Agustin Ramirez leads power surge in win

[Alex Krutchik]

Wednesday night reminded Marlins fans why they originally fell in love with Agustin Ramirez . 

The 24-year-old slugger went 2-for-5 in Miami’s 8-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, including an RBI double in the third inning that gave the Marlins the permanent lead. With his usual violent swing with a follow-through that looks like he’s twirling the bat backwards, the ball came off his bat at 110.6 miles per hour, past third baseman Nick Gonzales, and rolled to the left field wall.

It was part of an inning that saw the Marlins put up four runs on just two hits, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch. Their eight total walks drawn on Wednesday tied a season high, with the other instance coming at the Washington Nationals in June.

Ramirez’s single in the second inning left the bat at 107.8 miles per hour.

“We still certainly believe in Augustin,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “He's a good player. He's another one who swings fast and hits the ball hard. We've seen him do things like tonight. So he's certainly very capable, and I think right now we just need contributions from him in as many places as we can get it.”

Ramirez, who was brought over as a catcher in a trade with the New York Yankees in 2024 and made his Major League debut in 2025, was sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville in May of this year when his defense was a detriment to the team. To make matters worse, his offense, which was lauded as a plus-plus tool coming up through the minors and his first big league season, was merely average. He only had two home runs in 31 games, and his OPS was just .663.

Ramirez was the designated hitter on Wednesday, which has been the norm since being recalled. His only start at catcher in his current Major League stint came on Sunday, and he was pulled after four innings in favor of Joe Mack. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix said after the trade deadline on August 3rd that Ramirez could also see time at first base.

Since being called up on August 4th, Ramirez is 5-for-14.

The hard-hitting right-hander wasn’t the only one with pop on Wednesday. Already up, 5-2 in the fourth, Griffin Conine hit a solo home run to center field off former Marlin Lake Bachar. It was Conine’s third home run in three games. The 29-year-old was robbed of a home run against Paul Skenes the night prior with a jump at the wall by Bryan Reynolds. He came into Wednesday with a slugging percentage of .577 and a .919 OPS with seven home runs since the All-Star break.

Conine said the key lately has been avoiding chasing pitches out of the zone.

“I think it's being selective, knowing exactly what I'm looking for,” Conine said. “I think the more time I spend, the more at bats I get, it's like the plan becomes clear of what (the opponent) is trying to do.”

Heriberto Hernandez hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning for his team-leading 17th home run of the season. 

 

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