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Surprising Marlins eye fifth straight win

Apr 12, 2008 - 2:43 PM Florida (7-3) at Houston (3-8) 7:05 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) - The Florida Marlins shoot for their fifth straight win on Saturday when they visit the Houston Astros.

The Marlins, whose sub-$20 million payroll is the lowest in baseball, also can run their road record to a perfect 5-0 with a victory.

Florida is averaging 5.5 runs per game and great deal of their offensive success can be attributed their 20 homers - tied with Arizona for the most in the majors.

The Marlins' power took center stage in their 10-6 series-opening victory over the Astros on Friday, as the team set a club record with six home runs.

Andrew Miller (0-1, 12.91 ERA), one of the key young players acquired in the trade that sent Miguel Cabrera to Detroit, would like nothing more than to see the offense to continue clicking on all cylinders as he searches for his first win with his new team.

The 22-year-old lefthander surrendered six runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 frames but managed to escape without a decision in Florida's 10-7 victory over Washington on Monday.

His counterpart on the mound will be Brandon Backe (0-1, 3.27), who has shown little rust after missing most of last season following elbow ligament replacement surgery.

The 30-year-old righthander allowed two runs and six hits with seven strikeouts in his last turn on Sunday - a 3-2 loss.