Ely Sussman

That early-September Miami Marlins win streak sure looks like an anomaly. For a fourth straight game on Thursday, the deep Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff contained Miami's offense, which ranks among MLB's least productive since the All-Star break. The 4-2 loss drops the Fish to a 75-72 record overall. "Today was a well-pitched game," manager Skip Schumaker said. "We just didn't score enough, and I think that was really the story of all four games." Luis Arraez led off the getaway day matinee with a bang, coming up just a few feet shy of a solo home run to center field. He had to settle for a double off the wall, but eventually came around to score on Jesús Sánchez's sacrifice fly. Adrian Houser made relatively easy work of the Fish over the next three innings, but they retook a 2-1 lead after manufacturing another run in the top of the fifth. Xavier Edwards bunted back to Houser and beat it out for a single. Dane Myers advanced Edwards to second on a grounder and Jacob Stallings brought him home with a single through the left side of the infield. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/abd4b83e-05b5-4255-8f18-70ca8435e523.mp4Eury starts fast, then fadesWith several veteran regulars absent from the Brewers lineup and the American Family Field batter's box enshrouded in shadows, Eury Pérez was poised to have an effective outing. His first time through the order, the 20-year-old right-hander compiled five strikeouts (all swinging) without yielding a run, leaning heavily on elevated fastballs. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/b0415eaa-2b50-49bb-b77c-4bef73eded31.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/b9b0c6ed-2e1d-4642-97a0-d9cdfee3bcc8.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/7f469405-3dba-4691-98ad-cd1921af3623.mp4But after that, the Brewers went 4-for-8 at the plate against Pérez. Willson Contreras scored Milwaukee's first run. He led off the fourth inning with a double and crossed home on Rowdy Tellez's sac fly. In between, Willy Adames lifted a flyball to left field, which had no business being a productive out. However, Bryan De La Cruz nonchalantly turned his back to Contreras and the young catcher took advantage. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/207795e2-17c3-409b-b8db-fab0f710afb6.mp4Pérez didn't complete the fifth, once again hindered somewhat by the defense behind him. Andruw Monasterio reached on a leadoff single. He advanced 90 feet on Brice Turang's sacrifice bunt, even though Jake Burger seemingly had time to get Monasterio at second. Monasterio advanced again during the next plate appearance when Stallings couldn't handle a slider in the dirt. Tyrone Taylor tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI double. With two outs in the inning, the Brewers went ahead for good. Taylor was initially called out at home plate attempting to score on Sal Frelick's single—the throw from Jesús Sánchez beat him easily. Upon further review, unfortunately, by positioning himself too far behind the plate when receiving the throw, Stallings left Taylor enough room to evade his tag. Pérez's final line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 85 pitches/56 strikes The Brewers tacked on a crucial insurance run in the seventh. Arraez cut in front of Edwards to field a grounder, leaving first base unoccupied and resulting in an infield single. Tyrone Taylor made it 4-2 with another RBI double. In relief of Houser, Elvis Peguero, Abner Uribe, Joel Payamps and Devin Williams held Miami scoreless from the sixth inning onward. Additional InfoIt took only 84 innings for Pérez to reach 100 career strikeouts. He's the fifth Marlins pitcher to reach that milestone this season. Decent chance that Tanner Scott (93 K) becomes the sixth before year's end.After exiting Wednesday's game early, Jazz Chisholm Jr. sat out the series finale with right knee discomfort. There will be another update about his status prior to Friday's game, per Skip Schumaker.Called up on Tuesday, Josh Simpson still hasn't made his major league debut.Christian Yelich was dealing with back soreness throughout this series and did not appear in any of the four games. Convenient timing for the Marlins, though they failed to capitalize on it. The Marlins and Brewers will meet again at LoanDepot Park from September 22-24. Yelich figures to be ready for game action by then. Any chance that the Marlins have of catching Milwaukee and dragging them into the muck of the National League Wild Card race hinges on them sweeping that series.Beginning on Friday, the Marlins will host the Atlanta Braves for a three-game series. Fresh off clinching their sixth straight NL East division title, the Braves have won nine of 10 their head-to-head meetings with the Fish this season. Johnny Cueto and Bryce Elder are probable starters for the series opener. Cueto's first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET. Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins

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Wednesday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/marlins-brewers-9-13-23/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-09/13/65692454-acbd155f-e1a919a2-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Wednesday's Marlins MiLB Notes: No extra-base hits for Jacksonville in their 2-1 loss. RHP Ike Buxton (Pensacola) tossed four scoreless innings in his Double-A debut and finished the minor league regular season with a 2.45 earned run average in 77 innings pitched across three levels. C Will Banfield hit his 23rd home run.Braxton Garrett racked up seven strikeouts, his most in a start since June 22, and the Marlins defense turned three double plays. Tanner Scott hasn't allowed any earned runs in his last 16 appearances.Sandy Alcantara began a throwing progression and feels pain-free, but the Marlins are going to be very careful with their workhorse after an MRI revealed a sprain to his UCL.https://fishonfirst.com/news/sandy-alcantara-ucl-sprain-injury/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-09/13/86b4063f-71546ef0-48b7331d-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Principal owner Bruce Sherman still won't say whether he's retaining Kim Ng as general manager beyond this season, per Craig Mish and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. They also report that Jorge Soler (right oblique strain) is "hopeful he can return in the final week of the season."NL Wild Card race updates: the Giants and Reds won, while the Cubs, Diamondbacks and Phillies lost. The Marlins are a half-game back of the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, the Nationals announced a multi-year extension for Mike Rizzo to continue leading their baseball operations department. Max Scherzer (right teres major muscle strain) will miss the rest of the regular season and likely the entire postseason as well, assuming the Rangers even make it there without him. Scherzer's 3.77 ERA was his worst for a single season since 2011 and his 4.33 FIP was worse than ever. The Braves clinched their sixth consecutive NL East title. Five Astros pitchers took a combined no-hit bid into the ninth inning before the Athletics spoiled it.The Marlins have a 45.9% chance to win their series finale against the Brewers, per FanGraphs. Triple-A Jacksonville (7:05 p.m. ET) and Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET) are at home. Single-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m. ET) is the nominal road team for Game 2 of their best-of-three Florida State League playoff series.According to Pensacola Blue Wahoos writer Bill Vilona, the plan for Sixto Sánchez is to "pitch again in the near future and be able to go an extra inning or two." Sánchez looked extremely rusty over the course of 18 pitches on Tuesday in his 2023 MiLB debut.Best of luck to Melissa Hampton, who has left the Marlins organization after seven seasons. She had spent the last two years as the athletic trainer for Double-A Pensacola.Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

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Tuesday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/marlins-brewers-9-12-23/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-09/12/f836ebc2-171610ee-dec1e35e-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Tuesday's Marlins MiLB Notes: 1B Troy Johnston (Jacksonville) recorded his 115th RBI of the season. Appearing in his first professional baseball game in years, Sixto Sánchez (Pensacola) completed a scoreless inning on 18 pitches, though the quality of his stuff was greatly diminished as feared. His fastball velocity peaked at 88 mph. INF Cody Morissette homered in the bottom of the ninth to extend the game. The Blue Wahoos ultimately lost in extras. Jupiter took a 1-0 lead in the first round of the Florida State League playoffs. RHP Noble Meyer was excellent (3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 55 pitches/38 strikes), inducing a ton of grounders.https://fishonfirst.com/news/sixto-sanchez-makes-first-start-since-2021/ The Marlins didn't record any hits after the second inning, Jake Burger had a hat trick and is now in a 3-for-24 mini-slump. Edward Cabrera's outing was okay overall, but he walked four of the first five batters he faced. He owns MLB's highest walk rate among pitchers with a minimum of 80 innings in 2023.LHP Josh Simpson replaced Daniel Castano in the bullpen. Simpson has an eye-popping 35.5% strikeout rate during his minor league career, including 37.9% with Jacksonville this season. He leans heavily on his curveball (54% usage), but also features a mid-90s fastball and occasional changeup. He is on the verge of becoming the sixth member of the 2019 Marlins draft class to play in the majors.NL Wild Card race updates: the Reds won, while the Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants and Phillies lost. The Marlins are 1.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, the Mets have hired David Stearns to be their new president of baseball operations. Stearns previously led baseball ops for the Brewers, turning them into perennial postseason contenders. The Mets had been not-so-quietly pursuing him for the past several years. Freddie Freeman celebrated his birthday by going 4-for-5 and raising his batting average to .339. He's within single-digit points of Luis Arraez (.348). Right-hander Kyle Hurt, who the Marlins sent to the Dodgers as part of the 2021 Dylan Floro trade, threw two scoreless innings in his major league debut. The Royals blew a 9-0 lead to the White Sox, but eventually beat them, 11-10.The Marlins have a 38.5% chance to win their next game against the Brewers, per FanGraphs. Triple-A Jacksonville (7:05 p.m. ET) and Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET) are at home.We have begun posting for notable Marlins prospects. Up first: INF Yiddi Cappe. Subscribe to the Fish On First YouTube channel!Our partners at FOCO have a new limited-edition Ichiro Suzuki bobblehead available for pre-order commemorating his 3,000th MLB hit, which he recorded with the Marlins in 2016. Shop here.Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

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Enjoy top plays from Miami Marlins infielder Yiddi Cappe! Cappe spent his age-20 season with the High-A Beloit Sky Carp. In 123 games played, he slashed .220/.250/.308 (55 wRC+) with 5 HR and 18 SB. His main defensive position was second base, but he also played some shortstop. This was Cappe's third minor league campaign. The Marlins signed the Cuban native as an international free agent in 2021. He earned 2022 Marlins Minor League Player of the Year honors for his FCL/Single-A performance. After struggling for much of 2023, he's highly likely to repeat the High-A level next year. Where would you rank Cappe among the top prospects in the Marlins organization?

Monday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/marlins-brewers-9-11-23/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-09/11/a8927ad2-9d4cd124-a619a321-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Monday's Marlins MiLB notes: Congrats to RHP Nigel Belgrave (Jupiter) on being named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. Three different Marlins prospects received weekly awards over the course of the FSL regular season (all pitchers).The 12-0 loss to the Brewers on Monday matched the Marlins' largest margin of defeat this season. As we have noted repeatedly, this offense loves to beat up on opposing bullpens. Well, Brandon Woodruff denied them any chance of continuing that trend by going the distance himself. Jesús Luzardo allowed 14 baserunners, the highest single-game total of his career.For the first time in 901 days, Sixto Sánchez is expected to take the mound in an official professional baseball game when he throws one inning (or up to 20 pitches) for Double-A Pensacola tonight. I'll be watching live and putting together an article with my observations, but to be crystal clear, there is no possibility of Sánchez contributing in the majors during this season or postseason—this is all about evaluating whether he's worth holding on the 40-man roster throughout the winter.https://fishonfirst.com/news/tracking-miami-marlins-injury-rehab-updates/NL Wild Card race updates: the Cubs, Diamondbacks and Giants won, while the Phillies split their doubleheader. The Marlins lost ground on everybody and now sit 1.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, Matt Olson reached 50 home runs. He's just two shy of surpassing Andruw Jones to set a new Braves single-season record. Julio Rodriguez completed a 30/30 season. The Yankees placed Jasson Dominguez on the injured list with a right UCL tear which will require Tommy John surgery, likely delaying the start of his 2024 campaign. The latest episode covered key Marlins vs. Brewers matchup details, set expectations for Sixto's return and more. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/The Marlins have a 39.9% chance to win their next game against the Brewers, per FanGraphs. Triple-A Jacksonville (7:05 p.m. ET), Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET) and Single-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m. ET) are all at home. Edward Cabrera will again serve as Miami's bulk guy out of the bullpen after doing so effectively against the Dodgers last week. Top prospect Noble Meyer is starting the first game of Jupiter's playoff run.This week, we'll begin posting for notable Marlins prospects. Subscribe to the Fish On First YouTube channel!On this day 20 years ago, Juan Pierre’s walk-off single capped a Marlins comeback against the Braves. https://fishonfirst.com/history/marlins-juan-pierre-walk-off-single-2003/Happy birthday to Luis Castillo (48) and to Marlins prospects Franklin Sánchez (23) and Justin Storm (22). A 2003 World Series champion, Castillo is the fourth-most valuable player in Marlins history, according to both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference. He still holds the all-time franchise records for career games played, hits, stolen bases and numerous other counting stats. Acquired via trade from the Mets last offseason, Sánchez struggled with his control in 2023. The tall right-hander posted a 6.90 ERA and 6.97 FIP in his 30.0 IP with High-A Beloit, including 45 BB+HBP. Storm was Miami's seventh-round pick in this year's MLB Draft.Photo by Adam Glanzman/MLB Photos

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Sunday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/marlins-phillies-9-10-23/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-09/10/d3fcd8f8-da799707-2e008128-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes https://open.spotify.com/episode/0IfSD7giuqrBhDV6rCPrqy?si=AeDgn-9hQQmcpg_1VxIJ2A Sunday's Marlins MiLB Notes: It was an ugly bullpen day for Jacksonville, particularly for Archie Bradley (1.0 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR). C/DH Paul McIntosh (Pensacola) homered for the third time in his last five games. OF Jake Thompson is slashing .300/.389/.533 in eight games since being promoted to Double-A. Every starting position player recorded at least one hit in Beloit's season-ending victory. Jupiter finished its regular season at 70-62. Scoreless start from RHP Juan De La Cruz (4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K) and a 4-for-5 effort from 1B Brock Vradenburg.The Marlins earned their 30th one-run win of the season. A couple players who had been in severe slumps, Yuli Gurriel and Nick Fortes, combined to drive in the club's first three runs. Tanner Scott nailed down a five-out save and now boasts the highest win probability added among all MLB relievers. And they did it without Luis Arraez, who took his first full game off since June 18.For the fourth time this season, Devin Smeltzer was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and outrighted to Jacksonville. The Marlins 40-man roster is currently full following the selection of Daniel Castano.Listen back to Sunday's State of the Fish Twitter Space hosted by Grant Kiefer. It's also available on the Fish On First podcast feed.NL Wild Card race updates: the Cubs, Giants and Reds won, while the Brewers, Diamondbacks and Phillies lost. The Marlins are a half-game back of the third Wild Card spot and clinched the tiebreaker over the Phillies by virtue of winning their season series against them.https://fishonfirst.com/analysis/2023-nl-wild-card-tiebreakers/Elsewhere around the majors, Corbin Burnes and the Brewers bullpen combined to hold the Yankees hitless through 10 innings, but their offense couldn't score themselves until the 11th. The Yankees eventually won in the 13th. Pablo López set a career high with 14 strikeouts, though the Twins were held scoreless and López had to settle for a no-decision. The Royals became the first MLB team this season to reach 100 losses. They're on track to finish with their worst record in franchise history.We’ve got a new episode of Fish On First LIVE streaming tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET on /Twitch/Twitter. Super Subscribers, submit your series predictions before first pitch. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/The Marlins have a 40.9% chance to win their series opener against the Brewers, per FanGraphs. Something to monitor: Christian Yelich missed each of Milwaukee's last two games due to back issues.Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald writes about the importance of Arraez to the Marlins offense and clubhouse.On this day 10 years ago, José Fernández wrapped up his rookie season with an excellent start on the mound and an electrifying home run as a hitter.https://fishonfirst.com/history/jose-fernandez-marlins-home-run-2013/Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images