Giancarlo Stanton was just glad to be back on the field.
The 23-year-old slugger went 1 for 4 in his return to the Miami Marlins' lineup during a 6-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night after missing the previous 36 games due to a strained right hamstring.
"It was miserable not being able to play, so I was happy I was out there," Stanton said.
Stanton grounded out in his first at-bat before knocking a single up the middle in the fourth inning. He grounded out again in the seventh before striking out to end the game.
Marlins Beat Mets 8-4 in 10 Innings
He acknowledged that he doesn't feel 100 percent and did think about his hamstring during the game.
"Yeah, of course. But it's one of those things where you've got to monitor, but it's going to be in your head a little bit," Stanton said.
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Marlins manager Mike Redmond is hoping the return of Stanton and Logan Morrison will help boost the offense for the majors' worst team.
"I like the makeup of our lineup," Redmond said. "It looks a lot better. It kind of lengthens out our lineup as well. But at the same time, too, these guys haven't played for a while. It's going to take a while for these guys to find their groove."
Meanwhile, the Brewers' offense didn't skip a beat without ailing slugger Ryan Braun.
Jonathan Lucroy had four hits and Yovani Gallardo threw eight scoreless innings to help Milwaukee win its fourth straight. Carlos Gomez had three hits and two RBIs, while Lucroy also drove in a pair of runs.
Rickie Weeks homered among his three hits for the Brewers, who tied a season high with 16 hits despite playing without Braun after he aggravated his sore right thumb Sunday against Philadelphia.
"Anytime you have one of your big boys out and you can score and do what we did and get that many hits, it's big," manager Ron Roenicke said.
Gallardo (5-6) won for the second time since April 29 and became the third Brewers pitcher to strike out 1,000 batters, joining Ben Sheets and Teddy Higuera.
"Getting 1,000 strikeouts, it's a big number," Gallardo said. "It's definitely a lot of work. It's a lot of pitches thrown. It's one of the goals and hopefully keep moving forward to get to the next one."
The right-hander allowed four hits and one walk while striking out four on 108 pitches before turning it over to Donovan Hand in the ninth.
"Anytime you go eight innings it's definitely a good day," Gallardo said.
The Marlins scored on a groundout to avoid the shutout, but have managed no more than one run in 21 of their 63 games. Miami's record is a major league-worst 18-45.
"We didn't do anything with (Gallardo)," Redmond said. "Give him credit. He pitched well."
Ricky Nolasco (3-7) allowed a season-high 10 hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings. Nolasco is 2-3 with a 7.58 ERA in eight starts against Milwaukee.
"All night was tough," Nolasco said. "It's one of those games you want to go as deep as you can and not kill the 'pen."
The Brewers got to Nolasco early, scoring two runs in the first inning on RBI singles by Gomez and Lucroy. Gomez added another RBI single in the second for a 3-0 lead.
"It's easier when you get runs early in the game, especially in the first inning," Gomez said. "Everybody has a good feeling the rest of the game to continue the good job."
Weeks' fifth home run, a solo shot in the third, stretched it to 4-0. Weeks is 9 for 20 in his last seven games to raise his batting average over the .200 mark for the first time since April 16.
"That's a huge pickup for what we need there and hopefully this continues," Roenicke said.
Gomez tripled leading off the seventh and scored on a single by Lucroy. Juan Francisco added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.
Juan Pierre tripled in the ninth off Hand and scored on a groundout by Ed Lucas.
NOTES: Braun did not take part in batting practice and could miss the series. "It's possible," he said. ... Brewers RF Norichika Aoki extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a double leading off the game. He is batting .341 (15 for 44) during the streak. ... Marlins 3B Placido Polanco left in the sixth with lower back stiffness and is day to day. ... Miami RHP Jacob Turner (1-0, 0.69 ERA) will face Milwaukee RHP Wily Peralta (4-7, 6.16) on Tuesday.
