Kolten Wong leads the Brewers offense as it backs Brandon Woodruff in beating the Marlins to take the series

The Brewers' Jace Peterson is greeted at the plate by Kolten Wong after hitting a home run in the fifth inning Sunday.
The Brewers' Jace Peterson is greeted at the plate by Kolten Wong after hitting a home run in the fifth inning Sunday.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

MIAMI – The Milwaukee Brewers will fly home from a marathon road trip with a win.

And, despite it being a losing trip overall, Sunday’s game against the Miami Marlins gave the Brewers plenty to feel good about heading back to Milwaukee.

Starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff took strides forward after a shaky performance his last time out, and his offense supported him with three homers for a 7-3 win at loanDepot Park.

The win gave the Brewers a series victory over the Marlins and a 4-5 record on the 10-day, three-city road trip.

"That third city, you're kind of grinding through that always," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "We came out and did a nice job today, pitched really well. We did enough with the bats. It's a very good way to end it, for sure."

Jace Peterson and Kolten Wong, who reached base safely five times and stole two bases in his 1,000th game, hit back-to-back homers as the Brewers took the lead with a four-run fourth inning. Rowdy Tellez added a solo blast in the seventh to end what was a tough road trip for the Brewers first baseman on a high note.

Box score: Brewers 7, Marlins 3

RELATED: Milwaukee Brewers' Willy Adames suffers ankle sprain vs. Marlins

More: Brewers top pitching prospect Ethan Small is starring at Class AAA. History says a call-up could be coming soon.

More: Only a handful of Brewers have been more valuable this year than – you guessed it – Jace Peterson.

Woodruff improved to 4-2 in what has been an up-and-down season. He was bogged down again by some of the areas that have plagued him early in the year but also felt like he took strides forward in others.

"Overall for me, this is a step in the right direction," Woodruff said. "I know as a competitor, some of the results aren't what I want but I'm super close to doing what I know I can do on a nightly basis."

With runners on second and third and two outs in the second, Woodruff was unable to retire either the No. 8 or 9 hitter in the Marlins lineup despite getting to two strikes on both, walking Erik Gonzalez before Payton Henry blooped in a two-run single. Both were unearned runs due to Mike Brosseau’s throwing error leading off the frame.

Miami’s other run came on a towering homer by Jorge Soler with one out in the third. Woodruff left a 2-0 changeup over the middle of the plate, resulting in just the second extra-base hit against the pitcher this year.

Woodruff went five innings, allowing five hits, the one earned run and striking out six. He generated 15 swings and misses, including nine on off-speed and breaking pitches.

"Some pitches were great for me today," Woodruff said. "I thought I did a lot better with the four-seam and the slider was a lot better for me. I know I backed up the one changeup to Soler but overall that pitch was really good for me today. So a lot of positives. I've just got to keep on trucking."

The Brewers (22-13) broke through in the fifth against Marlins starting pitcher Elieser Hernandez after a plethora of hard contact earlier in the game resulted in minimal damage.

Peterson led off the inning by sending an 0-2 pitch out to right for his third homer of the season. Wong followed with his third long ball, as well, to tie the game.

Mike Brosseau then reached on an error and Christian Yelich walked. A Tellez RBI single gave the Brewers the lead and Omar Narvaez made it 5-3 with a run-scoring single.

"We had some good at-bats as we went through the lineup and got a little bit more comfortable against him," Counsell said. "Got him out of the game and then did a nice job against their bullpen."

Tellez's eighth homer of the year made it 6-3 in the seventh, then Milwaukee added an insurance run on a Luis Urias single to score Wong in the eighth.

Wong walked three times to go along with his homer and a single his last time up in the eighth. He scored a pair of runs and it was his walk in the first that led to Willy Adames scoring the game's first run. Adames reached on a fielder's choice in which Wong was forced out at second.

Adames exited, however, with a left ankle sprain after sliding awkwardly into home in that first inning. X-rays were negative, Counsell said.

Aaron Ashby was dominant in relief of Woodruff, going four innings to finish out the game and pick up his second save. Ashby struck out eight and didn't allow any hits or walks.

It was his second straight superb relief outing with a four-inning, six-run start sandwiched in between as he continues to oscillate between roles. As a reliever this year, Ashby has fanned 20 hitters in 13⅔ innings.

"Aaron was incredible today," Counsell said. "He was brilliant."

Subscribe to our Milwaukee Brewers newsletter for updates on the team.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kolten Wong, Brewers offense back Brandon Woodruff in win over Marlins