Javier Vazquez’ pitching helps Florida Marlins defeat Houston Astros 6-3 – MLB Update
Florida Marlins’ starter, Javier Vazquez had a notable day with the ball as he threw seven dominant innings with an ERA of 5.23 in the Marlins’ 6-3 win against the Houston Astros at Sun Life Stadium, Florida on July 8.
In the first inning, both the teams contributed four collective runs to tie the game 2-2. Jeff Keppinger singled off right-centre and Michael Bourn posted a single run while the second run for the Astros was taken by Hunter Pence when Brett Wallace drove
a single-run shot towards right-centre field.
On the other side, Hanley Ramirez struck a two-run homer (422 feet) to right-centre and Ben Petersen scored a tie run for the Marlins. The batters did not score a run during the second inning and got out. However, the Marlins went ahead 3-2 in the third
inning when Gaby Sanchez added one run on the drive of Ramirez towards centre-field.
During the fourth inning, the pitchers were on top as they pitched the balls in right areas to restrict the batters. Vazquez presented just two runs on six hits without any earned run and had four strike-outs on 93 pitches. He commented on the game and said,
“I'm staying more aggressive, just pounding the strike zone. That's what I have to keep doing. Mix up my pitches.”
The Astros’ manager Brad Mills commented on Vazquez and said, “Javier was able to shut us down and we were really kind of sporadic about getting baserunners.”
The Marlins advanced their lead 5-2 at the bottom of the fifth inning. Logan Morrison walked and Omar Infante scored one run. The second run of the fifth inning was taken by Gaby Sanchez when Mike Stanton hit a sacrifice fly towards left-field. Sixth inning
also went score-less for both teams.
The Marlins led off 6-2 during the seventh inning when Stanton drove a shot towards right-field and Gaby Sanchez posted a single run. Ramirez moved to third base at the end of the seventh inning. The batters were unsuccessful in taking runs during the eighth
inning due to tricky throws of the pitchers.
Carlos Corporan singled off right-centre field and Wallace took the last run for the Astros to reduce their lead 6-3 in the ninth inning. However, the Marlins were on top and now lead the four-game series 2-0.
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