Marlins lose fourth in a row after disheartening Eury Pérez start

[Daniel Rodriguez]

 MIAMI, FL — Just like the night before, the Marlins found themselves in an early hole after falling behind 3-0 to Baltimore in the first inning following a three-run home run by Pete Alonso.

Eury Pérez, making his eighth start of the young season, did not have his best outing. The right-hander allowed five earned runs across five innings while giving up four hits, walking five, and striking out six. His ERA rose to 5.01 on the season.

Control was the biggest issue for Pérez throughout the night, as he struggled to consistently locate his pitches, issuing five walks and also hitting a batter. While it’s unlikely Miami considers sending him down, it may be time to temper expectations early in his career.

“A bad one. A lot of learning situations that I had in the game,” Pérez said postgame through an interpreter. “The slider, I was throwing it with more velocity after the first few innings, and I was able to get through the fifth.”

Manager Clayton McCullough still pointed to positives from Pérez’s outing.

“I think the sliders were probably the best they’ve been all season,” McCullough said. “Some of the velocity he was throwing those at got into the 90s.”

Baltimore jumped on Miami immediately in the top of the first. After a walk and a hit-by-pitch to Adley Rutschman, Alonso launched a three-run homer to give the Orioles an early advantage. Baltimore continued to apply pressure throughout the night on its way to a 7-4 victory, with Rutschman contributing two doubles.

Similar to Tuesday night, Miami answered quickly despite the early deficit. Jakob Marsee delivered an RBI double as he continues to heat up following a slow start to the season. However, outside of Marsee’s double and singles from Owen Caissie and Xavier Edwards, the Marlins struggled to build sustained offense and never fully threatened after tying the game early.

Prior to the game, Miami recalled left-hander Dax Fulton while optioning William Kempner following his own MLB debut.

Unlike Kempner, Fulton has been with the organization since being selected in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft. He has long been viewed as one of the club’s more intriguing pitching prospects until having major elbow surgeries. 

Fulton provided valuable innings out of the bullpen, tossing four innings while allowing two earned runs on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Although the appearance likely means he’ll return to Triple-A afterward, he helped preserve a taxed Marlins bullpen moving forward.

“Just keep pushing,” Fulton said postgame when reflecting on his journey to the majors. “Whatever comes at you, whatever gets thrown at you, just keep going. You’ll get there as long as you have perseverance. I’m just glad to be here.”

Fulton also discussed adjusting to a relief role after spending most of his career as a starter.

“It’s the same mindset—go up there and get guys out,” Fulton said. “Whether it’s five or six innings as a starter or two or three innings out of the bullpen, whatever they need from me, I’m going to do everything I can to help the team.”

The Marlins will look to snap their four-game losing streak Thursday night when Max Meyer takes the mound in the series finale.

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