By Tim Reynolds
MIAMI — Anibal Sanchez allowed two runs and five hits while pitching into the seventh inning, Cody Ross hit a two-run double in the eighth and the Florida Marlins extended Kenshin Kawakami’s season of woe by beating the Atlanta Braves 6-4 on Tuesday night.
Sanchez (4-2) has won three straight starts for the first time since September 2006, a stretch four years ago that included his no-hitter against Arizona.
Cameron Maybin homered in the third inning and Florida tacked on three runs in the eighth.
Brian McCann hit a two-run double and Martin Prado had three hits for the Braves, who again struggled to give Kawakami (0-7) run support — until it was too late. Jason Heyward hit a two-run single in the ninth off Leo Nunez, drawing Atlanta within two.
The 34-year-old Japanese righty is winless in nine starts this season and hasn’t won since beating the Marlins in Miami last Aug. 31 — 16 appearances ago.
This season, Kawakami has epitomized the hard-luck moniker.
Here’s the run support the Braves have given him this season: 2, 0, 2, 0, 2, 3, 0, 4 and now 2. Of the 148 pitchers with at least five starts this season entering Tuesday, Kawakami ranked 137th in run support. (His teammate, Jair Jurrjens, is last, getting a mere 1.5 runs of support on average in his five starts.)
McCann’s two-run double in the fourth staked Kawakami to a short-lived lead. The Braves couldn’t add any more before Kawakami left, having given up seven hits and three runs in six innings.
Sanchez left with runners on second and first with one out in the seventh, chased after pinch-hitter Melky Cabrera singled sharply to right. Right-hander Brian Sanches struck out Prado looking. From there, the Marlins tried playing the percentages again, taking Sanches out and bringing left-hander Renyel Pinto to face Heyward. Pinto hit Heyward with his first pitch, loading the bases for Chipper Jones — who lined out to third on a slow 2-2 offering.
The Marlins played error-free for the seventh straight game.