MILWAUKEE -- Tom Koehler returned to the major leagues after six weeks of trying to get back on track in Triple-A, but his first start back with the Miami Marlins didn't go much better than his last.

Koehler allowed seven runs -- all of them coming in the second inning -- as the Marlins fell to the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 on Saturday afternoon at Miller Park.

"The results were terrible but I felt closer to myself than I did," said Koehler, who hadn't started a big league game since May 16, when he allowed eight runs over three innings to the Astros. "It's a really odd thing to say after a game like that. But there's still work that needs to be done. You've got to be able to put guys away.

"It's just tough. You want to come back and set the tone and have a quality outing right away and put the team in a position to win the game, and when you don't do that it's very frustrating."

After his offense staked him to an early 2-0 lead on Justin Bour's two-run double, Koehler needed just nine pitches to get through the first inning but needed 50 to go through the second.

Koehler got off to a bad start by walking leadoff batter Travis Shaw in the second. Domingo Santana followed and ripped an 0-2 offering to the wall in right that grazed the edge of Giancarlo Stanton's glove and dropped into a picnic area for his 14th home run of the season, tying -- and possibly changing the course -- of the game.

"If I catch it the game is completely different, and we can probably have a chance to win that game," Stanton said.

It was all downhill for Koehler from there.

Stephen Vogt followed with a single and Keon Broxton struck out for the first out of the inning. Orlando Arcia was up next and he reached on a base hit to left.

A botched pickoff attempt let both runners advance to second and third, respectively, and Vogt put the Brewers ahead when he slipped underneath the tape of catcher J.T. Realmuto as Zach Davies reached on a fielder's choice.

Jonathan Villar drove home Arcia with a single, putting the Brewers up 4-2, and Koehler gave up another single, this time to Eric Thames, loading the bases for Ryan Braun, who struck out.

Shaw plated another pair with a single and Santana drew a walk, loading the bases again, and bringing Koehler's day to an end.

"We got off to a decent start and got two runs," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "Even if they got three or four, you can keep the game there and manage it. It gets to seven and then you have trouble getting back into it. It is a big hill to get back into it. Every run they score seems like a spike."

Milwaukee scored one more when Vance Worley walked Vogt with the bases loaded before Broxton struck out a second time to end the inning.

"We just had good at-bats against Koehler and made him work really hard, so we survived," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "He got a big out with striking out Brauny and we were still in. Travis had a nice at-bat. Domingo had a nice at-bat. Stephen Vogt had a nice at-bat. So that was big two-out at-bats there."

Davies gave up two more in the third but settled in from there and worked six full innings, allowing four runs on five his and two walks while striking out five.

"I really thought he got it going," Counsell said. "The last three innings, especially the last two innings, I thought they may have been his best two innings of the season. I mean, the command was as good as we've seen it. The glove wasn't moving. He was hitting the glove really well. Certainly encouraging and hopefully something he can take out of it."

NOTES: Umpire Joe West was behind the plate Saturday, a day after he was hit in the head by a baseball thrown from the stands at Miller Park. Neither West nor the Brewers were commenting on the matter, but the culprit had not yet been identified. Souvenir balls were pulled from the racks of souvenir stands. ... With the exception of recently acquired C Stephen Vogt, Milwaukee was with its regular starting lineup for the first time since mid-May. ... RHP Dan Straily (5-4, 3.44 ERA) takes the mound Sunday as the Marlins try to avoid being swept for the fifth time this season. RHP Junior Guerra (1-2, 4.54) gets the start for the Brewers, who have swept four series in 2017.