Giants' rally falls short

<p>SAN FRANCISCO — Dan Uggla and Mike Stanton each hit solo homers and the Florida Marlins moved above the .500 mark for the first time since early June with a 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.</p><p>Ricky Nolasco (11-7) struck out seven and allowed four hits and one run in 6 1-3 strong innings to win for the sixth time in seven starts. Cody Ross had a sacrifice fly and Stanton added an insurance RBI double in the eighth.</p><p>Barry Zito (8-6), the first of three lefty starters Florida will face this series, lost for the first time in seven career starts against the Marlins and the Giants had their four-game winning streak snapped. This series is a matchup of two surging teams trying to stay in the playoff chase.</p><p>Florida is 50-49, above .500 for the first time since the club was 28-27 on June 3.</p><p>Leo Nunez, the fifth Marlins' reliever, escaped a ninth-inning rally for his 24th save in 29 opportunities. The potential tying run was on third when the game ended.</p><p>The Giants' Aaron Rowand rounded the bases after hitting what was ultimately ruled a pinch two-run homer in the seventh. A fan appeared to interfere on the play by sticking his glove over the outstretched arm of leaping left fielder Emilio Bonifacio and catching the ball. Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez came out to make his case and the umpires came together then headed for the replay booth.</p><p>The home run stood, making it a 3-2 game. It was Rowand's first career pinch-hit homer.</p><p>Giants rookie Buster Posey extended his hitting streak to 19 games, three shy of matching Hall of Famer Willie McCovey's San Francisco rookie record set in 1959.</p><p>Posey held a Barry Bonds-like pregame press conference in the dugout and received a rousing ovation when announced before first pitch.</p><p>“It's pretty cool,” he said of chasing McCovey's mark.</p><p>The Marlins capitalized against Zito, who had been 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA in his first six starts against Florida, with a .197 batting average against.</p><p>Marlins third baseman Jorge Cantu was back in the starting lineup after getting a day off Sunday following his two errors in a loss to Atlanta on Saturday night. </p><p>While Rodriguez said he'd already planned to rest Cantu on Sunday, the infielder said it was news to him when he arrived in the clubhouse.</p><p>Cantu is among the Florida players considered to be on the trading block.</p><p>“Right now my priority is the Marlins," he said. "We'll see, man. I'm going to keep playing hard and helping my team win.”</p><p>The Giants just spent 18 of their last 22 games away from AT&T Park beginning, going 16-6 during that span to close in on San Diego.</p><p>San Francisco swept a three-game series with the Marlins in Miami from May 4-6.</p><p>NOTES</p><p>Giants INF-OF Eugenio Velez was examined again Monday after he was struck on the head by a foul ball in the dugout against the Diamondbacks on Saturday and spent the night in the hospital. </p><p>He has a concussion, but wasn't experiencing any headaches two days after the accident.</p><p>Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval missed his second straight game to deal with a personal matter in his native Venezuela. He was expected to rejoin the Giants tonight during batting practice but manager Bruce Bochy doesn't plan to start him.</p><p>Marlins LF Chris Coghlan was held out of the lineup with a tender left knee. He fouled a ball off the knee Sunday. Coghlan was examined Monday. Bonifacio started in his place.</p><p>The Giants are looking for an LHP reliever and former 20-game winner Dontrelle Willis could be the guy. </p><p>Willis signed a minor-league contract July 15 and could be ready in a couple of weeks. Willis was designated for assignment by Arizona earlier this month.</p><p>It was a chilly 59 degrees at first pitch, cool for July even in the Bay Area. A full moon emerged beyond right field late in the game.</p><p>NFL Hall of Fame coach Don Shula was in attendance.</p>