Marlins Paste Mets, 9-3
MIAMI (CBS4/AP) - The Florida Marlins enjoyed the type of evening they've experienced rather infrequently this season. Javier Vazquez pitched seven strong innings, Jose Lopez homered and the Marlins had 15 hits in a 9-3 victory over the New York Mets on Monday night.
Emilio Bonifacio and Gaby Sanchez both had three hits and two RBIs, and Lopez and Logan Morrison also had three hits to help the Marlins win three straight for the first time since July 31-Aug. 2.
"The guys swung the bats well," Florida manager Jack McKeon said. "Maybe it's a sign that September is here, the fall season, the guys are in a good hitting mood. I guess the cool weather has helped these guys.
"Most of the season, our pitchers don't have any margin for error."
Vazquez (9-11) gave up one run and six hits while striking out seven and walking none.
The 14-year veteran has hinted he will retire after the season. Besides being within striking distance of a .500 record for the year, Vazquez's career mark stands at 161-160.
"As a professional and as an athlete, you want to do good every time out," Vazquez said, "so it's important for every one of us to try and finish as strong as we can."
Florida has won nine of Vazquez's last 14 starts. He's 6-4 with a 2.28 ERA during that stretch.
"It's not going to be hard (if I retire)," Vazquez said. "If I do go out, that's actually how I want to go out — pitching good."
Chris Capuano (10-12) allowed six runs and eight hits in four innings, his shortest of 27 starts this year. He walked one, struck out three and threw a wild pitch that scored a run.
"I would throw one ball the way I wanted to and the next one would be flat," Capuano said. "It was one of those nights I could not make an adjustment."
Jason Bay hit his 11th homer, a two-run shot off Chris Hatcher in the ninth, for the Mets.
The Marlins used a three-run fourth to grab a 6-1 lead. With one out, Bryan Petersen singled home Mike Cameron, who had doubled. Bonifacio later delivered a two-out, two-run single.
Cameron's RBI double scored Sanchez in the fifth, and Sanchez had a two-run single in the sixth to stretch the lead to 9-1.
With such leads rare this season for the Marlins, it would seem natural to wonder where such offensive outbursts have been this season.
"We don't think anything like that," Sanchez said. "We don't think about the past, we just go to the future. It was a great night tonight, we have to do the same thing tomorrow."
Florida took a 2-0 lead in the first. Bonifacio opened with a double, took third on Omar Infante's sacrifice and scored on Capuano's wild pitch. Sanchez then doubled with two out and scored on Morrison's single to center.
Lopez homered on an 0-2 pitch with two out in the third to make it 3-0.
The Mets got on the board in the fourth when David Wright led off with a triple to left-center and scored on Angel Pagan's groundout.
