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Mitre shines in first home win as Marlins beat Nationals

Jul 15, 2007 - 3:44 AM MIAMI (TICKER) -- One night after booing Dontrelle Willis, the fans at Dolphin Stadium were given plenty to cheer about by Sergio Mitre.

Mitre pitched effectively into the eighth inning and Miguel Cabrera, Jeremy Hermida and Josh Willingham all homered as the Florida Marlins posted a 5-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday.

Mitre (4-4) yielded two runs and six hits with three strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings for his first win at home, where he was 0-5 in 14 outings - including 10 starts.

"Any victory, home or away, (I'll take)," Mitre said. "What can I say? We got the W, that's what matters. I was able to keep (my sinker) down and away from them early."

"(Mitre) was painting the outside corner and throwing the sinker in," Washington second baseman Ronnie Belliard said. "Whatever he was throwing, it was hard to get it out of the infield."

Mitre recorded 17 outs on the ground compared to three in the air. "When he's like that, his sinker really has some bite," Marlins Fredi Gonzalez said. "When you see those ground balls, it was an outstanding outing."

On Friday, the Nationals exploded for 17 hits en route to a 14-10 triumph in the series opener in which the home crowd booed Willis, who was tagged for eight runs in 3 2/3 innings.

But Mitre and the Marlins' offense were hot from the start on Saturday.

In the first inning, Cabrera deposited a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right field for a two-run homer off Washington rookie Matt Chico (4-6), who entered with a 13-inning scoreless streak.

The homer, his 19th of the season, moved the 24-year-old Cabrera into sole possession of third place on the franchise list with 123, surpassing Gary Sheffield.

Hermida led off the next frame with a solo homer - his ninth - to right to make it 3-0, and Willingham belted a two-run shot over the scoreboard in the sixth for his 13th blast of the season and second in as many nights for a 5-0 cushion.

It was Willingham's first homer as a lefthanded hitter this season.

"It was nice to get him some early runs and let (Mitre) go out there and get a little comfortable," Willingham said. "I got a good pitch, a fastball right down the middle on a 3-0 count."

"That's a team with a lot of power," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "If you get behind the count, you're going to pay for it."

Armando Benitez got the final out in the eighth and closer Kevin Gregg shut the door in the ninth for his 19th save.

The 23-year-old Chico lasted six frames, giving up five runs and seven hits with five strikeouts to remain winless in four starts against the Marlins.

"I'd give my performance a shaky rating at best," Chico said. "At times, it was good. Other times, it was really erratic."

Washington finally got on the board in the seventh, when Austin Kearns lofted a sacrifice fly that plated Ryan Zimmerman. Belliard slapped an RBI double in the eighth to chase Mitre, who threw only 85 pitches.