MIAMI -- Jacob Misiorowski walked the first batter he faced Sunday afternoon, then allowed a single and watched an error load the bases.
The young righty then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Miami’s first run to cross with the cleanup hitter at the plate.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy sauntered out to the mound to meet with Misiorowski to settle him down.
For the most part, it worked.
Miami scored three in that first inning, but that's all it managed off Misiorowski during a 5-3 win over the Brewers in the series finale at loanDepot park.
Milwaukee saw its four-game winning streak snapped with the loss after taking the first two games of the series against the Marlins.
“I thought [Misiorowski] did a nice job,’’ Murphy said. “The leadoff walks hurt him; that’s unacceptable. But he was throwing the ball great; we just didn’t make a play for him. I just tried to settle him down. Said, ‘Hey, look, give up a run or two, stay in the game and we’ll come back and win it.’ He did a nice job of settling in, threw the ball good.’’
Misiorowski clipped Miami slugger Kyle Stowers on the right hand to load the bases again before the Marlins plated their second run on a double play started by shortstop David Hamilton.
Liam Hicks singled in Miami’s third run to push the lead to 3-0.
And that was it for the Marlins’ offense against Misiorowski, who got his first of nine strikeouts to close out the inning, then struck out the side in the second.
Misiorowski (1-2) went five innings, allowing four hits (two in the first), and three runs (one earned). He walked three.
“That’s definitely what it was for, and I think it did its job,” Misiorowski said of the first-inning visit. “Got a ground ball after that, [and] it kind of worked out. Before that wasn’t exactly what we had planned, but it is what it is.”
So, what changed?
“I think I started trusting my stuff and going to the top of the zone,’’ Misiorowski said. “I think that was it. Nothing changed with it; maybe just commanded it a little bit better.’’
The Brewers have been beset with injuries both to the pitching staff and their everyday lineup.
Milwaukee snapped a six-game losing streak with a home win against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, then rattled off three more wins before Sunday’s loss.
The Brewers kick off a three-game series in Detroit on Tuesday.
“I’m proud of this club, that’s all I can tell you,” Murphy said. “We’re battered. Offensively, we have three of our top hitters out. To battle through this with them out -- two have been out the whole year -- I am proud we battle every game. We’re in it, and we’re not playing great. Everybody’s not playing their best, but at the same time, I am proud of it.’’
Offensively, the Crew got little going against Miami starter Eury Perez (2-1), who sat Milwaukee down in order in the first, third and fourth innings. The one run Perez allowed came in the sixth, when Hamilton led off with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a wild throw from Hicks. He came home on Garrett Mitchell’s groundout to second.
The Marlins scored twice in the bottom of the sixth off a hit up the middle from pinch-hitter Javier Sanoja.
Down 5-1 in the eighth, the Brewers got something going against Miami's bullpen. With one out, Sal Frelick had a pinch-hit single before the Marlins brought out lefty Andrew Nardi with two outs.
Nardi walked Mitchell and Brice Turang to load the bases before a Gary Sánchez single brought home two runs to make it 5-3.
But that was as close as Milwaukee got. After William Contreras flew out to center off reliever Calvin Faucher to end the frame, Pete Fairbanks worked a clean ninth with two strikeouts for his fourth save of the season.