Wagaman's first career triple the difference in gritty Marlins win

Entering the eighth inning of the middle game between the equally struggling White Sox and Marlins, Miami's offense displayed essentially zero situational hitting ability all series long. A dreadful 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position carried on an ugly theme from the night before—the Marlins were 1-for-15 with RISP in game one—and it appeared another irksome loss was on the horizon.

Kyle Stowers finally got his team on the board with a game-tying solo shot the inning prior, but if Miami was going to take the lead, the middle of their order was going to need to come through. The opportunity presented itself to none other than the least clutch hitter in all of baseball.

Eric Wagaman entered Saturday with a -1.95 win probability added, the lowest amongst hitters in MLB. He had frequently faltered in late-game scenarios exactly like this, with runners on first and second, two outs and his team desperately needing a hit.

This time, Wagaman succeeded. Miami's left fielder roped an outside changeup past a fully extended Michael A. Taylor in center field all the way to the wall, plating Dane Myers and Nick Fortes before sliding into third for his first career triple. Six quick outs from Anthony Bender and Jesús Tinoco put a bow on a hard-fought, come-from-behind 3-1 victory for Clayton McCullough's ball club.

Wagaman's triple was only the ninth of his eight-year professional career. With the knock, the 27-year-old now holds ten RBI's on the season.

Miami was kept in the contest that late thanks to another solid effort from starter Edward Cabrera. For a second consecutive start, Cabrera worked five strong innings. He only allowed one earned run this time around, a long ball off the bat of Andrew Vaughn—his second in as many days. Cabrera also continued a theme of trimming down his walk totals, only allowing one free pass, mirroring his last appearance.

What Cabrera did do differently from his previous start was eliminate his four-seam fastball. Last Sunday against the Athletics, Cabrera threw his heater 12 times. On Saturday, it was not thrown once. No fastball meant heavy reliance on his changeup and sinker, with the two pitches amounting to 71% of the pitches the righty threw. Cabrera's season ERA now sits at 5.52, a number significantly lower than the 7.23 he owned just three starts ago.

Miami's #5 starter will have another major opportunity to continue his recent success, as he is lined up for another below-average offense in his next start in the form of a struggling Rays unit, which ranks 23rd league-wide in team OPS (.670).

Of Note

- Javier Sanoja put on one of the best performances of his young career with a team-leading two-hit night and an exceptional run-saving play at second base in the bottom half of the seventh.

- Before scoring on Wagaman's triple, Dane Myers stole second and got up awkwardly. Initially it looked like Myers simply got the wind knocked out of him, but Matt Mervis took his spot in the order in the ninth. It is something to monitor for Miami's center fielder who is enjoying a special start to his 2025 campaign. 

Up Next

Sunday's Mothers Day rubber match is set to feature Sandy Alcantara making his eighth start post-Tommy John surgery. In Alcantara's last outing against the Dodgers, he flashed his vintage stuff, mixed in with occasional bad location which Los Angeles made him pay for. Sean Burke takes the ball for Will Venable's club with a 4.35 ERA through seven starts and eight appearances. First pitch from the Southside is slated for 2:10.