Marlins shut out as Luzardo allows season-high 10 hits

MILWAUKEE -- Perhaps the Marlins only using three pitchers in a blowout defeat -- after a taxing weekend for their pitching staff -- could be considered a moral victory.

But in the middle of September, one thing matters above all for the playoff contenders.

“At this point in the season, every loss or every win counts, and every loss hurts,” said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker after Miami’s series-opening 12-0 loss to the Brewers on Monday night at American Family Field. “You’ve got to figure out a way to move on. We have 16 games in a row. We weren't going to win every one of them. We got our butt kicked today.”

• Games remaining: at MIL (3), vs. ATL (3), vs. NYM (3), vs. MIL (3), at NYM (3), at PIT (3)
• Standings update: The Marlins (74-70) dropped to 1 1/2 games back of the D-backs (76-69) for the third NL Wild Card spot. The Marlins are tied with the Giants (74-70) and are a half-game ahead of the Reds (74-71). Miami would hold the first tiebreaker, based on head-to-head matchups, over Arizona (4-2). The Marlins (21-22) are in line to hold the second tiebreaker (intradivisional record) over the Reds (19-27) but not the Giants (21-14).

It was that kind of night for the Marlins.

Jesús Luzardo started the series opener, and it was catcher Jacob Stallings who finished the game on the mound. Luzardo, who’s been one of Miami’s top starters this season -- particularly in the past month -- had one of his worst starts.

Luzardo gave Miami five innings, though that included six runs allowed on a season-high 10 hits and four walks (tied for his season high). Those six runs are the second-most he's allowed this year.

“I just felt a little out of whack mechanically,” said Luzardo, who allowed three earned runs in 18 innings over his previous three starts. “Maybe it was the time off, not getting off the mound in six days. But I’ve just got to be better. There's no excuse for it.

“It was four walks. It's just inexcusable getting guys on. They obviously always come around to score.”

Luzardo’s night got off to a tough start when Brewers designated hitter Mark Canha deposited his sixth pitch over the left-field fence for a leadoff homer. He then issued back-to-back walks to William Contreras and Carlos Santana but got out of the inning without allowing any further damage.

Milwaukee sent all nine hitters to the plate in the third inning, scoring three times on four hits. They added a pair in the fifth, and both runs scored with two outs.

“I felt like they grinded me out, for the most part. They kind of just singled me to death,” Luzardo said. “A lot of weak contact for hits at times, and then they come through with the home run or the double or whatever it might be to push them in.

“Just getting guys on, and then they kind of waited for me to come in the zone. I felt like they had a good approach and good at-bats.”

Luzardo’s poor outing came after the Marlins leaned heavily on their bullpen in their series win vs. the Phillies over the weekend. The lefty acknowledged that those circumstances, combined with the high stakes of September baseball, added to the disappointment of his start.

“It just feels like a letdown, at times, because of where we are,” Luzardo said. “We come off two big series. The bullpen gets worn out the last few days. My job as a starter is to go as long as possible, so it's frustrating.”

The Marlins' offense struggled against Brandon Woodruff, who threw a complete-game shutout, with just six hits -- all singles -- and one walk.

“Unfortunately, I've seen [Woodruff] like that a lot,” Schumaker said. “He's good. He’s one of the best pitchers in the league. We knew we had our hands full.”

The Marlins came up empty on one of their best chances of the night against the Brewers' ace.

Down 6-0, Luis Arraez and Josh Bell reached base to open the sixth inning. But Jake Burger struck out, and Bell was then thrown out trying to tag up and advance to second base on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s flyout to center field.

“I have to clean it up there,” Bell said. “Obviously, if he throws to second, I shut it down. But I just read the throw to third. I was hoping to maybe spark something, but down that many runs, it was just dumb on my part.”

The Marlins have maintained a one-day-at-a-time mentality as they push for October. With 18 games remaining, they also know they have to quickly flush Monday’s loss and get ready for Tuesday.

“Obviously, it wasn't our cleanest game,” Bell said. “But I'm pumped to watch Zeus bounce back next start, and I'm pumped to watch the lineup bounce back tomorrow. Obviously, we're going to score runs this series. Hopefully they come in bunches tomorrow.”