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Sanchez gets support in 9-0 win over Astros

Aug 21, 2010 - 3:33 AM MIAMI(AP) -- Anibal Sanchez needed none of the run support he got. Not after his first RBI in nearly four years.

Nevertheless, he had no shortage of it while pitching seven scoreless innings. Cody Ross and Hector Luna hit back-to-back homers to power the Florida Marlins to a 9-0 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

"The team helped me a lot, they made a lot of plays, and scored a lot of runs," Sanchez said.

Sanchez (10-8) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out five. He is 3-2 with a 2.00 ERA in seven starts after the All-Star break

"Anibal Sanchez had another outstanding outing, that's pretty much what he's been doing the last five or six outings," Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said.

Dan Uggla and Emilio Bonifacio each drove in a pair of runs for the Marlins, who have won four straight.

Sanchez (10-8) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out five. He is 3-0 with a 0.70 ERA in four starts against the Astros.

J.A. Happ (3-2) retired 10 straight before a 37-minute rain delay. He was charged with three runs in six innings and struck out six.

"Happ battled all the way through," Astros manager Brad Mills said. "After the delay he felt fine and with the delay we didn't have any problem with him at all. He said he was fine."

The Marlins led 3-0 in the seventh before Sanchez delivered a run-scoring single.

It was his first RBI in 103 at-bats since Sept. 11, 2006 against the New York Mets.

"I was just trying to make contact, I wasn't trying to do anything else," Sanchez said.

The Marlins followed with three consecutive run-scoring hits as Ramirez and Bonifacio also had RBI singles followed by Gaby Sanchez's double that put Florida up 7-0.

"We were hitting the ball hard early in the game and then everything went our way after that sixth inning," Rodriguez said.

Ross and Luna homered in the eighth off Fernando Abad. It was the third time this season the Marlins have hit back-to-back homers.

Dan Uggla's two-run single in the sixth extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.

"You hear all of these talks about MVP candidates and (Uggla) is not even mentioned, but I'm going to throw it out there," Ross said.

Notes: Marlins C Brett Hayes went 0 for 3 in place of Ronny Paulino, who was suspended 50 games Friday after he tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance under Major League Baseball's drug policy. ... Anibal Sanchez reached 10 wins for the first time since he went 10-3 as a rookie in 2006. ... Astros 1B Brett Wallace is hitless in 13 at-bats with eight strikeouts.