Woodruff, replay review spoil stellar Cabrera start as Fish drop finale

MIAMI—As has seemed to happen time and time again here in 2025, just when you thought Edward Cabrera couldn't get any better than he's already been, he delivers an outing that continues to distinguish himself from the maddening and inconsistent pitcher he used to be. Cabrera did just that on Sunday, authoring seven innings of two-run ball in the Marlins' 3-1 loss to the Brewers.

Behind Cabrera, the Miami offense ran into Brandon Woodruff, who allowed one run over six innings of work in his first major league start since 2023. The Marlins fell to 40-48 with the loss and snapped their streak of four consecutive winning series. 

Cabrera completed seven innings for the fifth time in his career (and second time in as many starts). It was his first-ever seven-inning outing with no walks surrendered, though he did hit a pair of batters. The right-hander lowered his season ERA to 3.33. Among pitchers to throw at least 50 innings since the start of May, Cabrera's 2.11 ERA ranks ninth. 

"We just continue to see a more refined version of him as a pitcher," noted manager Clayton McCullough.

That refinement McCullough referred to has manifested in what appears to be more trust in Cabrera across the entire coaching staff. Entering Sunday's contest, Cabrera's .981 OPS when facing hitters a third time in a contest ranked 105th among 117 pitchers with at least 50 such plate appearances this season. He bucked that trend in this instance as the Brew Crew went a combined 1-for-9 the third time through, including a stretch of eight straight batters retired.

The only real damage done against Cabrera came in the top of the third. A Christian Yelich ground ball fielded by third baseman Connor Norby was initially called the third out of the inning, but the play was subsequently overturned upon review. Jackson Chourio capitalized by lasering an inside slider over the left field wall for his fifteenth home run of the season.

"That's part of the game," said Cabrera through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. "If I throw 90 pitches and make one bad pitch, what can you do about it?"

Heriberto Hernandez delivered Miami's lone salvo in the loss, hitting a solo home run in the sixth and accounting for the lone pair of hits surrendered by Woodruff on the day.

Looking Ahead

Miami will continue their trek through the NL Central on Monday when they open up a four-game set against the Cincinnati Reds. Janson Junk (2-1, 3.62 ERA) will square off against former first-round pick Brady Singer (7-6, 4.36 ERA) in the series opener. 

First pitch from Great American Ball Park is slated for 7:10 EST.