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Giants Bring Out Bats, Defeat Marlins In Rout

MIAMI (CBS / AP) -- Melky Cabrera had three hits and drove in four runs Thursday for the San Francisco Giants, who gave Ryan Vogelsong robust run support for a change to beat the Miami Marlins 14-7.

Vogelsong (3-2) allowed three runs in 6 1-3 innings, which hiked his ERA to 2.50. The Giants had 22 runs in his previous seven starts.

The Giants came into the game leading the majors in stranded runners, but went 7 for 17 with runners in scoring position. Their run total and 15 hits were both season highs. Angel Pagan had four RBIs, while Cabrera raised his average to .362.

Giancarlo Stanton drove in three runs and hit another tape-measure home run for the Marlins. They began the night with the best record in the majors since May 1, but lost their second in a row.

Anibal Sanchez (2-3) gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings, his shortest and worst outing this year. He had allowed a total of three runs in his four previous starts against the Giants.

A long, humbling night for the Marlins included a botched rundown, a throwing error, two wild pitches, 11 men left on base and one pratfall. First baseman Logan Morrison ducked and landed with an awkward flop to avoid being hit in the head by a throw home from right fielder Stanton.

The bizarre moment left both players laughing.

The game was tied at 1 when the Giants wiggled out of a rundown and went on to score four runs in the sixth. Gregor Blanco tripled and was briefly hung up on a grounder back to Sanchez, but he scrambled safely back to third when catcher Brett Hayes held the ball too long.

After a walk loaded the bases, Pagan hit a two-run double, another run scored on a wild pitch and Brandon Belt blooped an RBI single over a drawn-in infield to put the Giants up 5-1 and end Sanchez's night.

The Marlins sometimes celebrate big hits by making a "lo viste" sign—a sideways V over one eye—and a grinning Pagan borrowed the gesture after he singled home a run in the fourth inning. Houston pitcher Wilton Lopez mocked the gesture when his team played the Marlins earlier this season.

Consecutive two-run doubles by Brandon Crawford and Cabrera in the eighth put the Giants ahead 12-3.

Stanton became the first player to homer into the beer garden beyond the 427-foot sign in left-center field some 50 feet above the playing field. It was his 10th homer this season and gave Miami a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

On Monday, a grand slam by Stanton knocked out a cluster of scoreboard lights. He had a shot at his third grand slam of the season in the fifth but fouled out to end the inning.

San Francisco's victory came at the start of a four-game series.

Miami swept three games in San Francisco early this month.

Notes: Vogelsong struck out three times and is 0 for 15 with 13 strikeouts this year. ... Omar Infante had four hits and improved to 7 for 11 (.636) against Vogelsong. ... Giants LHP Javier Lopez caught a pop foul near the backstop after C Hector Sanchez was slow to react. ... The game took 3 hours, 54 minutes. ... Two struggling aces meet Friday when Tim Lincecum (2-4, 6.04 ERA) pitches against Josh Johnson (2-3, 4.82). ... Friday marks the anniversary of Giants catcher Buster Posey's season-ending leg injury last year. He was hurt in a collision with the Marlins' Scott Cousins, now playing in Triple-A.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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