Tyler Phillips 'set the tone' for Marlins, earns long overdue first win of 2026

[Isaac Azout]

MIAMI — The Marlins are in the midst of their best stretch of the regular season.

Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Fightin' Fish were victorious again in Thursday's getaway day contest at loanDepot park, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2-0. It was Miami's second consecutive shutout and sixth overall this season. The win improved the club's record to 34-35, just one game under .500.

A major reason for the Marlins' recent success has been their middle-infield duo, which has arguably been the best tandem in Major League Baseball. Second baseman Xavier Edwards and shortstop Otto Lopez have combined for 5.2 fWAR this season, comfortably the highest total among any middle-infield pairing in the majors.

During Miami's three-game sweep of Arizona, Edwards and Lopez went a combined 10-for-22 with seven runs scored, six RBIs and just one strikeout. When asked whether they should be the National League's starting middle infield at this year's All-Star Game, manager Clayton McCullough didn't hesitate.

"I certainly think so," he said. "It's hard to find a duo that has played this well on both sides of the ball and on the bases. I don't think there's a better double-play combination in baseball right now."

Following another multi-hit performance on Thursday, Lopez has recorded at least two hits in five straight games, the longest such streak by a Marlins shortstop since José Reyes in 2012. It was also his 29th multi-hit game of the season.

"Everything just feels smooth throughout my body," Lopez said. "I'm staying aggressive, and good things are happening."

Lopez currently leads the National League in batting average and is on pace for 218 hits and 30 stolen bases. No shortstop in MLB history has ever reached both marks in the same season.

Thursday's starter for Miami was another emerging All-Star candidate in right-hander Tyler Phillips, who admitted after the game that he wasn't feeling his best heading into the outing.

"To be honest, I felt terrible today," he said with a smile. "I don't know if what I ate for breakfast never settled in my stomach or if I didn't get enough sleep, but I was able to figure it out."

Phillips made just his third start of the season for Miami after previously appearing in 16 games out of the bullpen. In Thursday's matinee, he spun five scoreless innings with a season-high five strikeouts to earn his first win of the year, lowering his ERA to a minuscule 1.86.

"He set the tone, and his ability to miss bats has really increased for us this year. It's a lot of fun to watch," McCullough said. "When he's getting ahead in the count, there's not much the hitters can do."

McCullough allowed Phillips to face the first batter of the sixth inning before turning things over to the bullpen. Michael Petersen, Anthony Bender, Calvin Faucher and Pete Fairbanks combined for four scoreless innings to complete the shutout. The Marlins' pitching staff racked up 13 strikeouts in the victory. Fairbanks earned his eighth save of the season.

Despite being struck by a barrage of pitching injuries in late May, the Marlins are thriving in the run prevention department. So far in June, they've surrendered just 2.6 runs per game.

Following the series sweep, Miami will travel to Pennsylvania for a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates before heading to Philadelphia for a date with the Phillies. Right-hander Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to be Friday night's starter at PNC Park.

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