One of the National League’s worst teams has given contending squads trouble since the All-Star break.
After their 6-2 road victory over the Brewers on Friday, the Miami Marlins enter Saturday’s game in Milwaukee with a chance to secure their second straight series win against a division-leading team.
Miami, which exited the break 30 games below .500, first split a four-game home series against the New York Mets. New York is batting for an NL wild-card spot.
The Marlins then took two of three at home from the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles before preventing the Brewers from building on their six-game advantage in the NL Central on Friday.
“For us to keep playing like we’re playing against these really good teams just shows what (we) have in the clubhouse,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said.
“It should start building some confidence that they can play with anybody.”
The Marlins average 3.59 runs per game, the second-fewest in the majors, but have plated six in each of their last four games.
First baseman Josh Bell has homered in three straight contests for Miami. Bell’s long ball in the ninth inning of Friday’s win was also his 1,000th career hit.
“It’s hard to get one hit in the major leagues, let alone a thousand,” said Schumaker, who tallied 905 hits over 11 major league seasons.
“… There’s a lot of things that are tough to do in this league, and getting a thousand hits is real.”
Bell has out-homered Milwaukee’s entire team since Sunday.
The Brewers have gone deep twice amid a team-wide funk at the plate that has seen Milwaukee produce just seven runs over its last four games.
Rhys Hoskins ended the Brewers’ two-game home run drought with a solo shot in the third inning on Friday, but Milwaukee struggled to manufacture runs in the series opener.
The Brewers twice failed to score after putting a runner on second with no outs and left two men on to end the game.
Milwaukee finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position after entering Friday batting .275 in that category, fifth-best in baseball.
“We had opportunities and … made some freshman mistakes,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
” … Man on second, nobody out, you gotta be conscious of how to get that guy over. We did line out sometimes, hit some balls hard that got caught, but I didn’t love it. You gotta execute.”
Rookie Jackson Chourio has been a bright spot amid Milwaukee’s dull stretch in the batter’s box. The 20-year-old is 11-for-25 in his last six games after collecting two hits out of the leadoff spot on Friday.
The Brewers will look to even the three-game set behind right-hander Aaron Civale (2-7, 5.00 ERA).
Civale last pitched on Sunday, allowing five runs (three earned) on three hits across 4 1/3 innings in Milwaukee’s 8-7 road win over the Minnesota Twins.
The 29-year-old won his lone career start against the Marlins on Aug. 29, 2023, while with the Tampa Bay Rays. Civale limited Miami to two runs over five innings and fanned five without walking a batter.
The Brewers will dig in on Saturday against Marlins right-hander Max Meyer, who will make his sixth career start in the majors after Miami recalled the 25-year-old from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Drafted third overall by the Marlins in 2020, Meyer started three games for Miami this April, going 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA before being sent down.
In 15 starts with Jacksonville this season, Meyer is 1-3 with a 4.34 ERA. He allowed a run on six hits while striking out seven over 3 1/3 innings last Saturday.
