MIA 2, MIL 0: Scoring Runs and Throwing Strikes

Braxton Garrett delivered one of his most dominant performances of the season, Garrett Hampson and Xavier Edwards provided much-needed run support, and the Marlins stopped the bleeding and gave themselves a chance to split a crucial series.

Scoring Runs

The Marlins smelled blood in the water early against Brewers opener Trevor Megill as Luis Arraez hit a leadoff single and went to second on a Josh Bell groundout in the first inning. He was stranded there, and it seemed that it would be more of the same when it came to runners left in scoring position. Former Marlin Colin Rea entered the game in the second inning to pitch the bulk of the innings and was lights out, retiring the first nine Marlins in order, with a double play mixed in.

Jesús Sánchez then led off the fifth inning with a single, and Bryan De La Cruz popped out into foul territory. Strangely, it turned into a productive out—Carlos Santana fell into the Brewers dugout after making catch, and the umpire immediately signaled for Sánchez to go to second base. It's officiated the same as when an errant throw leaves the field of play.

Xavier Edwards stepped up with two outs and lined a ball into left field to drive home Sanchez to score the Marlins' first run of the game. He was thrown out trying to extend the single into a double to end the inning, but the Marlins had already taken a 1-0 lead.

Bryan De La Cruz hit a booming one-out double in the seventh inning and came home to score one batter later as Garrett Hampson hit a double of his own to extend the Marlins lead to 2-0.

Throwing Strikes

Braxton Garrett had his two-seam fastball working with pinpoint accuracy from the jump on Wednesday. Buckling hitters as he normally does, he tallied seven strikeouts, five of them looking. He dealt with baserunners in every inning except the sixth and made up for it by inducing two double plays.

His final line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 91/55 P/S.

After the game, wearing his favorite bowling shirt, he said, "It was one of those days I could kind of feel it in the bullpen."

David Robertson pitched in and out of trouble with three strikeouts in a scoreless seventh. Andrew Nardi gave up two singles, rolled a double play, and struck out Josh Donaldson in a scoreless eighth. And Tanner Scott locked it down, working around a leadoff E3 with a strikeout, a flyout, and a groundout.

The Marlins took home the 2-0 win in a crisp 2 hours and 35 minutes in front of a crowd of 24,251, gaining ground on the Diamondbacks in the NL Wild Card race.

Noah's Notes and What's Next

• The Marlins are now 18-4 when Braxton Garrett pitches at least five innings and 20-8 in his starts overall this season.
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. left the game in the fourth inning with right knee discomfort. He later informed us that he was not concerned and it was mostly precautionary. It was the same knee that had a torn meniscus last season, but Jazz said it felt nothing like that, and they did the tests to check for that. He expects to be available on Thursday.
• It'll be Eury Perez on the mound against RHP Adrian Houser as the Marlins look to salvage a split at 1:10 PM CT. It's more of me at the ballpark to cover it before rushing home for Rosh Hashanah.
• 'Til Tmrw!

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images