Weathers flirts with perfection, Fish win in extras

The last time a Marlins pitcher had a potential date with history involving the Detroit Tigers, the performance was accompanied by a feeble offense.

On the final day of the 2013 season, September 29, a 100-loss Marlins team rang in the offseason by celebrating Henderson Álvarez as he no-hit Detroit in a 1-0 Marlins win. Miami's lone run would come in the bottom of the ninth when an errant slider from reliever Luke Putkonen got away from then-Tigers catcher (and now-Marlins analyst) Alex Avila to allow Giancarlo Stanton to score the winning run, securing Álvarez's career crowning achievement. 

On Tuesday, 3,880 days later, another Marlins hurler—Ryan Weathers—found himself in an eerily similar predicament. 

Utilizing a pitch-to-contact approach, Weathers breezed early, needing just 56 pitches to complete the first 5 innings in what would see him go 15 up-15 down. 

Though a Wenceel Pérez single in the bottom of the sixth would end his bid at perfection, Weathers still found a way to make his own history, not only recording an out in the seventh inning for the first time in his career but finishing the seventh. And then, an encore; he started and completed the 8th. 

In his 8 shutout innings, Weathers would strike out 4 against just 3 hits allowed. Coming two pitches short of his career-high 99 (5/3/23 v. OAK), the left-hander also walked no one.

"It felt good to be in the zone, and the defense played great behind me," noted a smiling Weathers.

"He did amazing," manager Skip Schumaker said. "Best start of his career...He wants to prove so badly that he's a Major League quality starter."

That defense played perfectly into Weathers' aggressive approach Tuesday, fielding all 13 of the groundballs he induced. 

Weathers, who now owns the longest start by a Miami pitcher this season, has completed 6 or more innings four times this season. 

Unfortunately, for his and Marlins' sake, and just as Justin Verlander did that day in 2013, Reese Olson made it every bit the pitcher's duel, authoring 8 scoreless frames of his own, not walking a batter, and punching out 6. Despite being 0-4 on the season, Olson now owns a 2.08 ERA in 8 starts. 

Handing the ball of Tanner Scott in the bottom of the ninth, the left-hander pitched around a single and a walk to hold Detroit scoreless. Over his last 10 appearances dating back to April 16, Scott has not allowed an earned run, seeing his ERA dip from 4.15 to 2.15 over that stretch. 

Though not the sexiest of run-scoring plays, Miami would finally break through in the top of the 10th when a Jesús Sánchez force-out brought home inherited runner Bryan De La Cruz.

Making his second appearance in as many days and since returning from the injured list, A.J. Puk, resuming his role as a member of the Marlins bullpen, would retire the Tigers in order to secure the 1-0 Marlins victory. Puk netted his first save since July 8, 2023, in the process. 

Of Note

- With his 8 scoreless innings Tuesday, Ryan Weathers became the first Marlins' pitcher to do so since Sandy Alcantara on 8/1/2023. Alcantara owns 10 of the last 12 occurrences by Marlins starters dating back to 2019.

- Full-circle family history: Weathers' father and longtime big leaguer, David, completed 8 innings 3 different times in his career. His first time doing so came as a member of the then-Florida Marlins against the San Diego Padres on 9/6/93. Like his son, Weathers allowed just 3 hits in his 8 scoreless frames. Ryan would make his big league debut with San Diego during the 2020 postseason. 

Looking Ahead

The Marlins return to Comerica Wednesday as they'll look to secure their first road series victory this season. Trevor Rogers (0-6, 6.57) will look to avoid making it 10 consecutive winless starts as he squares off against Casey Mize (1-1. 3.58 ERA). 

First pitch is slated for 1:10 EST.