The Marlins (who have somehow now scored 34 runs in their last three games) exploded for a franchise-record 11 runs in the fifth inning against the Brewers on Tuesday night, which made it clear pretty early on that we’d be seeing a position player pitching in Milwaukee. Position players pitching are always a delight, but rarely as delightful as Hernan Perez’s work in the top of the ninth.
Perez employed a litany of zany mechanical quirks, shimmying and leg-kicking while not delivering a pitch over 75 mph. Oh, and he worked a 1-2-3 inning.
Perez, a veteran utilityman, is Milwaukee’s go-to mop-up guy, so he knew as soon as Miami busted the game open in the fifth that he’d probably be getting the call.