No-hitter lost in 9th, Marlins hang on vs. Brewers

MILWAUKEE — The Marlins didn’t hit their hotel beds in downtown Milwaukee until dawn on Friday after losing their sparkplug to a stunning suspension out west. Blindsided and bleary-eyed, Adam Conley & Co. provided something to celebrate.

It was not quite a no-hitter, or even a shutout. But even a nail-biting, 6-3 win over the Brewers at Miller Park represented a lift for a Miami team playing its first game without suspended second baseman Dee Gordon.

Conley, the 25-year-old left-hander pitching in his 20th Major League game, walked four batters, struck out seven and threw a career-high 116 pitches without allowing a hit before manager Don Mattingly called for Jose Urena with two outs in the eighth. Urena carried the no-hitter into the ninth, when Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy broke it up with a one-out single that floated past second baseman Derek Dietrich’s outstretched glove.

Would the speedy Gordon have caught it? The Marlins had no time to debate, because the Brewers suddenly mounted a three-run rally that prompted a call for A.J. Ramos. He walked the first two men he faced to bring Brewers shortstop Jonathan Villar to the plate representing the winning run.

Ramos won the battle, striking out Villar for save No. 7. The Marlins have won six straight games.

The Marlins’ offense came from first baseman Justin Bour, whose three-run home run off Brewers starter Zach Davies in the first inning gave Conley a lead before he stepped on the mound.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDEscape act: Conley appeared ready to break in the fourth …

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