Brewers 2, Marlins 0
MILWAUKEE -- Juan Francisco and Carlos Gomez homered and Kyle Lohse threw six scoreless innings as the Milwaukee Brewers opened the second half with a 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday night at Miller Park.
Lohse (6-7) won for the third time in his last four decisions, scattering five hits with five strikeouts. Over his last 10 starts, Lohse is 5-1 with a 2.62 ERA.
Only once did Miami put multiple runners on base against Lohse. That came in the fifth, when Adeiny Hechavarria and Jeff Mathis picked up back-to-back two-out singles, but Marlins starter Jacob Turner ended the inning with a ground out to third.
Turner (3-2) worked into the sixth, allowing two Milwaukee runs on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts.
Both Milwaukee runs came via the long ball.
Juan Francisco put Milwaukee on the board with a home run to lead off the fourth inning. It was his 12th of the season and his seventh since being acquired by the Brewers in a June 3 trade with Atlanta.
The Brewers took a 2-0 lead in the fifth on Carlos Gomez's team-leading 15th homer of the season.
Turner opened the sixth by hitting Rickie Weeks, ending his day. Ryan Webb, A.J. Ramos and Dan Jennings kept Milwaukee off the board but the Marlins' offense couldn't come back against the Brewers' bullpen, which came into the game with an MLB-best 2.67 ERA since May 1.
After Lohse gave way to a pinch-hitter in the sixth, John Axford, Jim Henderson and Francisco Rodriguez combined to preserve the shutout, with Rodriguez throwing a perfect ninth for his 10th save of the season.
NOTES: Neither team reported any issues with the Miller Park field after the grounds crew replaced approximately 2,800 square feet of grass in center field after a Paul McCartney concert earlier in the week. ... Marlins RHP Chad Qualls was reinstated from the paternity list. ... Ryan Braun was in the starting lineup for just the second time since returning from the disabled list July 8. He made one start on July 9 but missed the Brewers' four-game series at Arizona because of a family emergency. ... After falling to 13-41, the Marlins are 22-17 since May 31, tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second-best record in baseball during that stretch. ... Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he was not sure 3B Aramis Ramirez would be ready to rejoin the team Monday when he is eligible to return from the 15-day disabled list. Ramirez has been out since July 8 with a sore right knee.
