Nolasco (1-0) pitched six innings to win in his first opening-day start.
The Nationals looked much like the 2008 team that lost 102 games, the most in the majors. Starter John Lannan (0-1) departed after three innings, trailing 6-1. The bullpen fared no better and a defense that was woeful last year committed two errors.
One bright spot for Washington was the bat of newcomer Adam Dunn, who drove in four runs with a double and a homer.
"I was pretty confident I was going to hit one this year," he said with a laugh.
Bonifacio singled, stole a base and scored in the first, then did it again in the third. But his best moment came with a runner on in the fourth, when he drove Jesus Tavarez's 3-2 pitch to deep center. Milledge retreated and dove but failed to come up with the ball, and Bonifacio flew around the bases and slid home ahead of the throw.
"Pretty exciting," said Bonifacio, who at first thought Milledge was going to make the catch. "When I saw him start running back I said, 'Oh, he doesn't have it,' so I started running hard."
The cheering crowd of 34,323 held up further play until Bonifacio re-emerged from the dugout with a wave.
Bonifacio joined Florida in the November trade that sent outfielder Josh Willingham and left-hander Scott Olsen to Washington. He established career highs in hits and stolen bases.
"Good for him," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "He deserves a lot. He's not only a great kid, but he also works hard and has a lot of abilities."
