MIAMI – Nick Mears has been nails all season out of the bullpen for the Milwaukee Brewers.
But a tough eighth inning for him set the stage for a frustrating 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins on Saturday, July 5, at loanDepot Park.
Mears allowed three straight singles to start the eighth, and that put fellow reliever Jared Koenig in an almost impossible situation behind him.
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The left-hander came close to pulling off a Houdini job, but in the end hung a 1-2 changeup that Agustín Ramírez smacked to left field for a decisive two-run single.
Jackson Chourio had three hits on an otherwise quiet offensive day for the Brewers, who managed just three singles from the fifth inning on.
“We had some opportunities today and we didn’t do it,” said manager Pat Murphy. “Didn’t get the big hit at the right time. Got their starter (Cal Quantrill) out of there. Credit goes to the Marlins. They’re scrappy. They play hard.
“We didn’t do enough.”
Jared Koenig thrown into tough situation
DL Hall threw two scoreless, hitless innings behind starter Chad Patrick then gave way to Mears (1-2) in the eighth.
Mears quickly ran into trouble when Dane Myers and Javier Sanoja both greeted him with singles and Xavier Edwards followed by rolling a perfect bunt single down the third-base line.
Koenig entered and struck out pinch-hitter Connor Norby. Otto Lopez, up next, chopped into a force play at the plate and Koenig got ahead of Ramírez, 1-2, before he lined a two-run single to left.
“He came in and we told him they’re probably going to pinch-hit here,” Murphy said. “He left his changeup up to their four-hole hitter. You can argue it’s not one of his top pitches. The bottom line is, he didn’t locate it well.
“He did a great job up to that point, but you’ve got to finish the job.”
Milwaukee did get one final crack at Miami in the ninth but UW-Whitewater product Lake Bachar retired the side in order.
Rhys Hoskins injured, pulled from game
On what should have been an innocuous play in the fourth inning, Joey Ortiz uncorked an off-target throw to Rhys Hoskins that drew the first baseman off the bag.
He caught the ball and tagged Eric Wagaman as he ran past, but jammed his left thumb in the process. Hoskins remained in the game initially but was pulled in the fifth.
“It’s sore, for sure,” Hoskins said. “I finished the inning but didn’t feel comfortable swinging the bat. I told Murph and came up here, got some X-rays which were negative, which is a great start.
“Just kind of play the waiting game, see how I am tomorrow when I come in and go from there.”
Jake Bauers went 0 for 2 in his place, and is now hitting .088 since June 1.
Hoskins was responsible for tying the game in the fourth when he sent a sinking line drive to center that rolled all the way to the warning track after Myers missed on a diving attempt.
Jackson Chourio (three hits on the day) scored, and Hoskins pulled up at third with a stand-up triple – his first since June 15, 2022, when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies.
“Get to third base,” Hoskins quipped when asked what he was thinking when he saw the ball skip past Myers.
“I got some jokes thrown at me from some of the guys in the dugout about not trying to sniff home, but you’ve got to get to third base with one out. My days of inside-the-park home runs are probably behind me, and that’s OK.”
A final hurrah (for now) for Chad Patrick?
Patrick’s 18th start of the season (19th appearance) would qualify as so-so.
While he did complete five innings for the seventh consecutive time, he was still only afforded a 72-pitch rope and responded by allowing four hits, two runs and a walk with two strikeouts.
The Marlins scored both their runs against him in the second to take a 2-1 lead when Kyle Stowers homered and then Wagaman and Liam Hicks followed with consecutive doubles.
“He’s never been this deep into a major-league season,” Murphy said. “He’s 18 starts in, gave us five innings. It’s not bad. He gave us a chance to win – two runs, made big pitches at big times.
“But wasn’t great. Wasn’t his best outing.”
With the Brewers needing to make space on the 26-man roster for Brandon Woodruff’s 2025 debut on Sunday, chances are it will be Patrick who is going to be optioned to Class AAA Nashville as the corresponding move.
If that is indeed the case, he will depart having gone 3-7 with a 3.52 ERA, WHIP of 1.30 and 95 strikeouts in 94 ⅔ innings with his 18 starts tied with Freddy Peralta for the team lead and innings and strikeout totals ranking second behind only Peralta.
It’s been a solid showing the first time around for the reigning International League pitcher of the year.
“I feel like I’m getting better,” Patrick said. “It’s just a matter of situations and stuff like that. Going deep into games or now, pitch counts.
“Everything like that.”
What time is the Brewers game today?
Time: 3:10 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
Brewers lineup
Marlins lineup
Brewers schedule
Brewers at Marlins, 12:40 p.m. July 6. Milwaukee RHP Brandon Woodruff (season debut) vs. Miami RHP Edward Cabrera (3-2, 3.41) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Dodgers, 6:40 p.m. July 7. Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (9-4, 2.91) vs. Los Angeles RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (8-6, 2.51) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Dodgers, 6:40 p.m. July 8. Milwaukee RHP Jacob Misiorowski (3-1, 3.20) vs. Los Angeles LHP Clayton Kershaw (4-0, 3.43) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin/TBS. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Dodgers, 1:10 p.m. July 9. Milwaukee LHP José Quintana (6-3, 3.44) vs. Los Angeles RHP Dustin May (5-5, 4.52) TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Off day July 10.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marlins 4, Brewers 2: Miami breaks tie in eighth inning with pair of decisive runs
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
