The Florida Marlins aim for a three-game series sweep on the road this afternoon over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park

Florida Marlins at San Francisco Giants

Florida came away with a 7-6 victory Wednesday night in a 12-inning affair at AT&T Park that was capped by a violent collision at home plate.  Emilio Bonifacio’s sacrifice fly scored Scott Cousins, who plowed into Giants catcher Buster Posey, who was injured on the play.  “It’s a baseball play,” Cousins stated.  “That’s part of the risk of being a catcher.  We’re trying to win games also.  I’m not going to concede the out.  Not in that situation.  Not ever.”  Following this mid-week series versus the Giants, the Marlins will travel south to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games this weekend.    The team is 13-7 on the road this year and secured a 6-0-2 in series play away from Sun Life Stadium with last night’s win.  Florida is 21-13 versus right-handed starters this year.

Marlins starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez is one the hottest pitchers in baseball and comes in with a 3-1 record and 3.02 ERA in nine starts.  The talented right-hander has won three straight decisions and Florida has won his last three outings overall.  In those three games, the Marlins have outscored opponents by a 14-3 margin, while he has allowed just three earned runs and 11 hits over 22 frames.  Sanchez has struggled a bit on the road, compiling an even 1-1 mark and 4.30 ERA in four starts.  In two career appearances versus the Giants, he is 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .122 average.

San Francisco rallied from four runs down in the ninth inning to send last night’s game to extra innings but ultimately fell short in trying to even the series at one game apiece.  “What a comeback. To come up short, that’s a tough one.  The way it ended, that makes it even harder,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy stated.  “But the guys battled back hard.”  Before Wednesday, the largest deficit the Giants overcame this season was three runs, a feat they accomplished four times.  The club has now dropped two straight games after entering the series on a five-game winning streak overall and nine-game home winning streak.  San Francisco is 9-10 in day games this season.

Giants starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong is scheduled to make his eight appearance (sixth start) of the season and the club has won his last five starts.  The right-hander has received just eight runs of support over his last three outings, but he has been up to the task in surrendering just a single run (zero earned) and 12 hits over 18 1/3 innings.  Vogelsong has been brilliant in three home outings (two starts), failing to allow an earned run and scattering just seven hits over 15 2/3 innings.

Bettors will likely back the Giants due to their 38-18 record following a loss, while the Marlins are 1-5 in Sanchez’s last six road starts.