Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen made a victorious return to the dugout Tuesday night after a five-game suspension over controversial comments he made about Fidel Castro.
Pitchers Josh Johnson and Heath Bell snapped out of early-season slumps to help the Miami Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2. Johnson allowed two runs in seven innings and Bell earned the save after four rocky outings. Streaking Hanley Ramirez broke a 2-all tie with a three-run homer in the eighth, his third.
No demonstrations targeted at Guillen were evident, although a screaming fan in the second deck did call the Marlins manager an insulting name several times midway through the game.
Guillen was suspended last week and made an emotional apology over the remarks quoted in Time Magazine. The periodical reported that Guillen said he loves Castro and respects him for staying in power so long.
Last week, Guillen said his remarks were misinterpreted by the reporter and that what he really said in Spanish was, "I cannot believe that someone who has hurt so many people over the years is still alive."
At a news conference last week, he said, "I am very, very, very sorry about the problem, about what happened. I will do everything to make it better, everything in my power to make it better."
After watching the past five Marlins games on TV, Guillen was back at the ballpark for Tuesday night's game against the Chicago Cubs. He said he knows there will probably be some boos against him, but that he can only control the baseball.
Dozens of reporters crowded around the Marlins manager. He told them that he is ready to get back to baseball, even though he knows not everyone is ready to move on.
"I already said what I have to say a couple days ago," Guillen said of his apology. "What I said, I meant it. I believe it. I hope people do believe that. I don't expect everybody to be 100 percent aboard with me. I don't. That's the way life should be. But, people, what I talked about 40, 50 minutes last week, it was from the bottom of my heart. I meant every word I said."
Guillen said he plans to stay away from politics in the future.
The first pitch of Tuesday's game was set for 7:10 p.m.