Marlins 1, Brewers 0: Offense a no-show in another road series loss
MIAMI – A true pitcher's duel took place Wednesday night at loanDepot Park.
And unfortunately for the Milwaukee Brewers and Freddy Peralta, they came out on the wrong side of it.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. turned on a 94-mph fastball five pitches into the bottom of the first inning and deposited it into the stands in right field. That blast held up the rest of the way as the Brewers were shut out by the Miami Marlins, 1-0.
Peralta turned in his longest start of the season, going seven innings and otherwise handling a pesky Miami offense without much issue as he scattered four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over 98 pitches.
But his counterpart, left-hander Jesús Luzardo, was even better. He scattered four hits without a walk over a career-high eight innings. Luzardo also struck out four.
All told, the Brewers either flew out or popped out an incredible 15 times in a game that lasted just 1 hour 54 minutes.
"Credit their guy. He was really, really good," said manager Pat Murphy, whose team was shut out for the third time this season. "I'm not going to be disappointed in our guys. Great pitching beats good hitting. That's just the way it is.
"And that kid was great tonight."
Marlins score first for the first time
Chisholm got ahead of Peralta in the count, 3-0, and then slugged the right-hander's fifth pitch out to right field as Miami scored first for the first time in the series.
"I knew that I gave up the homer because I was behind in the count," Peralta said. "You never know what's going to happen in a game, but I knew that I was feeling great tonight."
BOX SCORE: Marlins 1, Brewers 0
From the very early going, it was apparent Luzardo had his best stuff working as well.
Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez each singled off him in a three-batter sequence in the second inning, but Jackson Chourio struck out and Adames was then thrown out trying to steal third after the Marlins successfully challenged the safe call.
Offense just can't get going
From then on, Luzardo was absolutely lights out.
He didn't allow so much as a baserunner from the third inning into the eighth, which he began with his pitch count at a very economical 82.
Seventeen straight Milwaukee batters had been retired before Sánchez again singled, this time with one out in the eighth. Chourio hit into what should have been a double play but reached when Otto Lopez bobbled the flip at second.
Then, Chourio was picked off first by Luzardo only to end up with a stolen base when Josh Bell's throw hit him in the back. But he was stranded when Owen Miller flew out to short right field, continuing a night-long theme for Milwaukee.
That left the Brewers 0 for 2 with runners in scoring position. The Marlins were also 0 for 2, and both teams totaled four hits.
Milwaukee did get that second runner on with two outs in the ninth, only to see Christian Yelich ground out to end it against tough left-hander Tanner Scott.
"I think it was his day," leadoff hitter Andruw Monasterio, 0 for 4 with three flyouts, said of Luzardo, who also generated a game-high 14 swings and misses.
"If you watched the game, we missed a lot of barrels. I popped out three times on, like, 94 mph, swinging and just missing the barrel. He had us a little bit in front. You can't explain it because we made good swings, but the ball just didn't get barrel.
"It's part of the game. It's something you can't control."
Freddy Peralta did his part
Peralta, meanwhile, generated 13 swings and misses and the seven-inning stint was the deepest for him since last Aug. 7 against the Colorado Rockies at American Family Field.
"Me and the guys, we worked really hard these past days trying to find a way I can be better with my location with pitches, and trying to make better decisions with my pitches," Peralta said. "I think that helped me out in this outing."
Indeed, Peralta had been reeling a bit coming into Wednesday with a 1-2 record and 6.23 ERA in his previous five starts, so to get him back on track was a silver lining for Milwaukee on an otherwise frustrating night.
"I think that's crucial," Murphy said. "It's something we've got to have if we're going to continue competing like we did tonight."
Brewers lineup
Andruw Monasterio 2B
Christian Yelich LF
Willy Adames SS
Joey Ortiz 3B
Gary Sánchez DH
Jackson Chourio RF
Owen Miller 1B
Marlins lineup
Jazz Chisholm Jr. CF
Josh Bell 1B
Jesús Sánchez RF
Jake Burger 3B
Nick Gordon LF
Tim Anderson SS
Otto Lopez 2B
Brewers schedule
Thursday: Off.
Brewers at Red Sox, 6:10 p.m. Friday: Milwaukee RHP Bryse Wilson (2-1, 2.79) vs. Boston RHP Kutter Crawford (2-2, 2.17). Broadcasts: TV – Apple TV+. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers at Red Sox, 3:10 p.m. Saturday: Milwaukee RHP Colin Rea (3-2, 4.07) vs. Boston RHP Nick Pivetta (2-2, 3.04). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
Brewers at Red Sox, 12:35 p.m. Sunday: Milwaukee TBA vs. Boston RHP Tanner Houck (4-5, 1.94). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marlins 1, Brewers 0: Offense a no-show in another road series loss
