Fightin' Fish break through late, capture seventh straight

Since defeating the Braves last Sunday, no team in Major League Baseball has been as successful as the Marlins. Fast-forward a week and the keys to victory remained the same: solid starting pitching and late-inning heroics. 

Trailing 2-1 in the top of the eighth, Otto Lopez stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and a nine-game hitting streak on the line. The Marlins collectively hadn't recorded a hit with runners in scoring position since way back in the first inning.

Lopez understood the assignment, lining a go-ahead two-run single off Jalen Beeks into left field, scoring Dane Myers and Liam Hicks. Kyle Stowers, who struck out against Beeks in a similar situation on Saturday, would tack on one pitch later with a three-run double of his own to extend the Miami lead to four.

After Calvin Faucher allowed a pair of runs in the bottom half, Ronny Henriquez worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to seal the Marlins' seventh consecutive win, a 6-4 triumph over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Now 37-45, the Marlins clinched their first 6-0 road trip in franchise history, and their first seven-game winning streak since April 23-30, 2022. They finished June with a record of 14-12 despite spending most of the month away from Miami.

"We're getting contributions everywhere," said manager Clayton McCullough in reference to the recent hot stretch. 

The aforementioned Lopez has hit .415 over his current career-best 10-game hitting streak. Lake Bachar, who worked two perfect frames on Sunday, pitched to a 0.68 ERA in June. Stowers has collected eight RBI over his last four games, reasserting himself as arguably the club's best all-around hitter.

Setting the Tone

Cal Quantrill gave the Marlins five strong innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out five, which has more or less been the norm for the veteran right-hander this season. Quantrill owns a 3.91 ERA since the beginning of May, allowing three or fewer runs in each of his last 10 starts.

Of the few blemishes against Quantrill on Sunday came when Ketel Marte (1.005 OPS) blasted a solo home run in the third to give Arizona the lead.

"We needed what we got out of Cal today," noted McCullough. 

Close Call(s)

A minor controversy went against the Marlins in the seventh. Javier Sanoja, after drawing a leadoff walk, was called out on an attempted steal of second. The aforementioned Marte appeared to lift Sanoja's off the bag. The Marlins challenged the play, but the original call stood.

Lopez and Heriberto Hernandez—Wednesday's heroes against the Giants—proceed to draw walks before a Kyle Stowers strikeout and Eric Wagaman popout put the breaks on the Miami rally.

Tensions nearly boiled over in the top of the ninth. The benches cleared after Jesús Sánchez exchanged some words with catcher Jose Herrera following a swing that appeared to make contact with Herrera's mitt. 

Looking Ahead

The Marlins will head home for a scheduled off day on Monday before opening up the month of July with a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins. Edward Cabrera (2-2, 3.78 ERA) will square off against one of the American League's most formidable arms in Joe Ryan (8-3, 2.86 ERA), the latter making his first career start versus Miami.

In his lone start against the Twins back on September 25 last season, Cabrera worked five innings of one-run ball in an eventual 8-3 loss. 

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