Brewers' rally falls short in close loss to Marlins
MIAMI -- When Chase Anderson missed, Justin Bour connected.
With the game scoreless in the fifth inning, Anderson threw a changeup he wanted to keep down, but the pitch stayed up and Bour hit it for a two-run homer that helped the Miami Marlins beat Milwaukee 3-2 Wednesday night.
"I left it up. He hit out. Game of inches, right?" Anderson said.
It was a costly mistake by the right-hander, who nonetheless had his best outing in the past month. Anderson (1-5) retired the first 10 batters and allowed three runs in six innings, but still lost his fifth start in a row.
"I thought his tempo was really good," manager Craig Counsell said. "The first four innings were outstanding. He pitched well, but it's a night where one pitch beats you."
The Brewers still haven't won a road series and went 3-4 on their trip. The Marlins won with five hits to take the series and finish 6-3 on their homestand.
Wei-Yin Chen (3-1) tied a career high with 12 strikeouts and allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings. He beat the Brewers for the second time in 12 days.
"We never got into a good count to hit," Counsell said. "We knew he's going to throw a lot of strikes, and he kept getting ahead of us."
A.J. Ramos pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save in as many chances.
Bour's homer in the fifth made the score 2-0. Marcell Ozuna then hit a double so hard, the ball lodged under the fence in the right-field corner, and he subsequently scored on Adeiny Hechavarria's sacrifice fly.
Chen pitched around a pair of one-out singles in the first and didn't allow a run until the seventh, when Milwaukee chased him and scored twice. The damage could have been worse -- second baseman Derek Dietrich made a glove flip for a forceout, and center fielder Ozuna threw out Jonathan Villar at third on a single to end the inning.
Ryan Braun was due up next, but Counsell declined to criticize Villar for violating the unwritten rule about making the final out of an inning at third.
"It was an aggressive play," Counsell said. "Jon is going to force the action."
Would Villar do it again?
"That's my game -- do anything for the team," Villar said. "He made a perfect throw."
Braun had three hits to hike his average to .380. The former University of Miami star has a career average of .442 at Marlins Park.
Braun and Ozuna have 11-game hitting streaks, longest in the majors.
Brewers OF Domingo Santana (shoulder) started for the first time since May 3 and went 1 for 3.
Brewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson (4-2, 3.74) is scheduled to start Thursday against RHP James Shields (1-5, 3.60) when the Brewers return home to start a seven-game homestand against the Padres.
Marlins: RHP Tom Koehler (2-3, 5.83) is scheduled to start Friday when Miami begins a six-game trip at Washington.
