MIAMI (AP) – A.J. Burnett won his sixth consecutive start Sunday, pitching into the eighth inning to help the Florida Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1.
Burnett allowed six hits and one run in seven-plus innings, departing after he threw 101 pitches in 92-degree sunshine. Marlins starters have given up a total of three runs in the past four games.
Juan Pierre had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run for Florida. He also made a diving catch of pinch-hitter Randy Winn’s short fly ball to center field with two men on to end the game.
Burnett (11-6) took a three-hitter into the eighth, then gave up three consecutive singles to load the bases. Antonio Alfonseca got Edgardo Alfonzo to ground into a double play, which scored a run, and Pedro Feliz struck out to end the inning.
Todd Jones pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 27 chances.
Brad Hennessey (4-5) allowed four runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Burnett, who threw a three-hit shutout in his last start to beat Arizona, has an ERA of 1.43 during his winning streak. It began after he became the subject of trade rumors, which ended only when the trade deadline passed July 31.
Florida and San Francisco combined for nine runs in the series, with the Marlins winning two of three games. The Giants fell to 2-4 on their season-high 13-game trip.
Matt Treanor doubled in the third for the Marlins, who then came up with a pair of two-out RBI hits – a triple by Pierre and a single by Damion Easley – for a 2-0 lead.
Florida scored twice more in the fifth. Pierre singled and took third on a two-out double by Miguel Cabrera, who ended an 0-for-13 skid. Carlos Delgado was intentionally walked, and the strategy backfired when Hennessey hit Juan Encarnacion with a pitch to force in a run, then walked Mike Lowell to score another for a 4-0 Florida lead.
Notes: Giants C Yamid Haad singled in the third for his first major league hit. He had been 0-for-9. 3B Lowell robbed Haad of another hit in the fifth, making a barehanded grab to throw him out. … The Marlins won the season series 4-2. Florida is 41-67 against San Francisco. … Marlins SS Alex Gonzalez went 0-for-4 and stranded seven runners.
AP-ES-08-14-05 1559EDT
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