Brewers net season-high 14 runs, 18 hits in win over Marlins
MILWAUKEE -- When Chris Carter gets in a slump, he tries to forget about the past.
A two-homer day, though, is a game to remember for the Milwaukee Brewers' slugger.
Carter busted out of a three-game hitless stretch on Sunday by going 3 for 5 with two home runs and three RBI, and Milwaukee used a season-high, 18-hit barrage to beat Miami 14-5 on Sunday. The Marlins' seven-game winning streak came to an end.
"I didn't see him in a slump at all, really. I think his at-bats have been really good all year," manager Craig Counsell said about Carter. "It's pretty clear how he impacts a baseball when he hits it."
Like in the third inning, when Carter hit a two-run, opposite-field shot to right-center off starter Tom Koehler (2-3). The cleanup hitter hit a solo homer down the left-field line an inning later off reliever Cody Ege.
"You can't let the past get to you," Carter said. "You've just got to focus on looking forward."
A career .217 hitter, Carter is off to a good start with Milwaukee after signing with the team in the offseason as a free agent. He raised his average to .278, with a team-high seven homers and 18 RBI.
Jonathan Villar also went 3 for 5, with two doubles and two runs scored for the Brewers, who ended a four-game losing streak. Ryan Braun added three singles and two RBI on a day when the Brewers gave away Braun bobblehead dolls.
Wily Peralta (2-3) labored through five-plus innings, allowing 13 hits and five runs, but still won his second straight start.
Staked to an 11-1 lead after four innings, Peralta struggled through the next two frames. Manager Craig Counsell had to turn to his overworked bullpen with two outs in the sixth, and three relievers combined to shut out the Marlins the rest of the way.
The Marlins had double-digit hits for all three games at hitter-friendly Miller Park, though the lineup squandered more scoring opportunities. The Marlins left 11 men on base, after stranding 17 during a 7-5 win Saturday night/
"I look at it like we won two out of three, I don't look back on runners," manager Don Mattingly said. "The good thing about runners is you've got to get them out there to score runs and we scored runs."
Koehler lasted just 2 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs and eight hits. His ERA after the outing ballooned by nearly three runs to 7.25.
It was the latest poor game for the right-hander against Milwaukee. Koehler was 1-2 with an 8.14 ERA against the team in five career games coming into the afternoon.
Koehler gave credit to the Brewers, but also said "I felt like that was a flat-out embarrassing performance. . . . Things like that can't happen."
Martin Prado, Derek Dietrich and J.T. Realmuto each had three hits for the Marlins.
Braun finished a 10-pitch at-bat against Koehler with a RBI single to drive in Villar to open the scoring in the third, after Villar stole second. Counsell called Braun's at-bat a pivotal moment.
"I think it gives us good momentum, seeing a guy bat like that, and to see a pitcher struggle like that," said Carter, who followed with his two-run homer.
Marlins: OF Christian Yelich got the day off from the starting lineup, but grounded out as a pinch-hitter with two outs and runners on the corners in the seventh. His season-opening streak of reaching base ended at 23 games.
Brewers: C Jonathan Lucroy got the day off behind the plate, with Martin Maldonado getting the start. Maldonado was 1 for 4 with a RBI single and bases-loaded walk.
Marlins: Following a day off Monday, LHP Justin Nicolino (1-0) takes the mound to open a three-game series on Tuesday against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
Brewers: Opponents are hitting just .212 this season off RHP Jimmy Nelson (3-2), who gets the start for the first game of a three-game interleague set against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.
