Marlins rookies crucial in nail-biter series win over rival Nationals

The Marlins have leaned heavily on rookies throughout the 2025 season and it was more of the same during their second road series win of the season. Liam Hicks and Eric Wagaman sparked the scoring on Saturday in what turned out to be a stressful 4-3 win over the division rival Washington Nationals.

"Yeah, that's a great win," said manager Clayton McCullough. “I think all things considered, the quick turnaround, how things transpired last night for our group to come back today, put together a really good team effort, hold on there at the end and get the first two games of this series. Really proud of our group how they showed up today."

Hicks, who was a Rule 5 Draft pick from the Detroit Tigers, leads all National League rookies with 25 RBI. He knocked in the Marlins first run of the game in the top of the third inning. Following the game, Hicks is now slashing .282/.361/.462/.823 with four home runs and 25 RBI.

Wagaman, who was the only position player that signed a free agent deal with the Marlins last winter, drove in the second run of the ballgame in the top of the sixth inning, giving the Fish a 2-1 lead. Wagaman, who the organization is high on, ranks second in RBI, first in hits, sixth in home runs and second in walks amongst National League rookies. He is slashing .252/.297/.667 with four home runs and 23 RBI.

"Baseball is tough," said Hicks. "I think you just got to go into every day as a new day and not try not to think about yesterday's results. Try and just treat it as a new day. Trust the coaching staff that they're going to see things you're not. I try not to dive in too hard into my own swing or anything like that because you're just going to dig yourself into a hole if you keep doing that."

Veteran Jesús Sánchez put hit his sixth home run of the season, giving the Marlins a strong 3-1 lead. That home run marked his 13ht multi-hit game of the season. He is now slashing .263/.338/.417/.755 with six home runs and 27 RBI this season. Assuming the Marlins decide to move on from Sánchez at the trade deadline, he will garner a nice return with his ability to play all three outfield spots, great power against right-handed pitching and club control that runs through 2027.

In total, the Marlins find themselves with six rookie position players and three pitchers on the current 26-man roster. For someone like Hicks, he thinks "it's huge" to have so many guys that are going through the same thing to learn from each other.

"I think it helps a lot that there's so many of us," said Hicks. "You're going to go through your ups and downs throughout a season, so it's really good to have guys that are going through the same thing and you can talk to and they're going to be supportive. So it's a really good group."

In what was a bullpen game for the Marlins, they used five pitchers, with Janson Junk leading the way, going 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits, no walks and struck out four. With the exception of Monday’s blowup appearance where he allowed five earned runs, Junk has been great, now lowering his season ERA to 2.78.

With an open spot in the Marlins rotation, they can continue going with a bullpen game and relying on someone like Junk, or just give him the opportunity to start games. The 29-year-old was working as a starter with Triple-A Jacksonville prior to his call-up.

"He's got a deep arsenal," said McCullough. "He's got a good fastball with the carry towards the top of the strike zone, which hitters have to respect. His ability to spin the ball in really any count. His secondary paired with the quality of his heater and the strike throwing ability to this point, each time Janson (Junk) has gone out, it's been incredibly efficient, which I think is a byproduct of how he's just in the zone so frequently early on."

There were thoughts to keep Junk in for the bottom of the ninth, but he was "getting close to a pitch count," so the Marlins went with Anthony Bender and later, Calvin Faucher to close things out.

The fourth run of the ballgame came on a fielding error from Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia, allowing Kyle Stowers to score and make it a 4-1 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Anthony Bender took the ball in attempt to earn his second save of 2025. Alex Call led the inning off with a double and later advanced to third on defensive indifference. Bender's wild pitch allowed Call to score, making it 4-2. Josh Bell worked a walk, Luis Garcia Jr. smacked a double to down the right field, moving Bell to third and Robert Hassell III reached first after Eric Wagaman dropped the ball, driving in a second run and making it a 4-3 game. After Keibert Ruiz grounded out and Amed Rosario flew out, the Marlins went with Calvin Faucher to face James Wood with the bases loaded. He flew out and the Marlins won the game.

With the win, the Marlins are now 27-41 on the season and will look to sweep an opponent for the first time in 2025 with Eury Pérez taking the mound for his second start of the season, but he will toe the rubber against Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore. First pitch is at 1:35 pm.