How Royals hitters halted Junk's hot streak with 'attacking' approach

MIAMI—Riding the momentum of a four-game winning streak that propelled them to within five games of .500 and six-and-a-half games out of an NL Wild Card spot, the Marlins turned to Janson Junk on Sunday to set the tone for a potential sweep of the Kansas City Royals. 

Alas, this did not come to pass.

Junk entered the afternoon as the owner of a 0.95 ERA over three July starts. He seemed to be continuing that trend when quieting Kansas City for the first three innings.

Then, along came the fourth. 

Following a leadoff pop-up by Jonathan India, the heart of the Royals lineup tagged Junk for three runs on four hits, three of which went for extra bases. The sequence was punctuated by a two-run double courtesy of Jac Caglianone, the recently graduated top prospect who entered play with a .466 OPS (324th among 325 MLB hitters with at least 140 plate appearances).

“They were taking early swings," Junk said postgame when assessing the rally. "I think it was four first-pitch swings—they were attacking. I think it was just a lot of fastballs that just missed too much of the plate”.

The Royals weren't done yet, putting up another three-spot on Junk in the top of the fifth in their 7-4 defeat over Miami. With the loss—their first since July 11—the Marlins fell to six games under .500 at 46-52. 

Generating only three whiffs against 37 swings, the aforementioned Junk allowed 11 hard-hit balls in the loss. 

Kris Bubic, a first-time All-Star and inarguably the Royals' most valuable pitcher this season, continued his run of dominance, stymying the Marlins' bats over five scoreless innings on just 66 pitches. Bubic ranks third in MLB this season with six outings of at least five innings pitched and no runs allowed.

The Royals would tack on another run in the eighth when Salvador Pérez hit his second home run in as many days, tying Bobby Abreu for fifth-most among Venezuelan-born players at 288 in the process.

Determined to avoid being shut out for the eighth time here in 2025, the Marlins would not go quietly, putting up a four-spot in the bottom of the ninth in an inning that saw the team bring nine men to the plate. In the comeback effort, Agustín Ramírez took sole possession of first place among rookies with his 21st double of the season. 

Miami's 44 ninth-inning runs are tied with the Dodgers for the fifth-most in baseball.

Pinch-hitter Liam Hicks came to the plate representing the tying run, but flew out to left field.

Looking Ahead 

The Marlins will face another challenge Monday when they open up a three-game series against the playoff-hopeful San Diego Padres. Eury Pérez (3-2, 3.18 ERA) will aim to keep up the momentum of what has been a brilliant start to July, allowing just one run over 18 innings pitched. 

First pitch from loanDepot park is slated for 6:40 EST.