The Miami Marlins were one strike away from ending their losing streak Sunday afternoon, but William Contreras had other plans.
Contreras blasted a dramatic three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to a thrilling 3-1 victory and sending Miami to its season high sixth consecutive loss.
Fairbanks (3-4) entered the ninth looking to preserve a 1-0 Marlins lead after a dominant pitching performance by Miami’s staff. Instead, he suffered his third blown save of the season as Milwaukee completed another late inning comeback.
Jackson Chourio ignited the rally with a leadoff single before Brice Turang worked a walk. After one out, Contreras who had entered the game as a pinch hitter for Jake Bauers in the seventh inning hammered a 1-2 pitch over the fence for his 10th home run of the season and the second walk-off homer of his career, touching off a celebration at American Family Field.
The dramatic finish overshadowed an outstanding outing by Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez, who turned in one of his finest starts of the season.
Pérez allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings while showcasing his electric repertoire of four-seam fastballs, sinkers, sliders and changeups. The hard-throwing right-hander tied his season high with nine strikeouts and consistently overpowered Milwaukee’s lineup.
His biggest test came in the sixth inning after walking Christian Yelich, hitting Chourio with a pitch and committing a throwing error on a pickoff attempt that moved both runners into scoring position. Undeterred, Pérez struck out Turang with a blazing 100.8 mph fastball before inducing Andrew Vaughn to line into an inning-ending double play on a 100.6 mph sinker, preserving Miami’s slim lead.
Vaughn’s fourth inning single, which glanced off the glove of third baseman Leo Jiménez on a 103 mph line drive, was the Brewers’ only hit against Pérez.
Miami’s offense struggled to generate much support, scoring its lone run on Esteury Ruiz’s solo home run in the third inning. The Marlins managed just enough offense to maintain their advantage as relievers Cade Gibson and Michael Peterson combined to keep Milwaukee scoreless before handing the ball to Fairbanks in the ninth.
Heriberto Hernández continued to be one of the few bright spots for Miami’s offense, collecting two hits while extending his team leading on base streak to 12 games.
The Marlins were without starting shortstop Otto Lopez, who missed the contest with a sore right ring finger. Prior to the game, Miami recalled infielder Graham Pauley from Triple-A Jacksonville and optioned outfielder Rece Hinds back to the club’s top affiliate.
Despite another impressive effort from Pérez, the Marlins were unable to capitalize, wasting one of their strongest pitching performances of the season. The heartbreaking defeat continued a frustrating stretch for Miami, which has struggled to finish games during its current losing streak.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, continued to demonstrate why it has been one of baseball’s toughest teams to put away, using timely hitting and another late-game rally to steal the series finale.
The Brewers now turn their attention to a three game series against the New York Mets beginning Monday. Milwaukee will send standout rookie right-hander Jacob Misiorowski (10-4, 1.62 ERA) to the mound against former Brewer Freddy Peralta (5-8, 4.66 ERA), who is now with the Mets.
The Marlins head to Houston to open a three-game series against the Astros. Miami will start right-hander Jason Junk (4-5, 4.57 ERA), while veteran right-hander Ronel Blanco is set to make his season debut for Houston.
