I Cried, I Laughed, I Cried Again.

An emotional rollercoaster.  An in-your-face explosion of action all over the screen.  No, it’s not a summer movie, it’s last night’s Marlins-Brewers slugfest.  All in all, there were 31 base hits, 25 runs, 8 home runs, and four errors. It was like a really tense BP session.

The Marlins lit the fuse in the first inning with a double by Donovan Solano. Logan Morrison followed up with a 2-run shot that put runs on the board early.  The Brewers answered with three in the third inning and put up six runs in the bottom of the sixth. A leadoff homer, a double, a blown double play and another homer made the sixth inning one the Marlins wouldn’t mind forgetting. So, going into the seventh inning, the Fish were down 9-2.

We put up nine runs in innings seven and eight, tying the game at 11-11. Jose Reyes got the go-ahead run with a 10^th-inning homer. Heath Bell did not dominate in his close, and after walking the leadoff  guy, he gave up a game-winning 2-run homer to Aramis Ramirez.

Logan Morrison, Justin Ruggiano, John Buck, and Scott Cousins also took the ball deep last night, but our pitchers gave up 17 hits and three dingers.  Four of the Brewer runs were unearned, on 3 errors (two by Jose Reyes and one by Donovan Solano).

The game was alternately exhilarating and frustrating. It was a sloppy, hard-hitting slugfest, but the excitement was high, especially during the late-inning rally. Ultimately, it was the 2-run walkoff that set the final, disappointing tone for the game.

Today, an improving Josh Johnson faces a struggling Randy Wolf for the third game of the four game series with the Brewers. The heat index is forecast to be 111, so the on-field conditions will take a toll on everyone, especially pitchers and catchers. Still, J.J. has been throwing the ball well lately, and I suspect the Marlins’ bats will stay active.

Prediction: Marlins by three.