Late collapse secures series loss in 7-3 defeat to Marlins

Brewers offense struggles, pitching can’t escape late jam

Box Score

As Milwaukee looked for a bounce-back game against the Marlins, pitching struggles and a lack of potent offense combined for an unimpressive loss.

The early drama was entertaining in itself as it seemed the Brewers might pull ahead once their offense clicked.

Brewers starter Aaron Civale fell in an early hole as he allowed three straight hits to start the second inning, including back-to-back doubles. The quick start for Miami left Civale facing a two-run deficit, but he held on for the rest of his outing to finish with a respectable 5 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched with only those two earned runs.

Despite falling behind early, Rhys Hoskins came through with the most memorable moment of the night in the fourth inning. After the broadcast highlighted a young kid with a Rhys Hoskins sign, he hit his 17th home run of the year, much to the Brewers’ and the fans’ excitement.

The whole scenario was set up in momentous fashion. A double play had left Milwaukee working with just one more out. Then both Willy Adames and Jake Bauers manufactured two difficult plate appearances to reach base on a single and walk, respectively. Hoskins didn’t take as long as his counterparts to make an impact, slugging the second pitch of the at-bat for the lead-changing, three-run homer.

The game reached a stalemate for quite some time as both teams settled into the game until the seventh inning. That’s when things got hectic for Milwaukee.

Emmanuel Rivera entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Miami and proceeded to hit a triple to the gap. Blake Perkins got his glove on the ball, but as the ball was bobbling and he potentially had a chance to regain control, he collided with the wall. The play nearly devolved further on an errant relay throw to third base, but pitcher Jared Koenig was there to save the run.

Koenig walked the next batter to put runners on the corners with no outs. The Marlins batter, Nick Fortes, then popped a bunt in front of the mound as Koenig dove for a difficult play. It was nearly an excellent play that had a chance to catch a runner off-guard and double up. Instead, it dropped for a single as the Marlins tied the game at 3-3.

The Brewers still faced two runners on base with no outs. The Marlins went right back to the well with another bunt. The placement of the bunt left the pitcher and first baseman in an awkward situation, but Brice Turang sprinted across to cover first base and secure the out. Initially, the batter was ruled safe. In a tight replay review, it nearly went against the Brewers, but the call was overturned.

Although the Brewers nearly put together a heroic display to end the threat, the Marlins still poked through. A pitching change to bring in Elvis Peguero was soon followed by a single to give the Marlins a temporary 4-3 lead. That lead lasted one pitch before Josh Bell launched a three-run home run to sink the Brewers to a 7-3 deficit.

The Brewers only got one more runner into scoring position after that, a repeating theme throughout the night. Collectively, the Brewers had eight hits but went 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position. There wasn’t enough chaos on the basepaths to start any game-changing rally. In contrast, the Marlins had 11 hits and worked five walks, forcing Brewers pitchers into high-stress situations.

Although the result was a loss, there were several interesting appearances from the bullpen. After Miami took the 7-3 lead, Janson Junk and Tyler Jay combined for two scoreless appearances. Both players only recently returned to the major league roster, with Jay making his Brewers debut after Bryan Hudson was placed on the IL earlier in the day.

The Brewers will look to salvage this matchup against the Marlins with the series finale tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. Tobias Myers will be on the mound for Milwaukee with Kyle Tyler set to start for the Marlins.