GAME THREAD: NL: WASHINGTON (37-52) at FLORIDA (42-48)

Mitre shines in first home win as Marlins beat Nationals

<h3>FLORIDA 5, WASHINGTON 2</h3>MIAMI (TICKER) -- One night after booing Dontrelle Willis, thefans at Dolphin Stadium were given plenty to cheer about bySergio Mitre.


Mitre pitched effectively into the eighth inning and MiguelCabrera, Jeremy Hermida and Josh Willingham all homered as theFlorida Marlins posted a 5-2 victory over the WashingtonNationals on Saturday.


Mitre (4-4) yielded two runs and six hits with three strikeoutsin 7 2/3 innings for his first win at home, where he was 0-5 in14 outings - including 10 starts.


"Any victory, home or away, (I'll take)," Mitre said. "What canI say? We got the W, that's what matters. I was able to keep(my sinker) down and away from them early."


"(Mitre) was painting the outside corner and throwing the sinkerin," Washington second baseman Ronnie Belliard said. "Whateverhe was throwing, it was hard to get it out of the infield."

Mitre recorded 17 outs on the ground compared to three in theair. "When he's like that, his sinker really has some bite,"Marlins Fredi Gonzalez said. "When you see those ground balls,it was an outstanding outing."


On Friday, the Nationals exploded for 17 hits en route to a14-10 triumph in the series opener in which the home crowd booedWillis, who was tagged for eight runs in 3 2/3 innings.

But Mitre and the Marlins' offense were hot from the start onSaturday.


In the first inning, Cabrera deposited a 1-2 pitch over the wallin right field for a two-run homer off Washington rookie MattChico (4-6), who entered with a 13-inning scoreless streak.

The homer, his 19th of the season, moved the 24-year-old Cabrerainto sole possession of third place on the franchise list with123, surpassing Gary Sheffield.


Hermida led off the next frame with a solo homer - his ninth -to right to make it 3-0, and Willingham belted a two-run shotover the scoreboard in the sixth for his 13th blast of theseason and second in as many nights for a 5-0 cushion.

It was Willingham's first homer as a lefthanded hitter thisseason.


"It was nice to get him some early runs and let (Mitre)go out there and get a little comfortable," Willingham said. "Igot a good pitch, a fastball right down the middle on a 3-0count."


"That's a team with a lot of power," Nationals manager MannyActa said. "If you get behind the count, you're going to payfor it."


Armando Benitez got the final out in the eighth and closer KevinGregg shut the door in the ninth for his 19th save.

The 23-year-old Chico lasted six frames, giving up five runs andseven hits with five strikeouts to remain winless in fourstarts against the Marlins.


"I'd give my performance a shaky rating at best," Chico said."At times, it was good. Other times, it was really erratic."

Washington finally got on the board in the seventh, when AustinKearns lofted a sacrifice fly that plated Ryan Zimmerman.Belliard slapped an RBI double in the eighth to chase Mitre, whothrew only 85 pitches.