Holaday delivers the big hit as Marlins defeat Brewers in 10 innings

With All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto on paternity leave, his backup delivered Monday.

Bryan Holaday's one-out single off Corey Knebel in the 10th gave the Marlins a 4-3 victory over the first-place Brewers.

"Maybe that put his wife in labor watching that game," Holaday said with a laugh.

Holaday was in the starting lineup Monday after the Marlins placed Realmuto on paternity leave as he and his wife awaited the birth of their first child. The Marlins didn't miss a beat.

After Miguel Rojas and Cameron Maybin pulled off a double steal, Holaday slapped a single up the middle for the first walk-off hit of his major league career.

"It feels amazing," said Holaday, who is better known for his defensive skills than his hitting prowess. "Miggy and Cam stole second and third, and that's huge. It takes a lot of the pressure off me. In that situation, all I really have to do is put the ball in play."

It was a showdown of two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Brewers brought the National League's best record into Monday while the Marlins showed up owning the worst. As if to drive home the disparity between the two clubs, the Brewers had swept the Marlins in a four-game series in Milwaukee back in April.

And for seven innings, it looked like the Brewers would hang another loss on the Marlins.

But with the Marlins trailing 2-1, Starlin Castro and Brian Anderson connected on back-to-back home runs off Brewers reliever Josh Hader to put the Marlins on top for the first time, 3-2. It was the second time in three days -- and the second time all season -- that the Marlins hit back-to-back home runs.

"He's been pretty good, probably one of the best in baseball this year," manager Don Mattingly said of Hader.

But the lead didn't last for long.

Drew Steckenrider, who had last given up a run on May 20 -- a stretch of 19 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing one -- finally yielded when Travis Shaw's two-out single scored Christian Yelich from second to make it 3-3.

The Marlins had a chance to re-gain the lead in the eighth when they had runners at second and third with one out. But Derek Dietrich struck out swinging and Castro was retired on a pop fly.

The Brewers squandered a scoring chance of their own in the 10th when they had runners at second and third an no outs. But Brad Ziegler struck out Jesus Aguilar and, after issuing an intentional walk to load the bases, got Brad Miller to ground into an inning-ending double play.

"When I got 0-2 I decided to take a shot at the strikeout, and I fortunately got it," Ziegler said of Aguilar's at bat. "We walked Shaw to try to create the double play."

And it worked.

That left it to the Marlins. Knebel hit Rojas with a pitch, then walked Maybin.

Rojas, not known for his speed, caught the unsuspecting Brewers off guard by taking off for third.

"When I get to second base, he's not worrying about me stealing a bag," Rojas said. "It worked out pretty well tonight."

After his game-winning hit, Holaday returned to the clubhouse to find a text message from Realmuto congratulating him.

"I asked him if he had a baby yet," Holaday said. "He said 'No baby yet.'"

This story was originally published July 9, 2018 at 10:47 PM.