Game: Florida Marlins @ Washington Nationals
Venue: Nationals Park
Start Time: 1:35 P.M. Eastern Time
Attendance: 25,871
Length of Game: 2:09
Starting Pitchers: Scott Olsen (Marlins) vs Shawn Hill (Nationals)
Dan Uggla has no explanation for his sudden power surge.
Uggla's second home run Sunday was a go-ahead drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Florida Marlins to their seventh straight win, 5-4 over the Washington Nationals.
Uggla had seven RBI and three homers in the final two games of Florida's three-game series sweep; he hit a grand slam and had five RBI Saturday.
The Marlins have relied on the homer all season, and Sunday was no different. Trailing 4-2 in the eighth, Jeremy Hermida hit a two-run shot off Luis Ayala (1-3) and Uggla added his drive for Florida's 53rd home run this season, second in the majors behind Philadelphia's 54 entering Sunday.
Florida starter Scott Olsen, who gave up six hits and four runs in six innings, said he didn't have his usual stuff, but knew the offense would bail him out.
The Marlins won all six of their games at Nationals Park, which opened this season, and their seven-game win streak overall is their best run since winning nine straight in August 2006.
Logan Kensing (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the win, and Kevin Gregg worked the ninth for his seventh save in eight chances.
Washington's Aaron Boone had a homer, triple and single with two RBI in the loss.
The Nationals took their first lead of the three-game series in the third inning. Ronnie Belliard hit a two-run homer, his second of the season, to give Washington a 3-1 lead. Ryan Zimmerman followed with an infield single and then scored when Boone tripled.
Shawn Hill allowed two runs on five hits and struck out three in seven innings for the Nationals, but got a no-decision for the fifth time in five starts this season.
Alfredo Amezaga led off the eighth against Ayala with an infield single. The next batter, Hermida hit a tying two-run home run to right-center.
Then with two outs, Uggla put the Marlins ahead with a shot over the out-of-town scoreboard in right field. Uggla homered to left-center in the fifth inning.
Uggla scored the Marlins' first run in the second inning. After being hit by a pitch, he advanced to third on a bloop single by Luis Gonzalez, and then came home on Wes Helms' sacrifice fly to center.
Boone tied the score at 1 in the bottom half with a leadoff home run.
Up Next: The Marlins will continue their 7-game road-trip on Monday as they go to The Great American Ballpark to face the last place Cincinnati Reds. Burke Badenhop will take the hill for the Marlins--Badenhop, who earned his first victory of the season last Wednesday night over the Brewers. Currently, Badenhop has an ERA of 6.31.
Aaron Harang will make the start for the Reds. He has a 1-5 record with an ERA of 3.09. Harang has suffered losses in 4 out of his last 5 starts, he earned a no-decision against the Brewers on April 20th.
FIrst pitch is set for 7:10 P.M. Eastern Time, game will be televised locally on FSN Florida and can be heard on 790 The Ticket AM Radio (English) or 1140 WQBA AM Radio (Spanish).
