Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Domonic Brown drove in three runs and Kyle Kendrick pitched six effective frames, as Philadelphia surged past Florida, 7-2, in the second installment of a three-game set at Sun Life Stadium.
Despite a 58-minute rain delay the Phillies used solid pitching and timely hitting to win their third straight game and move to 11 games over .500 for the first time since May 21.
Kendrick (7-4) gave up two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and the bullpen blanked Florida over the final three frames. Placido Polanco went 2- for-4 with two runs scored and Raul Ibanez also had two hits and two runs scored and added two RBI.
Anibal Sanchez (8-7) took the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and three walks over 4 1/3 frames. Gaby Sanchez went 4- for-4 with an RBI and Mike Stanton clubbed a solo home run for Florida, which has lost three straight.
The Phillies lit up the scoreboard with a pair of runs in their first at-bat, starting with Polanco's one-out single. Ibanez then walked and Ross Gload came through with a run-scoring, two-out single to center. Brown followed with a soft single into left-center field, plating Ibanez for the 2-0 game.
Florida put two runners on with one out in the first, but Kendrick escaped, and again he navigated through the third inning with the help of Brown. Dan Uggla singled with two outs to right, but Brown threw a one-hop laser to Carlos Ruiz to nab Sanchez by three steps at the plate.
In-between the Marlins used the long ball to cut the deficit in half, as Stanton crushed a low offering from Kendrick into the left-center field seats in the second frame.
Each team took its turn at scoring opportunities in the fifth. Jimmy Rollins blooped a single to center then Polanco singled on a grounder to left off the glove of Hanley Ramirez at short. Ibanez followed with a run-scoring base hit to right, and after a Jayson Werth strike out and Gload intentional walk, Brown laced a sacrifice fly to right off Taylor Tankersley for a 4-1 game.
Florida answered back in the home half as three straight singles by Ramirez, Logan Morrison and Sanchez plated a run. It could have been more but Rollins speared Uggla's liner to close out the frame with two runners in scoring position.
The Phillies plated an insurance tally in the sixth on Ibanez's sacrifice fly to right.
Florida put its first two runners on base with a double and walk in the eighth, but Ryan Madson bared down, striking out the last two batters to end the threat.
Philadelphia added two more runs in the ninth, the first when Uggla's flip sailed wide of Ramirez on a hard grounder by Brown and the second on Ruiz's RBI single.
Game Notes
Rollins finished 2-for-4...Kendrick has a 2-0 mark with a 1.86 earned run average in his last three starts...Sanchez fell to 3-6 lifetime versus the Phillies...The Phillies have won 13 of their last 16 meetings at Sun Life Stadium.