Mixed bag for Max Meyer in return to the majors

In his first major league start since April 13, not only was Max Meyer competing against the Milwaukee Brewers, but also the news that one of his most talented teammates, Jazz Chisholm Jr., had been traded in a four-player deal. The Miami Marlins right-hander lasted just four innings on Saturday night, but his remaining supporting cast did brilliantly in a 7-3 victory to beat the Brewers in their own building for the second consecutive night.

Although the Brewers entered Saturday at 15 games over .500, the lineup opposing Meyer was not particularly daunting. Christian Yelich is sidelined by a back injury and hot-hitting rookie Jackson Chourio missed this contest due to an ear infection.

Even so, Meyer had a lot of trouble putting batters away. Using his standard four-seam fastball/slider/changeup pitch mix, the 25-year-old couldn't find a weapon to generate swinging strikes. He had only four whiffs, matching the lowest single-game total of his professional career (excluding the abbreviated 2022 outing where he damaged his UCL in the first inning).

"I think a lot of it was more location than anything," manager Skip Schumaker said postgame.

As you can see below, the Brewers rarely chased Meyer's pitches outside of the strike zone. Many of his in-zone offerings caught the middle of the plate, making them easy to put in play or at least foul off. Meyer would require 85 pitches despite not making it two full trips through the lineup. He averaged 5.31 pitches per plate appearance—for context, no qualified MLB starter is over 4.24 Pit/PA this season.

Inefficiency aside, Meyer successfully kept Milwaukee off the scoreboard for a while. He held a 2-0 lead with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the fourth inning. Willy Adames extended the frame with a well-placed grounder to the left side, reaching safely on an infield single. Meyer then issued a full-count walk to Jake Bauers. Longtime Marlins killer Rhys Hoskins drove them both in with a three-run home run to left field. In 88 career games against Miami, the former Phillie is slashing .267/.395/.577 with 23 homers.

The Marlins put runners on base in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but couldn't manufacture any additional runs. In the top of the seventh, however, the bottom of their order ignited an improbable five-run rally.

Facing Jared Koenig, who had taken over for starter Aaron Civale in the previous inning, Emmanuel Rivera mashed a fly ball to the right-center wall that Blake Perkins couldn't haul in (generously ruled a triple). Vidal Bruján drew a walk and Nick Fortes followed with a bunt single to the right side that tied the score at 3-3. Against righty Elvis Peguero, Bryan De La Cruz singled up the middle to put Miami in front. Josh Bell stayed on his recent power binge and supplied insurance with a three-run homer, going yard for the fourth consecutive game.

Overall, the Marlins went 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position, one of their best performances in that department in 2024.

Bryan Hoeing, Huascar Brazoban and Calvin Faucher combined for five scoreless innings in relief of Meyer. Hoeing picked up his first win of the season in the process. He has a 1.50 ERA when working out of the bullpen.

Other observations

🔷 This was the fifth game in a row that the Marlins have scored at least six runs. Consider that through their first 100 games of the season, the offense averaged only 3.5 runs.

🔷 Thanks to a ninth-inning walk, Xavier Edwards extended his on-base streak to 14 games. His .434 OBP this season leads the National League among players with at least 100 plate appearances.

🔷 For the first time all year, Nick Fortes' batting average has climbed above .200.

Rookie right-handers Kyle Tyler and Tobias Myers are probable starters for Sunday's series finale. It'll also be the final game that the Fish play prior to the trade deadline. First pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET.