Astros 7, Marlins 1
J.A. Happ pitched 7 2/3 strong innings and helped his own cause with a two-run double as the Houston Astros avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-1 victory over the visiting Florida Marlins on Sunday.
Hunter Pence added three hits and an RBI and Carlos Lee drove in a run for the Astros, who pounded out 16 hits in their biggest offensive output of the young season.
Happ (1-1) allowed his lone run in the first inning on Logan Morrison’s RBI single but did not let a runner reach third the rest of the afternoon. The lefthander finished with five strikeouts while walking four and yielding four hits.
Anibal Sanchez (0-1) could not match his counterpart, surrendering the tying run in the bottom of the first on Pence’s single and then letting it fall apart in the fourth when Happ plated two on a double to left.
Houston broke it open and chased Sanchez in the fifth, rallying for three more runs on five hits. Sanchez allowed the first three batters to reach on singles before inducing a double play. But Bill Hall followed with a triple and Matt Downs doubled to end Sanchez’s day.