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Nolasco, Willingham lead Marlins past Diamondbacks

Aug 25, 2008 - 4:56 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Ricky Nolasco pitched 7 1/3 strong innings and Josh Willingham homered Sunday to lead the Florida Marlins to a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

With the win, the Marlins completed the season series against the Diamondbacks in dominating fashion, racking up seven wins in nine meetings.

Nolasco (13-7) allowed two runs and three hits while walking one and striking out 10. The righthander, who also drove in a run with a double in the second, has 12 wins since May 9 - the most in the National League over that span.

"He has been our most consistent pitcher this year," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He's been solid, gets ahead of the count, throws strikes, and he even helped himself out with an RBI (double)."

Nolasco, 25, has allowed three runs or less in each of his last five starts.

"I had good command of my fastball today," Nolasco said. "(I had) really good curveballs going - just mixing all my pitches, cutters and splitters. We came out swinging the bats and just trying to put the pressure on them, make early contact and get deep in the game."

Willingham singled in a run in the opening frame and added a solo blast - his ninth homer - in the sixth. But he preferred to discuss the accomplishments of Nolasco rather than his own.

"Let's talk about Ricky," Willingham said. "When he's been going out lately, you know you're getting a quality start from him. He's going to keep you in the ballgame and give you a chance to win. That's basically been all year, and I was able to get a few hits today, find a couple of holes and I got one out of the ballpark, which has been a long time since I've done that. It felt good."

Arizona starter Doug Davis (5-8) suffered the loss, yielding three runs and seven hits in seven innings while striking out eight. The veteran lefthander fell to 2-4 in eight starts since the All-Star break.

"(I) Felt good," Davis said. "My bullpen was a little shaky when I was there warming up. I got in a zone and I was able to throw strikes and put the ball in play, and they found some hits. I pretty much got outpitched. Nolasco, you have to tip your hat to him, he pitched a great game."

The Diamondbacks (68-62) maintained a three-game lead in the National League West when Los Angeles (65-65) lost to Philadelphia later Sunday.

"Good riddance to them," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said of the Marlins. "They have been tough on us all year. For whatever reason, they match up well against us, they've played well against us. And Nolasco is one of the better righthanders in the league."

Paul Lo Duca and Hanley Ramirez each added an RBI double in the ninth to provide the final margin.