Marlins prevent Brewers from clinching NL Central
William Contreras #24 of the Milwaukee Brewers tags out Xavier Edwards #63 of the Miami Marlins during the eighth inning at loanDepot park on September 24, 2023, in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
MIAMI - Jon Berti had his second career multihomer game, and the Miami Marlins beat Milwaukee 6-1 on Sunday, the second straight day they prevented the Brewers from clinching the NL Central.
Josh Bell also went deep, Jorge Soler had three hits and Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled twice for the Marlins, who began the day one game behind the Chicago Cubs for the third NL wild card spot. Milwaukee entered with a seven-game lead over the Cubs.
Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (7-7) allowed one run and five hits in five-plus innings with five strikeouts.
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Xavier Edwards stepped in for injured Miami infielder Luis Arraez and had three hits and two stolen bases. Arraez, the major league batting leader at .353, didn’t play after he aggravated a sprained left ankle Saturday. Arraez rolled his ankle during pre-game infield drills Tuesday then slipped on the dugout steps before the ninth inning Saturday.
Berti homered in the second on a slider from Freddy Peralta (12-10), who gave up four runs and nine hits in three innings. Bell’s solo homer and Bryan De La Cruz’s two-run single boosted the lead to 4-0 in the third.
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Milwaukee closed on Tyrone Taylor’s RBI single in the fifth before Berti completed a 13-pitch at-bat with a two-run homer off Julio Teheran in the bottom half, Berti's sixth home run this season. Berti's only other multihomer game was on May 4 last year against Arizona.
Miami went 46-35 at home, up from 34-47 last year, and finish the regular season with three-game series at the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates.