Former WSU pitcher pulled in eighth by Marlins with no-hitter

MILWAUKEE – Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly said it was an easy decision to pull Adam Conley after 116 pitches despite the lefty having not allowed a hit for 7 2/3 innings.

Conley, a former Washington State pitcher, exited with a no-hit bid intact, drawing boos from the crowd at Miller Park, and Miami’s bullpen might have given up the first hit but it wound up holding off the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 on Friday night.

“It was easy right there,” Mattingly said of the decision. “I knew he couldn’t finish. We weren’t going to let him finish.”

Jonathan Lucroy blooped a single with one out in the ninth off reliever Jose Urena to break up the combo no-hit bid. The ball landed in shallow right field, just beyond the outstretched glove of diving second baseman Derek Dietrich.

Dietrich was playing in place of speedy Gold Glove winner Dee Gordon, who was suspended by Major League Baseball for 80 games on Thursday night after a positive test for performance-enhancing substances.

When asked whether Gordon would have caught Lucroy’s hit, Mattingly said, “I don’t know. Probably. Dee’s pretty exciting. He probably catches that ball.”

The 25-year-old Conley (1-1) struck out seven and walked four. The crowd at Miller Park booed as Mattingly walked to the mound and brought in Urena from the bullpen.

“I never like coming out of the game no matter what the circumstances are, but considering where I was at in the game and everything I knew what was going on,” Conley said. “I knew coming into the eighth I was already at about 100 (pitches).”

Conley, who made his big league debut last year with the Marlins, had four previous starts this season. In those games, he threw 31, 93, 95 and 88 pitches.

Conley’s career high for pitches was 106 last season.

“This kid has a chance to be really special so there’s no way, at this point in the season, that we’re going to let him go to 130,” Mattingly said. “We know we have a long season and we feel like we have a chance to go somewhere. He’s going to have to be a part of that so we have to protect him.”

Earlier this month, Ross Stripling of the Dodgers threw no-hit ball for 7 1/3 innings against San Francisco in his major league debut and was taken out after 100 pitches.

Reigning N.L. Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta pitched the majors’ first no-hitter this season, doing it last week at Cincinnati.

Justin Bour homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs to put Miami ahead. The Marlins have won six consecutive games.

“For us to come out and set the tone the way we did, and put runs up, and I can’t say enough about the way Adam pitched today,” Bour said.

The gangly Conley worked quickly throughout the game. He escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fourth by striking out Lucroy and getting Chris Carter to ground into a double play.

Conley was 9-3 with a 2.52 ERA for Triple-A New Orleans last year and went 4-1 with a 3.76 ERA in 15 appearances for the Marlins.

The Brewers turned a triple play in the fifth, and almost pulled off a remarkable rally in the ninth. They scored three times on four hits, then loaded the bases before A.J. Ramos struck out Jonathan Villar for his seventh save.

With two outs, Milwaukee had got an RBI single by pinch-hitter Alex Presley, a run-scoring double by Ramon Flores and an RBI single by Yadiel Rivera that chased Urena.

Zach Davies (0-3) struggled for the third consecutive start. He allowed four runs, six hits and three walks in five innings, and has an 8.78 ERA since being recalled from Triple-A on April 17.

“He’s the type of pitcher that has to be fine with stuff,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “He has to execute probably more than the next guy and there were just enough misses where he kind of got himself into trouble.”

Early arrival

Conley and Saturday night’s starter Wei-Yin Chen traveled to Milwaukee a day earlier than the rest of the team, which arrived in town about 7 a.m. after flying from the West Coast. Conley said he didn’t want to leave the team to travel ahead, but trusted Mattingly’s judgement and agreed to go early.

Gordon’s ‘betrayal’

After learning that Gordon had been suspended 80 games for using performance-enhancing drugs, Miami Marlins president David Samson had a strong message for him. “It could have been a knee injury that could have kept him out for two-and-a-half months,” Samson said. “This is far worse, obviously, because this is a betrayal.”