A costly error and missed chances doom Marlins as Milwaukee guts out a surprise victory.
Otto Lopez had his chance.
At bat with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Lopez needed a double to complete the cycle. But a hit was all that was necessary to keep the Miami Marlins alive.
Instead, the Marlins shortstop struck out and the Milwaukee Brewers won 7-5 on Friday night at loanDepot Park.
Lopez went 3-for-5 with a home run, triple, and single.
The 27-year-old Lopez is having the best start of his career, slashing .347/.400/.583 in 19 games. He and Xavier Edwards (2-for-4) have formed a dynamic duo in the middle infield, earning the praise of Brewers manager Pat Murphy.
“[Edwards] is a helluva player,” Murphy said. “Him and that shortstop (Lopez). Those guys can play.”
The Brewers (11-8) jumped on Marlins reliever Calvin Faucher in the 10th inning. Gary Sanchez drew a walk and Jake Bauers singled to load the bases with no outs. Luis Rengifo grounded on a fielder’s choice but the throw to the catcher didn’t connect, resulting in a run. Garrett Mitchell later opened the game up with a two-run double.
The Marlins (9-11) tied the game 4-4 in the eighth inning after Agustín Ramírez doubled to left field, scoring Edwards, who reached on a walk. Edwards also reached on a double in the sixth inning and scored on a two-run homer by Lopez.
The Marlins got their first run of the game in the fourth, when a sacrifice fly by Owen Caissie scored Lopez, who had reached on a triple.
A three-run rally in the third inning put the Brewers up early. Garrett Mitchell hit an RBI single with the bases loaded. Greg Jones grounded into a fielder’s choice but it resulted in another run.
Jones attempted to steal second base and Ramírez threw towards second base with nobody there to receive, resulting in a throwing error and the Brewers’ third run of the inning.
“We're better than what we've shown, and so I know we're going to continue to get better,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “You get to these small, little intersections during the season where you're not playing your crispest brand of baseball, you're shooting yourself in the foot some.”
The Brewers added another run in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Rengifo, who went 2-for-4 on the night. Bauers led the Brewers at the plate with a 3-for-4 night and three runs scored.
Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits, two walks, and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings. John King struck out two batters in 1.1 hitless innings and Tyler Phillips punched out three batters in 1.1 scoreless innings. Pete Fairbanks redeemed himself from two rough outings with a perfect ninth inning.
Brewers starting pitcher Coleman Crow allowed two runs on four hits and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings during his MLB debut. Abner Uribe earned the win after a hitless ninth inning after allowing two walks and a strikeout. Trevor Megill earned his fourth save of the season after giving up an unearned run and a hit with two strikeouts.
“He can pitch in the big leagues,” Murphy said of Crow. “You come to this environment against that lineup as good as they’re playing, it’s pretty good.”
The Marlins will look to rebound on Saturday with Sandy Alcantara (2-1) on the mound against Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 4.32 ERA).
“For us, just play cleaner from start to finish in games to give ourselves more shots,” McCullough said. “We have the personnel that's capable of doing that. There were just some plays there tonight that we certainly didn't execute well on and were able to extend innings for them, or led to some runs.”
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