Marlins out-managed by Braves in doubleheader sweep

Entering this week, the National League Manager of the Year hype had begun to build around Clayton McCullough. The Miami Marlins have lost five of their seven games since then, with the latest double debacle underscoring why McCullough wasn't a true contender for that award in the first place. The Marlins were defeated twice by a non-competitive Atlanta Braves club on Saturday, in large part because they didn't fully utilize the talent on their roster in late-and-close situations.

Game 1 (MIA 1, ATL 7)

Hurston Waldrep pitched extremely well for the Braves in his previous outing at the inaugural Speedway Classic. This start was more of the same (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 89 pitches/61 strikes). Waldrep kept the Marlins off balance with his six-pitch mix and his splitter was especially sharp.

Only a handful of balls even escaped the infield against the rookie right-hander and Jurickson Profar bailed him out of his biggest mistake. Agustín Ramírez crushed a fly ball to left field that seemed destined to be a solo home run, but Profar scaled the wall with perfect timing to make the catch.

Serving as the Marlins' 27th man for this doubleheader, Ryan Gusto looked solid in his debut with the club (6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 98 pitches/67 strikes). Gusto's four-seam fastball was his best swing-and-miss pitch. He allowed only five total hard-hit balls, as defined by Baseball Savant.

The Braves' hottest bat entering this series, Michael Harris II continues to turn his season around. His double off of Gusto in the bottom of the second inning ignited a two-run rally.

But don't let the lopsided final score fool you: the Marlins were very much alive deep into the game. Trailing 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning, the potential tying runs were on first and second with nobody out.

Dane Myers has slumped more severely lately than any other Marlins hitter, particularly versus right-handed pitching, yet Clayton McCullough stuck with him against Pierce Johnson. Myers grounded into a deflating double play. While it's true that McCullough's only pinch-hitting options were also righties, letting Myers take that plate appearance and swing away in that scenario (as opposed to attempting a sacrifice bunt) was a blatant mistake. The Marlins failed to score in the inning.

The red-hot Harris then put the game out of reach. In relief of Gusto, George Soriano was inexplicably called upon to keep the deficit manageable, and he predictably stumbled. Harris was gifted a center-cut 0-2 fastball and drilled a three-run homer that made it 7-1 Atlanta.

Soriano has surrendered seven long balls in 21 ⅓ innings pitched for the Fish in 2025. Signed by Miami a decade ago as an international free agent, it's getting very difficult to imagine his tenure lasting beyond this year.

Newly promoted from Jacksonville—filling in for Anthony Bender, who's been placed on the paternity list—righty Tyler Zuber made quick work of the Braves in the bottom of the eighth.

Cool milestone: first base umpire Jen Pawol became the first woman to ump an MLB regular season game. Here is a compilation of the plays she was responsible for calling.

Game 2 (MIA 6, ATL 8)

I was in disbelief watching the nightcap. Somehow, the game was scoreless through the first three innings despite extremely poor pitch execution from both Sandy Alcantara and Erick Fedde. They plainly "didn't have it."

Well, two innings later, there were nine runs on the board, the majority of those scored by the team that has nothing left to play for.

The Marlins seized a 4-0 advantage in the top of the fourth inning. Marcell Ozuna answered back with a majestic solo shot. Alcantara's lack of command was reminiscent of his rusty April/May self (he walked old friend Vidal Bruján twice). It took a fortuitous ground ball double play for him to escape the frame without yielding more damage.

Even with Bender unavailable, McCullough had four relatively trustworthy relievers—Ronny Henriquez, Tyler Phillips, Lake Bachar and Calvin Faucher—to navigate the rest of the game. It was irrational to expect Alcantara to suddenly "settle in" given the evidence in front of us.

Up 4-1, Alcantara led off the fifth inning by striking out light-hitting No. 9 hitter Nick Allen. Once the lineup flipped over, though, things collapsed in a hurry, and McCullough was too complacent.

Jurickson Profar single. Matt Olson walk. Drake Baldwin RBI single. Ozuna go-ahead, three-run homer.

Alcantara, to his credit, stopped the bleeding and kept the game at 5-4. Facing a Braves team that has repeatedly choked under similar circumstances this season, the door was still open to salvage a doubleheader split, even after the Marlins went down quietly in the top of the sixth. 

First man out of the 'pen to relieve Sandy? Not Henriquez...nor Phillips...nor Bachar...nor Faucher. 

Valente Bellozo, huh? McCullough got too cute, thinking that practically any right-hander would be able to put up a zero against the soft bottom of the Braves order. Instead, both Bruján and Luke Williams reached base safely, Allen bunted them over, and Olson and Baldwin delivered the all-important insurance runs to make it 8-4.

The Fish did indeed keep fighting, but it was too little, too late. Another awesome Jakob Marsee game (2-2, RBI, 2 BB, 3 SB) went to waste.

The Marlins are the first road team since the New York Mets (June 16-18) to lose a series at Truist Park.

It's entirely possible that the Marlins would've gone winless on Saturday even with a pinch-hitter for Myers, a shorter leash on Alcantara and more reliable arms used in place of Soriano and Bellozo. All McCullough can do is put his players in position to be successful. He disappointed in that regard this time.

The Marlins head into Sunday's series finale trailing the Mets by six games for the final NL wild-card spot. Cal Quantrill looks to shake off his awful performance from earlier in the week (4.1 IP, 7 ER vs. HOU). Left-hander Joey Wentz starts for the Braves. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET.