Otto Lopez has turned things around; Weathers inches toward return to rotation

On Sunday, Connor Norby stayed scorching hot with two home runs, raising his slugging percentage to .671 through 18 games with the Marlins. Javier Sanoja went 2-for-4 in his first major league start, beginning the game in center field and finishing it at shortstop. Griffin Conine went 3-for-4. They combined to provide more than enough run support for Edward Cabrera, who carried a no-hitter through five innings and held the Phillies scoreless for seven. Lake Bachar struck out the side in his Marlins debut, becoming the club's 69th player used this season. The Marlins won, 10-1, which matched their largest margin of victory in 2024.

Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 9-8. Ryan Weathers made his second minor league rehab start (2.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 64 pitches/39 strikes). The Jumbo Shrimp overcame five errors, including one committed by Weathers himself. Expect the left-hander to pitch at least one more time with Jacksonville before being reinstated from the injured list. Double-A Pensacola won, 6-5. Another multi-hit game for Johnny Olmstead, who is slashing .257/.321/.429 with the Blue Wahoos and has quietly overtaken Cody Morissette for the starting second base job. High-A Beloit lost, 7-1. Low-A Jupiter lost, 23-8 (setting a season-high for runs allowed). The final regular season records for the Sky Carp and Hammerheads were 60-69 and 65-65, respectively.

Here's more Marlins news and content:

🔷 Sunday's State of the Fish call-in show was divided into two parts (here and here) due to technical difficulties.

🔷 I explored Norby's obsession with swinging at the first pitch. Although he hit another first-pitch homer on Sunday, in most cases, his aggressiveness is putting him in disadvantageous counts and limiting his opportunities to draw walks.

🔷 Through 46 Marlins series, here's an updated look at the Prediction Time leaderboard. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub.

🔷 On this day 10 years ago, the Marlins used back-to-back blasts from Casey McGehee and Marcell Ozuna to top the Brewers.

🔷 The Marlins were patient with Otto Lopez during a midseason slump. Skip Schumaker spoke to MLB.com's Christina De Nicola about the importance of positive reinforcement in situations like that. Lopez has quietly played every single inning of every game since August 4 with good results.

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Reds rallied in the ninth inning to snap the Mets' nine-game winning streak. Pavin Smith carried the Diamondbacks over the Astros with a 3 HR/8 RBI game.

🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Valente Bellozo) begin their second-to-last road trip of the season by facing the Pirates (RHP Paul Skenes). Last year's top overall draft pick has exceeded the hype. Since making his major league debut on May 11, Skenes' 2.13 ERA is the best in MLB among pitchers with at least 70 innings during that span. It's also a reunion with former Marlins outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, whose Pirates tenure has frankly gone horribly. The Marlins have a 24.8% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET.

🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE today from 5:30-6:30 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. 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.

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