Uggla’s double boosts Marlins
Even to Dan Uggla, the Florida Marlins’ numbers are a bit surprising.
Uggla hit a tiebreaking three-run double, Chris Volstad was almost flawless after a shaky first inning, and the Marlins beat the Washington Nationals 6-4 Wednesday to complete an opening three-game sweep.
Florida scored 26 runs in the series, and the Marlins’ starters went 3-0 with a 3.06 ERA.
John Baker added a pair of run-scoring singles for the Marlins, 3-0 for only the second time. The other was in 1997, when they won the first of two World Series titles.
Volstad (1-0) struck out a career-high seven, allowing two runs – one earned – and two hits in five innings. Emilio Bonifacio went 2-for-4, lowering his average to .571, with two runs and his fourth steal for the Marlins, who hit .313 with 14 extra-base hits in the series.
“It’s a tough pace to continue,” Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “Good pitching will beat good hitting anytime and we’re going to run into some tough pitchers who’ll shut the offense down, but we’ll keep riding it for right now.”
Matt Lindstrom issued a bases-loaded, one-out walk to Adam Dunn in what became a 32-pitch ninth, before hanging on to convert his first save chance of the season. He struck out Josh Willingham for the second out, then got Austin Kearns to line out to end it.
Volstad walked four Nationals and four Marlins relievers combined to walk six more. The Marlins are now 9-32 all-time when allowing 10 or more walks.