Garrett Mitchell is back to playing baseball the way he’s accustomed to playing.
Mitchell likely will be back in center field for the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon in the second game of their three-game series against the visiting Miami Marlins.
Mitchell helped win the series opener 2-1 on Friday night with a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning and two dazzling catches in deep center field to end the ninth and 10th innings and prevent go-ahead runs from scoring.
“Both (catches) were challenging, but I’d say the first one because I had to catch it behind my head,” Mitchell said. “I was happy just to make some of those. I feel like, early on in this season, I wasn’t really making those, and that feels very uncharacteristic for the way I play the game and play defense.”
Brewers second baseman Brice Turang also saved a run in the fourth inning with a back-handed stop of a grounder from Kyle Stowers headed toward center. Turang leaped and threw across his body with a runner on third, and first baseman Jake Bauers fielded the throw on one hop.
“It’s a real recipe for winning a lot of games,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said of Milwaukee’s solid defense. “They didn’t walk anybody (Friday), and you make some really nice plays to save some runs and, in close games like this, it makes the difference. And I think we’ve seen that on our end as well. The margins are very small in winning a major league game, especially on the road.”
Right-hander Max Meyer will start on Saturday for Miami, which has lost four straight games. Meyer (9-1, 2.58 ERA) made his first MLB All-Star team this season but did not appear in the game on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
“It’s pretty special,” Meyer said of his selection. “Just kind of looking back at my career, a lot of injuries. I’m glad that it doesn’t really feel like a personal award because I have so many staff members that are always pulling for me in the day-to-day stuff that just keeps me on the field.”
Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez also was selected for the All-Star Game, marking the first time two Marlins were chosen in the same year since Luis Arraez and Jorge Soler in 2023.
Lopez had two hits on Friday to raise his MLB-leading average to .336.
“Otto has certainly had a phenomenal half,” McCullough said.
Meyer made his only MLB appearance against the Brewers on July 27, 2024. As the starter, he did not qualify for a win after pitching just four innings. He allowed three runs in four innings of a 7-3 victory.
Milwaukee plans to start rookie left-hander Shane Drohan on Saturday. Drohan (4-3, 3.09 ERA) took the loss in his most recent outing last Saturday after allowing three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 3-2 defeat at the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Drohan said the biggest positive from the start was he regained a feel for his slider, which helped him strike out six without a walk.
“Good to have that back,” Drohan said. “It felt like I’ve been in between the last couple of outings. Been working hard on it, so felt good to throw that pitch again. For me, it was just almost throwing caution to the wind and let it fly.”
Drohan has not faced Miami in his career.
–Field Level Media
