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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MIAMI (AP) – A.J. Burnett's hitless streak ended after three
pitches. His scoreless streak ended after 13 innings.
 | | | A.J. Burnett picks up his second win in three starts since coming off the disabled list. |
But the streak most meaningful to the Florida Marlins – his
winning one – is still alive.
Burnett, making his first start since throwing a no-hitter that
included nine walks and a hit batter against San Diego, scattered
eight hits in 6 1-3 innings to help Florida beat the Colorado
Rockies 2-1 Friday night.
"I thought he was very composed," Florida manager John Boles
said. "He made great pitches when he had to."
Burnett was trying to become just the second in major league
history to throw consecutive no-hitters. Johnny Vander Meer did it
in 1938 with the Cincinnati Reds.
Burnett's bid didn't last very long – Juan Pierre led off the
game with a double down the left-field line.
That was just fine with Burnett (2-1), who estimates he did more
than 100 interviews since his no-hitter last Saturday.
"It wasn't thinking about it or worrying too much," he said.
"I did a great thing. It would have been something (to throw
another no-hitter), but what are the odds of that happening? It was
in the back of my head, but that's almost impossible."
Charles Johnson and Kevin Millar hit consecutive home runs in
the fifth inning for the Marlins, who have won three games in a row
and five of their last six. Johnson had three of Florida's four
hits off Pedro Astacio.
Astacio (4-4) dominated the Marlins for much of the game,
striking out eight of the first nine batters and finishing with a
season-high 11 Ks in his first complete game of the year.
"After my first at-bat, I didn't think I was going to hit the
ball the rest of the night," Millar said. "He made me look
stupid. He threw a terrific game."
The Rockies didn't help Astacio much, leaving 11 runners on
base. With two outs and runners on second and third in the sixth,
Florida's Eric Owens made a leaping catch on Astacio's soft liner
down the right-field line to save two runs and quite possibly the
victory.
"It took a pretty big curve to the right, but I made it look
harder than it had to be," Owens said. "You never want to be the
culprit of letting a pitcher hit and drive in a couple of runs to
beat you."
Burnett, a 24-year-old right-hander whose no-hitter was
Florida's third in nine seasons, walked four and struck out two in
his third solid start in as many outings this season.
Vic Darensbourg closed out the seventh, Dan Miceli pitched the
eighth and Antonio Alfonseca picked up his eighth save in nine
chances.
After beginning the season on the disabled list with a broken
right foot, Burnett allowed three hits and a run in six innings
against Los Angeles but took the loss in the Dodgers' 1-0 victory.
He followed with his first no-hitter, which came on a night when
Burnett threw almost the same number of strikes (65) as balls (63).
Neifi Perez's two-out hit in the fifth scored Ben Petrick from
second and gave Colorado its only run off Burnett.
"He's effectively wild," Colorado's Todd Helton said of
Burnett. "Obviously he's got a good arm. I was impressed with his
fastball and he had a good change-up, too. He's going to be a
really, really good pitcher someday."
Burnett worked out of jams in the second, fifth and sixth
innings before leaving with one out in the seventh. Just like his
first at-bat, his exit was met with a standing ovation.
He has allowed two runs in 21 1-3 innings this season but has
walked 18. His ERA rose from 0.60 to 0.84.
"You can tell the kid has some really good stuff," Rockies
manager Buddy Bell said. "I don't think we had great at-bats, but
a lot of that had to do with the way he was pitching."
Game notes
The Marlins will honor Burnett for his no-hitter during a
pregame ceremony Saturday. The team handed out copies of the
no-hitter scorecard at Friday's game. ... Pierre stole third in the
first inning, the Rockies' 1,000th stolen base in franchise
history. ... Colorado C Brent Mayne missed the game with the flu.
Bell said he might call up C Adam Melhuse or INF Brent Butler on
Saturday to replace Mayne, but it will be a game-time decision.
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OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Colorado Clubhouse
Florida Clubhouse
RECAPS
Baltimore 7
Minnesota 2
Detroit 18
Tampa Bay 2
Boston 6
Kansas City 3
Toronto 9
Texas 3
Cleveland 7
Anaheim 2
Oakland 3
Chi. White Sox 2
NY Yankees 14
Seattle 10
Arizona 4
Chicago Cubs 0
Florida 2
Colorado 1
Montreal 3
San Diego 1
Philadelphia 5
St. Louis 4
Milwaukee 0
Pittsburgh 0
NY Mets 8
Los Angeles 0
Atlanta 6
San Francisco 5
Cincinnati 7
Houston 4
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