MIA 2, MIL 4: Not much brewin' for Marlins bats

That early-September Miami Marlins win streak sure looks like an anomaly. For a fourth straight game on Thursday, the deep Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff contained Miami's offense, which ranks among MLB's least productive since the All-Star break. The 4-2 loss drops the Fish to a 75-72 record overall.

"Today was a well-pitched game," manager Skip Schumaker said. "We just didn't score enough, and I think that was really the story of all four games."

Luis Arraez led off the getaway day matinee with a bang, coming up just a few feet shy of a solo home run to center field. He had to settle for a double off the wall, but eventually came around to score on Jesús Sánchez's sacrifice fly.

Adrian Houser made relatively easy work of the Fish over the next three innings, but they retook a 2-1 lead after manufacturing another run in the top of the fifth. Xavier Edwards bunted back to Houser and beat it out for a single. Dane Myers advanced Edwards to second on a grounder and Jacob Stallings brought him home with a single through the left side of the infield.

Eury starts fast, then fades

With several veteran regulars absent from the Brewers lineup and the American Family Field batter's box enshrouded in shadows, Eury Pérez was poised to have an effective outing. His first time through the order, the 20-year-old right-hander compiled five strikeouts (all swinging) without yielding a run, leaning heavily on elevated fastballs.

But after that, the Brewers went 4-for-8 at the plate against Pérez.

Willson Contreras scored Milwaukee's first run. He led off the fourth inning with a double and crossed home on Rowdy Tellez's sac fly. In between, Willy Adames lifted a flyball to left field, which had no business being a productive out. However, Bryan De La Cruz nonchalantly turned his back to Contreras and the young catcher took advantage.

Pérez didn't complete the fifth, once again hindered somewhat by the defense behind him.

Andruw Monasterio reached on a leadoff single. He advanced 90 feet on Brice Turang's sacrifice bunt, even though Jake Burger seemingly had time to get Monasterio at second. Monasterio advanced again during the next plate appearance when Stallings couldn't handle a slider in the dirt. Tyrone Taylor tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI double.

With two outs in the inning, the Brewers went ahead for good. Taylor was initially called out at home plate attempting to score on Sal Frelick's single—the throw from Jesús Sánchez beat him easily. Upon further review, unfortunately, by positioning himself too far behind the plate when receiving the throw, Stallings left Taylor enough room to evade his tag.

Pérez's final line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 85 pitches/56 strikes

The Brewers tacked on a crucial insurance run in the seventh. Arraez cut in front of Edwards to field a grounder, leaving first base unoccupied and resulting in an infield single. Tyrone Taylor made it 4-2 with another RBI double.

In relief of Houser, Elvis Peguero, Abner Uribe, Joel Payamps and Devin Williams held Miami scoreless from the sixth inning onward.

Additional Info

• It took only 84 innings for Pérez to reach 100 career strikeouts. He's the fifth Marlins pitcher to reach that milestone this season. Decent chance that Tanner Scott (93 K) becomes the sixth before year's end.

• After exiting Wednesday's game early, Jazz Chisholm Jr. sat out the series finale with right knee discomfort. There will be another update about his status prior to Friday's game, per Skip Schumaker.

• Called up on Tuesday, Josh Simpson still hasn't made his major league debut.

• Christian Yelich was dealing with back soreness throughout this series and did not appear in any of the four games. Convenient timing for the Marlins, though they failed to capitalize on it.

• The Marlins and Brewers will meet again at LoanDepot Park from September 22-24. Yelich figures to be ready for game action by then. Any chance that the Marlins have of catching Milwaukee and dragging them into the muck of the National League Wild Card race hinges on them sweeping that series.

Beginning on Friday, the Marlins will host the Atlanta Braves for a three-game series. Fresh off clinching their sixth straight NL East division title, the Braves have won nine of 10 their head-to-head meetings with the Fish this season.

Johnny Cueto and Bryce Elder are probable starters for the series opener. Cueto's first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.

Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins