Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Ricky Nolasco threw eight strong innings, and the Florida Marlins continued their dominance of the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 3-1 win in the opener of a three-game set.

Nolasco (8-4) struck out nine and held Arizona to one run on six hits with one walk, moving to 7-1 in his last 10 outings. Jorge Cantu hit a two-run double and Cody Ross homered for Florida, which stemmed a season-high tying four-game losing streak despite being outhit, 6-4.

"Hats off to Ricky," Cantu said. "He pitched a hell of a game."

Micah Owings (6-7) left with an apparent leg injury after surrendering three runs on four hits in four-plus innings, with six strikeouts and two walks. Edgar Gonzalez, Leo Rosales, and Chad Qualls combined for four perfect innings in relief, but the offense couldn't solve Nolasco as the Diamondbacks dropped their third straight, and their sixth in seven games.

The Marlins have beaten the D-backs in all four meetings this season, all in Florida, and have held the Arizona lineup to a total of four runs in those games.

"There's no sense of urgency, but we do have to pick it up," Arizona's Orlando Hudson said. "Everything we're doing right now is not good, it's not going good for us. So hopefully we'll come out of this thing sooner rather than later because it's getting pretty ugly."

Stephen Drew led off the game with a single to center, and Eric Byrnes followed with a double to left to put runners at second and third. Hudson's sacrifice fly gave Arizona a 1-0 edge, but that was all the offense the D-backs mustered the rest of the way.

Owings gave up two-out singles to Hanley Ramirez and Jeremy Hermida in the third, and Cantu ripped a high fastball off the top of the wall in left, a two-run double for a 2-1 Florida lead.

The Arizona right-hander appeared to hurt his leg while stretching to cover first base on a Mike Jacobs groundout in the fourth. Jacobs' grounder bounced off Arizona first baseman Chad Tracy to the second baseman Hudson. Owings ran to first, took the throw from Hudson and stretched to reach first before Jacobs.

He won the footrace to get the second out of the inning, but limped a bit after stretching his right leg to reach the base. Ross, the next batter, homered to left to put the D-backs in a 3-1 hole.

Owings got through the fourth, but after walking Nolasco to start the fifth and surrendering a long foul ball to Ramirez, he was lifted for Gonzalez.

The Arizona relievers had no trouble with the Marlins lineup, setting down all 12 batters they faced. But Arizona's lineup struggled as well, managing only one hit over the final four frames, a leadoff single by Conor Jackson in the eighth.

Nolasco retired the side in order after Jackson's single, and Kevin Gregg pitched the perfect ninth for his 14th save.