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W: Livan Hernandez (2-1)
L: Heath Bell (2-4)
HR: Corey Hart (16), Ryan Braun (23), Aramis Ramirez (11, walkoff) Logan Morrison (9), Justin Ruggiano (4), John Buck (8), Scott Cousins (1), Jose Reyes (3)
MVP: Aramis Ramirez (+.991)
LVP: Livan Hernandez (-.308)
The Brewer homestand got off to a rough start when they lost to the Diamondbacks on Friday, then for a while things looked like they might be ok. Things are most certainly not ok, as the Brewers turned a 9-2 lead into a 12-11 deficit in the late innings, but they still managed to win their fourth straight on Aramis Ramirez's tenth inning walkoff home run.
Marco Estrada got into some early trouble today but posted his second straight quality start since coming off the DL. He allowed two runs on two hits in the first inning but just two more hits after, walking none and striking out six over six innings. He did allow a home run, though, and has now given up ten in 42 innings as a starter (2.14 per nine innings). It was the first of five home runs Brewer pitchers allowed today.
The Brewer offense, meanwhile, had enough firepower to pick Estrada up. They scored three in the third on RBI hits for Norichika Aoki and Aramis Ramirez and plated six in the sixth with big blows from Corey Hart and Ryan Braun, who each homered. Estrada left the game up 9-2.
The Brewer offense did not, however, have enough firepower to build a failproofed lead for their bullpen. The Marlins scored three in the top of the seventh off Jose Veras and after the Brewers scored twice in the bottom of the seventh the Marlins came back with six more in the top of the eighth off Kameron Loe and Francisco Rodriguez to tie the game. Only an incredible, body-sacrificing catch from Carlos Gomez prevented things from getting significantly worse.
Things took a turn for the worse again in the tenth when Jose Reyes homered off Livan Hernandez to give the Marlins a 12-11 lead, but Aramis Ramirez's two out, two run homer in the bottom half gave the Brewers the win.
The two teams combined to score 20 runs after the middle of the sixth today. This is the first time in 2012 the Marlins scored ten runs in a game. They should send the Brewer bullpen a fruit basket or something.
Norichika Aoki's third inning RBI single extended his hitting streak to ten games, the longest of his career. This is the fourth time a Brewer has had a streak of ten or more games in 2012. Ryan Braun has done it twice and Aramis Ramirez did it once. All nine Brewer starters had a hit today, including Marco Estrada.
On a day when temperatures reached 97 in Milwaukee, the two teams needed four hours and one minute to play nine innings before going to extras. Despite having a 9-2 lead when they went to the pen for the first time in the seventh, the Brewers needed six relievers today.
These two teams continue this four game series tomorrow with another 3:10 start. Randy Wolf will take on Josh Johnson.