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Marlins win again, ride Nolasco over Astros

Jul 10, 2011 - 3:39 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Ricky Nolasco tossed his sixth career complete game and Logan Morrison had three hits, including a bases-loaded triple, in Florida's 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros.

Hanley Ramirez drove in two runs and John Buck homered for the Marlins, who won their fourth straight game to tie a season-best. They're 8-3 in their last 11 contests, directly after enduing a 3-23 stretch, which led to the resignation of manager Edwin Rodriguez. Now, 80-year-old manager Jack McKeon has watched his team catch the winning feeling again.

Nolasco (6-5) scattered seven hits, walked a batter and piled up eight strikeouts to win for just the second time in his last nine starts. He's 5-1 lifetime against the Astros.

"That should be the goal of every pitcher that goes out there," McKeon said. "I like to see those guys. That should be charging up the rest of the staff, to go nine."

Brett Myers (3-9) continued his struggles. The Houston starter was lifted after surrendering four hits and six runs -- five earned -- over 4 1/3 innings. He also walked four batters, including one to Ramirez with the bases loaded in the fifth inning just prior to Morrison's triple.

Chris Johnson had two of Houston's hits, but the Astros lost for the eighth time in nine games.

"He was hard to square up tonight," Johnson said of Nolasco. "He throws a lot of different kind of pitches. He mixes it up and works both sides of the plate. He throws strikes early. He got in a rhythm early tonight so it was tough for us."

Ramirez's groundout scored Emilio Bonifacio in the first inning, and Buck clubbed his 100th career homer, a blast to left, with two outs in the second.

The Marlins piled on the runs against Myers in the fifth. Bonifacio singled to right with one out and Omar Infante reached first when shortstop Clint Barmes couldn't cleanly handle a grounder up the middle that may have turned into a double play. Gaby Sanchez walked, and then Myers didn't get the call from home plate umpire Jerry Meals on a pitch on the inside corner to Ramirez, resulting in another walk. Morrison then split the gap in right-center for a 6-0 cushion.

Pinch-hitter Brian Bogusevic doubled in Johnson in the seventh.

Game Notes

Bonifacio has a career-high 11-game hitting streak...The four-game series finale will see Wandy Rodriguez pitching for Houston and Chris Volstad for the Marlins...Florida has won 13 of its last 15 at home vs. Houston and eight of the last 10 overall in this series...The Marlins will try for their first four-game sweep of the Astros since August 25-28, 1995 in Miami.