Brewers 16, Marlins 1: Milwaukee scores 12 in the second inning, clinches playoff spot

MIAMI – After a one-season hiatus, the Milwaukee Brewers are back in the playoffs.

And in emphatic fashion, at that.

The Brewers scored 12 times in the second inning against a pair of pitchers, riding the momentum of the second-largest output in a single frame in franchise history to an eventual 16-1 victory over the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on Friday night.

Christian Yelich, having missed 12 of the previous 13 games due to low-back soreness, returned with a vengeance against his former club by homering twice, collecting three hits, reaching base four times, scoring four runs and driving in five.

Josh Donaldson also homered and drove in three, and every Brewers starter collected at least a hit and a run as Milwaukee's magic number to clinch the National League's Central Division title dropped to one.

BOX SCORE: Brewers 16, Marlins 1

With the Chicago Cubs hosting the Colorado Rockies at 1:20 p.m. Central on Saturday, the Brewers should have a pretty good idea by the time they take the field to face the Marlins at 3:10 as to whether they've already locked up the title.

"Just, how the team has responded since we left L.A. – we just changed. I don't know how to describe it or say it," said manager Craig Counsell, referring to the three-game sweep the Brewers suffered at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium Aug. 15-17.

Milwaukee had just come off a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox, were outscored 14-3, by the Dodgers and then proceeded to sweep the Texas Rangers to cap a 6-3 road trip.

Since being handled by the Dodgers, the Brewers are a major-league-best 23-9.

"We had a tough series in L.A., and things have really turned around since," Counsell continued. "The way we've played and the confidence that these guys have in each other, the connectedness of this team right now, it's a playoff team and we deserve to be there the way this team has played the last six weeks."

The Brewers had a rather muted celebration afterward, a champagne toast that included key members of the front office as well as team principal owner Mark Attanasio.

The hope for the team now is to be popping bottles sometime early Saturday evening.

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The second inning was (almost) one for the record book

While they didn't score, the Brewers set the tone with a pair of first-inning walks – both of which came against opener JT Chargois.

Steven Okert then opened the second by walking Willy Adames, and not long thereafter the rout was on.

Donaldson started things off with a two-run homer to left, his third as a member of the Brewers.

After Brice Turang struck out, Blake Perkins followed by drawing another walk to begin a streak of seven consecutive Milwaukee batters reaching base.

William Contreras singled and Carlos Santana doubled, each driving in runs, then Mark Canha doubled in two more. Sal Frelick singled in Canha and Adames singled Frelick to third to bring Donaldson to the plate once again.

He drove in Frelick with a groundout, then Turang singled in Adames, stole second and scored on a Perkins double.

That turned the lineup over, and Yelich responded with a two-run, opposite-field homer – his first round-tripper since Aug. 28 – to up Milwaukee's lead to 12-0 before Contreras flew out to center, which drew mocking cheers from the smallish crowd.

The final tally: 15 batters to the plate, 12 runs, nine hits – one by every player in the lineup – and a partridge in a pear tree for the Brewers.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Counsell. "It was just one of those innings that everybody did something. Getting to the third reliever by the 11th batter, that's well done. They had a plan and once we got that third guy in there, we obviously didn't expect an inning like that but we were in good shape and we were going to make it really tough on them.

"It became an easy game, and the guys did the job."

It marked the seventh time Milwaukee had scored 10 or more runs in an inning; the first time since June 28, 2021, it had done so (10 runs in the eighth inning against the Cubs); and the first time since April 18, 2010, it did so on the road (10 in the first inning at the Nationals, with Craig Counsell clubbing a grand slam).

The 12 runs represented the second-largest output in a single inning in franchise history; the Brewers scored 13 in the fifth inning against the California Angels on July 8, 1990.

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Low-pressure outing for Corbin Burnes

The pitching is lined up perfectly for the Brewers in their biggest series of the season, with Corbin Burnes starting on Friday, Brandon Woodruff on Saturday and Freddy Peralta on Sunday.

But thanks to the huge second inning, Burnes was able to turn in a low-pressure, five-inning outing before Counsell pulled the plug.

Burnes (10-8) allowed a pair of hits and a pair of walks while striking out six over 97 pitches.

The five innings were Burnes's fewest since June 19 – not a bad thing at all with what is upcoming.

"Ever since I've been on the Brewers, I think that's got to be the biggest number we've put up in an inning," Burnes said. "Multiple times I was like, I don't know if I need to go throw baseballs in the cage – I didn't know what to do it was such a long inning.

"But it's always great to score runs. Twelve runs, I didn't know if that was possible but we did it, and obviously it makes the rest of the game go pretty easy."

Yelich did his part to ensure the next pitcher in, Trevor Megill, had more than enough breathing room when he took the mound by bashing his second homer of the game – this one a three-run shot to center in the top of the sixth.

"You never really know how it's going to go timing-wise or what it's going to be like when you haven't seen game action in a few weeks," Yelich said. "Took a bunch of swings the last few days and just kind of checking the health boxes. Swung at the first pitch of the game tonight which was pretty stupid and a pretty bad at-bat.

"But you get that first one out of the way, move forward and just try to string together good at-bats. The guys did a really good job tonight – especially the second inning. We played really good baseball, had great at-bats. Guys took what was available to them. Walks, going first to third, running the bases well and a couple big swings there.

"Really good out of the guys tonight. Proud of them and hope we keep it going."

In scoring 16 runs, the Brewers topped their previous season high of 14 runs established on Aug. 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

No doubt, this one had to feel good to the Brewers, who were knocked from the postseason in the season's last week in 2022 in Milwaukee when they dropped three of four to the Marlins.

Miami scuttled Milwaukee's bid for its 15th shutout of the season when Jon Berti took Bryse Wilson out to center to open the Marlins' eighth.

The night was capped by Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings throwing two innings, and then Rowdy Tellez making his mound debut in the ninth.

Tellez threw a scoreless inning and even registered a strikeout, capping a memorable night for the Brewers.

"Cy Young candidate now," joked Tellez, who became the first position player in MLB history to close out a clinching game for the winning team. "When you go out in high-leverage situations you shut it down and lock it in.

"(Bench coach Pat Murphy) said if I walked somebody I owed him 50 bucks. So I was like, 'Vic (Caratini), sit on the corners and watch (Greg) Maddux work.'"

Day started with a Cubs victory

Milwaukee knew well before it took the field that its quest to clinch the Central would have to wait until at least Saturday after the Chicago Cubs shut out the Colorado Rockies, 6-0, at Wrigley Field.

Multiple TVs in the visitors' clubhouse were playing the game, but not to much fanfare.

Not long thereafter, Counsell spoke about what the weekend could potentially hold for both teams. The stakes for the Brewers were self-explanatory; the Marlins were a half-game out of the third and final wild-card spot in the NL after the Cubs' victory.

"This is a day that you want – you want to play in just this series, period," he said. "I think everybody wants to play in games like this. These games do it for you, as much as anything."

Brewers schedule coming up

Saturday – Brewers at Marlins, 3:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Brandon Woodruff (5-1, 1.89) vs. Miami LHP Jesús Luzardo (10-9, 3.68). TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers 16, Marlins 1: Milwaukee clinches playoff spot in rout