Marlins Top Nationals In Final Game Of Series 8-0
MIAMI (CBS4) - MIAMI (CBS4) - Thanks to Anibal Sanchez, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and struck out a career-high 11 on Sunday, the Florida Marlins salvageD the final game of their series against Washington, 8-0.
Washington's first hit came on the 101st pitch from Sanchez, when Laynce Nix led off the seventh with a line single to right, just beyond the reach of a diving Mike Stanton.
Sanchez (2-1) allowed two hits and walked none in seven innings before departing after throwing 117 pitches on a sunny, 86-degree afternoon.
Gaby Sanchez, swinging a pink bat on Mother's Day, hit a three-run homer, doubled twice, singled and scored three runs. Greg Dobbs also wielded a pink bat and had two RBI hits.
The Marlins (20-13) broke a three-game losing streak, and they're still off to the best start in franchise history heading into a three-game series beginning Monday against NL East leader Philadelphia. Florida beat the Nationals for the 13th time in their past 17 meetings.
Michael Morse followed Nix's hit with a one-out single in the seventh, but Sanchez retired the next two batters to end the inning and his afternoon. He received a standing ovation from the announced crowd of 10,523 and waved as he walked to the dugout.
Sanchez threw a no-hitter as a rookie in 2006, and he took one into the ninth inning April 22 against Colorado before Dexter Fowler broke it up with none out.
Ryan Webb and Burke Badenhop completed a four-hitter. The Nationals, who rank next-to-last in the majors in batting, struck out 38 times in the series.
Livan Hernandez (3-4) allowed six runs in five innings, which was no match for Sanchez. The Marlins right-hander struck out the side in the second and fifth innings, and he retired 12 in a row after hitting Danny Espinosa with a pitch to start the third.
Sanchez improved to 6-0 with an ERA of 2.16 in 15 career starts against Washington.
He had plenty of offensive support from a team that scored a total of seven runs during the three-game losing streak. Chris Coghlan ended an 0-for-14 drought, and Hanley Ramirez kept his average from dipping below .190 when he singled home a run in the fifth.
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