Marlins Held To 1 Hit In Loss To A's
OAKLAND, Calif. (CBS4) - Gaby Sanchez struck out on a checked swing, then angrily tossed his bat toward Florida's dugout before getting ejected for the first time in his career.
He wasn't the only member of the Marlins left grumbling following a dominant outing by Oakland lefty Gio Gonzalez.
Florida managed only one hit and wasted a stellar outing by starter Javier Vazquez, who allowed just an unearned run in a 1-0 loss to the Athletics on Tuesday night.
"First of all, you can't score any runs if you don't get anybody on," Florida manager Jack McKeon said. "Our offense better pick up quick or there's no telling what we'll have to do. They're better than that. (They) give away too many at-bats."
Sanchez's frustrations were understandable, if not expected, after Gonzalez baffled the Marlins all night following a 72-minute rain delay at the start.
Gonzalez yielded one hit over eight innings, did not allow a runner past first base and never faced more than four batters in an inning.
McKeon, though, said Florida's hitters did as much to hurt themselves as Gonzalez did.
"He did a good job, no question," the 80-year-old manager said. "But when you see our hitters up there, he didn't get us, we got ourselves out. Give the guy credit, but I think if they were patient with him he'd have walked four or five more guys, which is his history."
Emilio Bonifacio singled to right leading off the first against Gonzalez, but Florida couldn't do anything after that. Omar Infante reached on a fielder's choice before Sanchez hit into a double play.
Sanchez also grounded out in the fourth, then struck out on three pitches after Infante led off the seventh with a walk. Sanchez turned and walked away from the batter's box before angrily tossing his bat to the turf. Plate umpire Phil Cuzzi took off his mask and ejected Sanchez.
McKeon came out and briefly argued with Cuzzi, then returned to the dugout. It was the first time McKeon was back in Oakland as a manager since getting fired by the A's on Oct. 1, 1978.
He might not want to come back much more after Florida committed two errors and lost for the 25th time in 29 games overall. It's also the fourth time the Marlins have been shut out during that stretch and the sixth time overall this season.
"It's just been a tough month, man, that's all I've got to say really," said Vazquez, who had five strikeouts. "Unexplainable. We were playing such good baseball the first couple of months ... and right now it seems like we're doing something that costs us the game."
Vazquez (4-8) fell to 1-4 over his last seven games despite not giving up an earned run for the second straight start. He allowed an unearned run on three hits and matched his season high with seven innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.
Since getting roughed up by Arizona on June 11, when he was tagged for seven runs in 3 2-3 innings, the Florida right-hander has allowed only two earned runs over his last 17 1-3 innings.
"I threw the ball well, but Gio was tough on us," Vazquez said. "The last three games I've been trying to be more aggressive and I've been mixing up my pitches better."
The A's managed only four hits themselves but made Kurt Suzuki's sacrifice fly hold up.
Hideki Matsui doubled and scored the only run in the second. Coco Crisp had two hits as the A's won for the eighth time in 12 games.
Gonzalez (7-5) won his second consecutive decision despite getting support of two or fewer runs for the 10th time in 17 starts. The left-hander gave up a leadoff single to Bonifacio, then retired 23 of his next 26 batters. He walked three and struck out nine.
"That's the best I've seen him pitch and that's right up there with the best-pitched game for us since I've been here," A's interim manager Bob Melvin said.
Andrew Bailey struck out the side in the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances.
Vazquez pitched six innings or more for the first time in five starts. He retired 11 of the final 12 hitters he faced as the Marlins lost their 14th consecutive one-run game. They started the season 14-4 in one-run games. Florida fell to 3-23 in June.
Matsui led off the second with a double and stayed there when shortstop Hanley Ramirez bobbled Conor Jackson's grounder for an error. A groundout advanced both runners and Suzuki's fly to right easily scored Matsui.
Crisp had one hit in his previous 19 at-bats against Florida before leading off the fourth with a single.
Vazquez remained a mystery to Ryan Sweeney, who was 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts against the right-hander and is now 0 for 13 against him. Cliff Pennington was 0 for 4 and is hitless in his last 24 at-bats.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
