Marlins bats dominate late to defeat Nats again despite shaky Quantrill

MIAMI—Marlins fans should be excited to get Connor Norby and Jesús Sánchez back from the IL in the coming days, but their offense continues to get the job done even without them. The bats came to Cal Quantrill's rescue on Sunday, combining for a season-high 14 hits against the Washington Nationals and moving back over the .500 mark with the win. 

Eric Wagaman had himself a career day with three hits and reaching base five total times with the help of two walks. He previously looked like a candidate to get sent down to the minors to make room for Norby and Sánchez, but all of a sudden, his season numbers look much more impressive. Manger Clayton McCullough said, "we have a ton of confidence in Wags. Coming into this year, this guy has always been a performer."

Matt Mervis rode the bench with a left-hander on the mound. "Whenever I'm not playing, just go up in the fourth or fifth [inning] into the cage, get moving just make sure my boys ready to go," Mervis said on his routine when not in the lineup. 

Mervis turned into one of the heroes of the game when his number was called in the seventh inning to face former Marlin Jorge López. His three-run home run to center field gave the Marlins much-needed breathing room, extending a 4-3 lead to 7-3.

Mervis this season currently has a slash line of .294/.342/.735 and five homers, which is tied for fourth in the NL. He is on his way to earning everyday reps at first base. 

Kyle Stowers also deserves a mention. He had a three-hit game, including a double in the eighth inning which kept extending the lead for Miami. Prior to the game, hitting coach Pedro Guerrero said, "Stowers stands out the most to me after having such a tough spring training and coming in....He comes in every day, he just trusts the process." The outfielder is currently hitting .314 and has solidified his place near the top of the Marlins lineup. 

Starter Cal Quantrill was a mixed bag on Sunday. Although he completed five innings and saw an increase in velocity on his sinker, the main negative was his lack of control, which led to five walks on the day. Of the 77 pitches he threw, 47 of them were in the first and fourth innings. 

"Obviously, it wasn't my best stuff," Quantrill said postgame. "I was having a hard time controlling kind of all the hard pitches. I think that we did a really good job of making the pitch we had to make. Unfortunately, I put us in a lot of situations that were maybe not advantageous." The Marlins defense turned three double plays behind him.

Journeyman catcher Rob Brantly started behind the plate, but Liam Hicks got his shot off the bench as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. Facing MacKenzie Gore, Hicks showed some clutch hitting to break the tie and give Miami the lead at the time.

"Man on third less than two outs, you're trying to get something up to the outfield," Hicks said about his approach. "He's got that really good slider, so trying to lay off anything down, trying to see it up, especially when the infield is in."

Miami took the weekend series vs. the Nats with a dominant offensive performance and will be back at loanDepot park Tuesday to start a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

My three stars of the night:

1: Eric Wagaman (3-3, 2 BB, 2B)

2: Kyle Stowers (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI)

3: Matt Mervis (1-2, pinch-hit HR, 3 RBI)