CHICAGO — Cody Ross and the rest of the Marlins sure didn’t look like a lineup that has been struggling to score some runs.
Ross hit two of Florida’s five homers and Josh Johnson pitched six sharp innings to help Florida defeat the Chicago White Sox 13-0 on Sunday. Ronny Paulino, Dan Uggla, and Jorge Cantu also went deep for the Marlins, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Gaby Sanchez, Uggla and Ross all finished with three RBIs, and Cantu was 3 for 3 and scored three of the team’s season-high 13 runs, after the Marlins scored only three runs total during its skid against the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright and Chicago’s Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd.
Ross ignited the Marlins offense early with a two-run shot in the first off Freddy Garcia.
“We ran into a buzzsaw with Wainwright, Buehrle and Floyd. All three of those guys pitched really good,” Ross said. “You have to give them credit. Freddy is one of those guys that if you don’t get on him early and he starts making pitches it can be a long day.”
Johnson (5-1) improved to 5-0 in nine starts since an Opening Day loss to the New York Mets, and has pitched 18 scoreless innings since giving up a run May 13 against the Mets. He did not strike out a batter, but left the bases loaded in the first and stranded runners on second and third in the second. He ended up scattering six hits and two walks.
Florida had a season-high 18 hits, while Johnson and Co. pitched their third shutout.
“I got some ground balls, had a good angle on the ball,” said Johnson, came into the game with the fourth-most strikeouts in the National League. “I just couldn’t throw a good two-strike slider, but I’ll take it any way I can get it.”
Garcia, who won his last three starts, lasted 2 1-3 innings and left after surrendering seven runs on seven hits. He gave up a season-high three homers after coming into the game with a 19-7 mark in 32 interleague games — and a big-league best 2.57 ERA.
Plate umpire Adrian Johnson issued warnings to both teams after A.J. Pierzynski was hit in the right forearm by Marlins reliever Dan Meyer in the seventh. In the fifth inning, White Sox reliever Randy Williams hit Brett Carroll with a pitch after Carroll, who also was hit by a pitch in the fourth, stole second with a 7-0 lead.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was upset with Carroll stealing with a big lead.
“I don’t know what happened there. This is baseball, you have to respect. I was up by eight a couple days ago, and that’s just the way we learned how to play the game,” Guillen said. “We had to do something about it, and we did. We just told the guy not to play like that.”
Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said Carroll was running on his own.
“He missed a sign. We had nothing going on there as far as signs go,” he said.
Garcia was also upset with Carroll running.
“It’s 7-0. It’s not a good thing to go out and steal a base,” he said. “That’s no respect for the other team. So whatever happened, happened.”
After struggling at the plate the previous three games, the Marlins gave Johnson an early cushion. With one out in the first, Sanchez singled and Hanley Ramirez doubled down the left-field line. Cantu followed with another double, and Ramirez scored on Uggla’s groundout. Moments later, Ross homered to left to give the Marlins a 4-0 lead. It was his third of the season.
Garcia (3-3) was tagged for another home run by Paulino in the second inning, and he walked Cantu in the third before Uggla hit the third homer for the Marlins in as many innings.
“Like I said, I’m feeling good,” Garcia said. “I’ve been pitching not too bad. I tried to go away today and my ball and was coming inside to the plate. I didn’t make good pitches.”
Williams was greeted by Ross in the fifth inning with his second home run of the game, and Cantu went deep off him in the sixth.
Sanchez hit a ground-rule two-run double in the seventh and Ramirez drove him in with a single. Then in the eighth, Sanchez had an RBI single off White Sox reliever Tony Pena.
NOTES: Guillen has no plans to send struggling 2B Gordon Beckham to the minors. He came in with a .187 average and went 1 for 2. “If his mentality is not good enough to not overcome and survive this game we will do something, but I think he is fine right here,” Guillen said. … Marlins leadoff hitter Chris Coghlan was 0 for 6 with three strikeouts. … It was Ross’ seventh career multihomer game, his last coming Aug. 20, 2009, against the Cubs.
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