Offishial News: Marlins pitching staff turning the corner?

On Sunday, despite a pedestrian final line (5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), Edward Cabrera pitched well again, and this time, the bullpen behind him excelled, including the near-perfect Calvin Faucher. Jesús Sánchez's first home run of 2024 was a 460-foot no-doubter and even Nick Fortes enjoyed a 2-for-4 day. The Marlins won, 6-3. It's the first time this season that they did not lose a series.

Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 8-4. JT Chargois (neck spasms) began his minor league rehab assignment with a 1-2-3 inning. 1B Troy Johnston had arguably his best game of the season, going 3-for-4 with a walk. Double-A Pensacola lost, 3-0. The Marlins promoted C Joe Mack. The 21-year-old went 0-for-3 with a walk in his Blue Wahoos debut. RHP Paul Campbell (6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) continues to pitch consistently well. High-A Beloit lost, 8-6. Another multi-hit game for INF Josh Zamora. He doesn't have quite enough playing time to qualify, otherwise he'd be leading the Midwest League in wRC+ (280). Low-A Jupiter won, 6-3. RHP Jake Brooks (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) carried a shutout into the sixth inning. OF Colby Shade went 3-for-3 with a walk and three stolen bases.

Here's more Marlins news and content for you:

🔷 Through seven Marlins series, FOF staffer @Daniel Rodriguez sits atop the Prediction Time leaderboard with 10 points, though @Alec Chao and @Hans Herrera made perfect picks against the Cubs. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub.

🔷 Listen back to our weekly State of the Fish call-in show, discussing the recent improvement from the Marlins pitching staff and some Triple-A call-up candidates.

🔷 Entering last week, the Marlins had been allowing nearly six runs per game. Against the Giants and Cubs, they allowed only four runs per game, and a chunk of that damage came against A.J. Puk, who was battling through shoulder fatigue. Overall, this is beginning to resemble the team I was expecting to see entering the season—not competitive enough to be proud of, but also not incompetent enough to be embarrassed by.

🔷 On this day 10 years ago, José Fernández out-dueled Alex Wood in a 1-0 Marlins win over the Braves.

🔷 The Marlins continued their annual tradition of sending rookies on a coffee run in Wrigleyville, as MLB.com Tim Stebbins details.

🔷 Every Monday (until they are firmly out of contention), I will update the Marlins' playoff odds. Per FanGraphs, those have dipped from 3.4% to 2.2% over the last week.

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, baseball's top-ranked prospect, Jackson Holliday, has begun his major league career in a 1-for-30 slump. Shohei Ohtani set the record for most MLB home runs by a Japanese-born player. The Phillies are riding a six-game winning streak while the Pirates have dropped six in a row.

🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE tonight from 6:00-7:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guest: John Rodriguez. SuperSubs are encouraged to make series predictions. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050.

🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) visit the Braves (RHP Reynaldo López) at 7:20 p.m. ET. The Marlins have a 34.4% chance to win, per FanGraphs.

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