Nolasco beats Diamondbacks with arm and bat

The Skinny: Marlins’ starter Ricky Nolasco allowed only 3 hits and struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings, and added an rbi double in the 2nd inning in Florida’s 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday at Chase Field. Josh Willingham also went 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 rbis as the Marlins took two out of three in the weekend series.

Diamondbacks Player of the Game: Stephen Drew went 2 for 4 with a solo home run, and scored both Diamondbacks’ runs in the loss. Drew is hitting a solid .328 since the All-Star break.

Honorable mention: Doug Davis, who had his second straight strong start, allowing 3 runs over 7 innings while tying a season high with 8 strikeouts.

D-Back Killer: Nolasco is now 3-0 this season against the Diamondbacks, and has allowed only 3 runs in 22 1/3 innings for an ERA of 1.61. He raised his record to 13-7 on the season.

Concerned yet?: Brandon Lyon entered the game in the 9th inning with the Diamondbacks trailing 3-2. But once again, Lyon struggled, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs in the 9th, which provided Florida its winning margin. Since the All-Star break, Lyon has allowed 17 earned runs in just 12 innings–an ERA of 12.75. His ERA was 2.43 at the break, and is now 4.96 and opponents are hitting a blistering .428 against him in the 2nd half of the season. Bob Melvin made the statement that Lyon was his closer earlier this week, but you have to wonder just how long the leash is, especially with options like Jon Rauch and Juan Cruz in the Diamondback bullpen.

Repercussions: The Diamondbacks lost a 1/2 game to the Dodgers and currently still lead the National League West by 2 1/2 games.

MLB.com : Recap | Boxscore

Here’s what others are saying about Nolasco’s domination of the Diamondbacks…

Marlins take series from D-Backs [AZ Central]

Diamondbacks fall to Marlins [East Valley Tribune/AP]

Marlins’ Nolasco, Willingham lead win over D’backs [Miami Herald]

The Diamondbacks embark on a mini road trip, as they’ll play their next 3 in San Diego against the Padres. The series starts Monday, with Dan Haren pitching for Arizona, and Jake Peavy goes for San Diego, in a rematch of last week’s matchup, won by the Diamondbacks, 8-6. First pitch is at 7:05 Arizona time.

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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Bob Melvin, Brandon Lyon, Dan Haren, Doug Davis, Jon Rauch, Juan Cruz