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Marlins eye eighth straight win in Houston

May 8, 2012 - 3:01 PM (Sports Network) - The Florida Marlins have climbed over the .500 mark thanks to an MLB-best seven-game winning streak and aim to stay perfect on a nine- game road trip Tuesday in the second test of three against the Houston Astros.

The Marlins are 6-5 in their shiny new stadium and moved to 9-9 away from home with last night's 4-0 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Marlins starter Carlos Zambrano earned his first win with Florida by tossing a three- hit shutout with nine strikeouts and one walk.

"He was able to control his sinker and his cutter, and that opens a lot of options for me during the at-bats," Marlins catcher John Buck said. "He was making the plate feel wide to the hitters and just keeping the spit low in the zone."

Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer, while Hanley Ramirez and Buck added solo shots for the Marlins, who were coming off consecutive sweeps of San Francisco and San Diego. Stanton has six homers since April 29 (9 games) and is riding a 10-game hitting streak. Florida is 8-2 in that stretch.

Florida is also 4-1 when Anibal Sanchez takes the mound and he is set for his sixth start of the season tonight. Sanchez won his most recent outing in a 3-2 victory at the Giants last Thursday by holding the opposition to a run on seven hits and a walk over seven frames. Sanchez struck out five to improve to 2-0 in five starts and lowered his ERA slightly from 2.73 to 2.43.

Sanchez did not record a decision versus Houston on April 15 this season, as he was reached for three runs -- two earned -- over six innings of a 5-4 win at Marlins Park. The righty, who has yet to allow more than two runs in any outing this season, is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in six career starts against Houston.

The Astros will continue a nine-game homestand and have dropped two in a row since ripping off five straight wins to open the residency.

In last night's shutout loss to the Marlins, Wandy Rodriguez was dealt the setback for giving up all four runs and six hits in eight innings.

"We couldn't get anything going," Astros manager Brad Mills said. "Wandy kept his pitch count down and threw a really good ballgame."

Jose Altuve, Travis Bucks and Brian Bogusevic each had a hit for Houston, which is 9-7 as the host this season.

Houston hopes Aneury Rodriguez can mix it up when he takes the mound tonight against the Marlins in his 2012 debut. Rodriguez was 1-3 with a 4.97 ERA in six starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year and went 1-6 with a 5.27 ERA in 43 games (8 starts) in the big leagues a season ago.

The right-hander has no record or ERA in two career relief appearances in this series, spanning only one inning of work.

Houston dropped two of three games in Miami from April 13-15, including two contests in 11 innings. The Marlins are 9-2 in the last 11 matchups between the teams.