'Playing with fire,' Cabrera walks 6 in loss to Crew

MILWAUKEE -- Edward Cabrera’s locker in the visiting clubhouse this week at American Family Field is across from Luis Arraez, so the Marlins’ right-hander ventured over after Miami’s 3-1 loss to the Brewers on Tuesday night.

Arraez is just one year and four days older than the 25-year-old Cabrera, though he has more big league experience -- and two All-Star appearances -- on his resume.

“He’s young, like me,” Arraez said. “He asks me a lot of questions. I’m available to [answer] everything he wants.”

Arraez’s message Tuesday was simple.

“I just said to him, he’s got to throw more strikes,” Arraez said. “He’s nasty. He just needs to throw strikes and that’s it.”

• Games remaining: at MIL (2), vs. ATL (3), vs. NYM (3), vs. MIL (3), at NYM (3), at PIT (3)
• Standings update: The Marlins (74-71) remain 1 1/2 games back of the D-backs (76-70) for the third NL Wild Card spot, after Arizona’s loss Tuesday to the Mets. The Marlins are also a half-game behind the Reds (75-71) and tied with the Giants (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).

Cabrera spent a month at Triple-A Jacksonville after an August demotion before he was recalled last Wednesday. He’s made two appearances since, and both have come as a bulk reliever. Although his final lines have similarities, how Cabrera got there Tuesday was different.

Cabrera threw four scoreless innings (the fifth through the eighth) Wednesday against the Dodgers, allowing one hit with two walks and eight strikeouts. On Tuesday, he allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings but walked six, including four of the first five hitters he faced upon entering in the second inning.

The fourth walk, to Andruw Monasterio, forced in a run. Cabrera threw 32 pitches in the frame.

“He was playing with fire,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “It was really good for four innings of the [4 1/3] he went. But the first inning was tough. We almost had to go get somebody right away, 30 pitches in.

“He couldn't get anything over the plate, no matter what he threw. Then he settled in. When he settles in -- just like the last time he threw, against the Dodgers -- it's really, really good, against high-power, really good offenses.”

Cabrera walked two of the first three hitters he faced against the Dodgers. Tuesday was the fourth time this season he’s walked at least six in an outing.

But Cabrera retired five straight hitters after Monasterio, which included a nine-pitch third inning. He surrendered a solo homer to Josh Donaldson in the fourth, then retired the next seven hitters he faced.

Back-to-back two-out walks in the sixth ended his night.

“It is frustrating, but I don't let it get me down,” Cabrera said through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “We're alive. We gotta keep going and getting better. … You gotta keep working. Keep working on the location of all my pitches.”

"He's nasty,” Donaldson said. “I think it took him a little bit to get settled in. As a DH, I get to sit back and kind of see what's really going on and focus in on that. I felt that he was starting to land some of those offspeed pitches for strikes. I was able to take advantage of one."

The message, between Arraez, Donaldson and Schumaker, is similar. Cabrera has good stuff. It’s just about commanding and trusting it.

“There’s nothing wrong with his stuff,” Schumaker said. “His stuff is real, and it's as good as anybody's in the league. When it's inside the strike zone, you see what happens. … It's confidence inside the strike zone. And when he gets it and that momentum carries over inning after inning, then you see what he does. He's got to be on the attack, and when he's on the attack, he's really good.”

Cabrera’s outing came amid a quiet night for the Marlins' offense despite Arraez’s leadoff home run off Freddy Peralta. The Brewers' starter allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings, including Xavier Edwards’ second-inning single.

Milwaukee then retired the next 18 Marlins hitters in order, before Jon Berti drew a pinch-hit walk in the eighth inning.

Though the Marlins’ deficit in the NL Wild Card race held steady Tuesday, they know every game and every win right now is important. They also know they need Cabrera.

“We’ve just gotta keep building him up, give him the confidence, because we’re gonna need him down the stretch,” Schumaker said. “Seventeen left or whatever it is. He’s gonna pitch a lot of meaningful games, so we're gonna need him to go.”