Bob Brenly, eat your heart out.
Aramis Ramirez, already with a two-run double on the day, played the hero in a wild game Tuesday, hitting a two-run homer off Heath Bell with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to give the Brewers a 13-12 win over the Marlins.
The victory would have been huge for the Marlins’ morale, having overcome a 9-2 deficit with nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings. They took a 12-11 lead when Jose Reyes homered off Livan Hernandez in the 10th, but Bell couldn’t hold it. He was charged with his fifth blown save and fourth loss in the game.
Hernandez, incidently, picked up his 176th career win. One wonders if it might not be his last, given his struggles in mop-up roles for the Braves and Brewers this year. He’s allowed runs in three of his four appearances since signing with Milwaukee.
Bell seemed to have his problems ironed out a couple of weeks ago, but today’s outing follows on the heels of a June 25 appearance in which he blew a four-run lead. Technically, it wasn’t a blown save -- he hadn’t had one of those since May 5 -- but it was a disastrous performance in what ended up being a Marlins loss.
Even with that one on the books, though, he entered today with 13 scoreless outings in his previous 14 appearances, suggesting that he’ll continue to hold down the closer’s role for the Marlins.
The win for the Brewers was their fourth in a row, giving them a 38-42 record. As weak as the NL Central is, they can’t be counted out just yet. It looks like Zack Greinke will be staying put at least a little longer.