Recap: Miami vs. Washington

Miami, FL (Sports Network) - The Miami Marlins may never want the month of May to end.

Anibal Sanchez continued his dominance over the Nationals, Greg Dobbs lifted a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning and Hanley Ramirez smacked two hits, including a solo homer, as the Marlins set a new franchise record for the most wins in a month with a 3-1 win over Washington in the middle installment of a three-game set.

After skidding to an 8-14 start in April, Miami has erased its early struggles with a major league-best 20-8 record in May. The 20 wins surpasses the previous mark of 19 set in August of 1997, the year the Marlins won their first World Series.

"Obviously it's a nice thing for the organization," said Miami manager Ozzie Guillen of the record.

Sanchez (3-3) fanned five and was charged with an unearned run on three hits in seven innings. He improved to 8-0 in his career against the Nationals.

"He threw strikes, changed speeds and located as well," said Guillen of Sanchez's outing.

Bryce Harper extended his hitting streak to nine games with a triple in the sixth inning, while Edwin Jackson (1-3) allowed two runs -- one earned -- on five hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings for Washington.

"It was a well-pitched ballgame on both parts," Jackson said. "(It came down to) who can make the least amount of mistakes."

With the game tied 1-1 in the seventh, Chris Coghlan reached with a one-out seeing-eye single through the middle of the infield. He scampered to third when Jackson threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt and hustled home on Dobbs' pinch-hit sacrifice fly to left, putting the Marlins in front 2-1.

Xavier Nady began the away eighth frame with a pinch-hit single and advanced to second on Carlos Maldanado's sacrifice bunt. Steve Chisek took over for Randy Choate on the mound and surrendered back-to-back walks to load the bases.

But Chisek escaped unscathed as he struck out Harper swinging with an elevated fastball and got Ryan Zimmerman with a broken-bat groundout to third.

The Marlins added an insurance run in the home half as Ramirez laced a leadoff homer over the wall in left for a 3-1 Marlins advantage.

Heath Bell worked around a two-out double in the ninth for his ninth save of the year.

Earlier, Ramirez's double in the first was the only hit by either team through the first four innings, but Washington needed just one to get on the scoreboard in the fifth.

Ian Desmond led off with single to left, stole second and moved to third on John Buck's throwing error. After Rick Ankiel struck out, Desmond came home on Corey Brown's suicide squeeze to make it 1-0.

The Marlins registered a pair of hits in the sixth frame to tie the score. Omar Infante drilled a one-out double off the fence and came home two batters later on Giancarlo Stanton's double down the left-field line.