Otto Lopez first in MLB to reach 100 hits as Marlins are back over .500

[Kevin Barral]

MIAMI, FL—In front of 22,643 fans, the Miami Marlins defeated the San Francisco Giants by a final score of 6-3, improving to one game over .500 for the first time since April 14. A big reason for their success not, just in the month of June, but all season, has been shortstop Otto Lopez.

Lopez currently leads baseball with a .332 batting average. With a single on Saturday, he became the first player in MLB this season to reach the 100-hit marker. He joins Luis Arraez (2023) and Dee Strange-Gordon (2015) as the only other players in franchise history to win the league-wide race to 100. Arraez and Strange-Gordon both went on to win National League batting titles in those seasons.

"Otto's been our most consistent offensive player," manager Clayton McCullough said. "He gets hits all over the place. Otto has a lot of room to grow as an offensive player, like he can get better...There's a lot left for him to hit his ceiling, but certainly hard to not appreciate what he's done, playing almost every day at shortstop and running the bases, collecting hits. He's been incredible."

The 100th hit of the season came in the bottom of the fourth inning with a runner on first and no outs. Lopez's hit had an exit velocity of 97.2 mph and moved the runner from first to second. After Kyle Stowers worked a walk, that loaded the bases for Xavier Edwards, who grounded into a double play, but still plated a run.

Heriberto Hernandez, who since being recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville, entered Saturday slashing .288/.310/.538/.847 with six home runs and 17 RBI. With Lopez on third, Hernandez hit his seventh home run of the season off reliever Matt Gage. The ball left the bat at 107.2 mph and went 389 feet to left field, extending the Marlins lead, 6-2.

"I think we saw Bert do this last year, and since he's come back, he's been a real key cog, sitting in the middle of those left-handed hitters that we have, and he's slugging, finding the barrel a lot," McCullough said. "He has a knack for coming up with some really big hits and he can leave the ballpark and the power from the right side is hard to come by. I think it's been a real shot in the arm for us."

Although Max Meyer wasn't his best version, the Marlins starter went five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits (one home run), two walks and struck out seven.

Meyer's slider did look sharp, generating five whiffs and struck out four on that pitch. The other three strikeouts came on his sweeper. The home run he gave up came in the top of the fourth inning. Casey Schmitt took Meyer deep, hitting his 16th home run of the season.

The Marlins joined the Philadelphia Phillies as the only teams this season to make it back over .500 after being as many as eight games below .500. With the win, the Marlins are now just one game out of the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

Ryan Gusto will get the start opposite of Logan Webb at 1:40 pm as the Marlins go for the sweep.

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