Led by Meyer and Hicks, Marlins clinch series win over Mets

[Kevin Barral]

MIAMI, FL — Thanks to two home runs by Liam Hicks and another Max Meyer quality start, the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Mets Saturday afternoon by a final score of 4-1.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said that Meyer was able to get through seven shutout innings even without his best stuff.

"I think he's been sharper and crisper in some other outings," McCullough said, "but I think he threw some insane sweepers today, and they did a good job of using his fastball appropriately. I just felt like today was more of a grind for him, even though it wasn't a lot of traffic."

Meyer allowed just one hit and walked three. He also struck out eight, one shy of his season-high. Through 11 starts this season, Meyer now has a 2.52 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 10.09 K/9 and 3.26 BB/9.

Meyer's sweeper (32% usage) and four-seam fastball (27%) complemented each other very well.

"I think we can feel when they're starting to sit spin," Meyer said. "I was able to get some ride on a couple heaters when I needed to and freeze them up on a few heaters when I needed to. I got to get that going for next outing."

The Marlins jumped on New York Mets starter Freddy Peralta early. In the bottom of the second inning, with runners on second and third, Owen Caissie drove both of them in on a double.

Cassie has quietly found consistency at the plate after going through an extended slump during most of April and early May. Since the beginning of the series against the Minnesota Twins (5/13), he entered Saturday's game slashing .300/.391/.600/.991 with two home runs and five RBI.

Liam Hicks notched his first career multi-homer game, hitting his 10th of the season in the bottom of the third inning and his 11th in the bottom of the fifth. That gave Miami a 4-0 lead. Hicks and CJ Abrams of the Washington Nationals continue to duel for the RBI leader in baseball. Abrams currently has the most with 45, while Hicks is in second with 44.

On Sunday, the Marlins will have Tyler Phillips start the game. That would have been Braxton Garrett's rotation spot, but he was optioned to Triple-A earlier in the week. Once a starter at the beginning of his MLB career, Phillips will now get an opportunity go out there every fifth day, per McCullough.

"We believe he has the pitches and the ability to start it," McCullough said. "He's done it in the past, something we had spoken with him about last year and had stretched him out some on the fly. As circumstances have happened in recent weeks, felt like he's been throwing the ball terrifically. His arsenal is much deeper, better than it was in the past. With how the (splitter has) come along and the velocity he's been showing, I think he has the pitch mix to go and do this."

In 15 appearances out of the bullpen in 2026, Phillips has a 1.20 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 8.10 K/9 and 4.80 BB/9. The right-hander has a five-pitch mix, primarily throwing his sinker and splitter. He has only maxed out at 52 pitches this season, so it will take multiple outings for him to be stretched out for a typical starter's workload.

The Marlins will go for their second series sweep of the season on Sunday at 1:40 pm. Christian Scott will start for the Mets.

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[One Regend]

Okay, Max Meyer. I see you. You're proving yourself now.

I've been one of his biggest doubters from the start of the season. I had my doubts the first time he twirled 7 1-hit scoreless innings, thinking it could have been a fluke. But here, he proved me wrong.

There's still 20 more starts left to make in the season. I hope he continues to prove me wrong.

[UKPhil]

Hey look!!! It's not the end of the world. The rebuilding Marlins went 2-5 against the current 2 best teams in baseball. Boo hoo

They then threw 2 talented pitchers in need of a good day against the psyched out Mets. Hooray

Don't get me wrong. I was disappointed at the missed opportunities against the Rays and Braves, and if the flailing Great Whites had smelt blood in the water against Eury and Max, this weekend could have been a tonic for the New Yorkers.

Rebuilds are hard work for a baseball fan. Eury and Max are surprisingly inexperienced considering how long they've been around. I think they've both logged more time in the Marlins dugout as injured members of the 40 man roster than healthy members of the active roster.

I'm enjoying Lopez, Edwards and Hicks having break out seasons. Stowers and Marsee look to be getting back on track. Joe Mack has ended the hideous nightly horror show behind the plate. Is Caissie swinging his way into, or out of, a Major League career?

Morel has only had 56 plate appearances: how can you take 2 months to pull a plaster off?

[One Regend]

7 hours ago, UKPhil said:

Is Caissie swinging his way into, or out of, a Major League career?

To answer the Caissie part of the question, he looks like he's snapping out of his funk. The last few series he's been hitting balls hard and they've been falling for hits. And now some of them have cleared the fence.

Whether he maintains that pace and puts up at least a 1.5-2.0 WAR season (remember, he's technically a rookie, so I'm tempering my expectations) will determine whether or not he'll have a worthwhile career.