Kevin Barral

Following the final game of his excellent 2026 season, Marlins outfielder Griffin Conine speaks with the media about overcoming his mid-year injury, what the club needs to do to reach the playoffs moving forward and more. View full video

Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara speaks with the media following Sunday's win about embracing pitching out of the bullpen in between starts and wanting to stay in Miami for the 2027 season and beyond. View full video

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough speaks exclusively with Fish On First about his second season in Miami, becoming more relaxed in his position, players he's most excited to see make a leap in 2027 and more. View full video

MIAMI, FL - The 2026 season saw Eury Pérez enter uncharted territory and Friday night was his crowning achievement. Pérez became the seventh pitcher in Miami Marlins history to toss a one-hit shutout in what was the first complete game of his major league career. "Felt like through three or four innings that he was going to get deep into this one," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. He was able to really get anything over the plate, full mix was there and the efficiency at which he was getting outs. He was throwing strikes for a lot of pitches and they were aggressive. He was able to create a lot of soft contact and get some early outs. He was getting into the seventh/eighth inning averaging around 11 pitches an inning. It's hard to be much better than that...Really proud and happy for Eury to finish up this way this year." Pérez held the Atlanta Braves hitless through the first five innings before Sean Murphy singled to begin the sixth. The "Baby Goat" went on to retire 11 straight to finish the game. Going into this start, the message for Pérez was simple: "Go out there and have fun." Just three days earlier, Pérez made his first career relief appearance in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs and struck out the side. That moment not only stayed in his mind, but carried momentum into his final start of the season. "What Daniel (Moskos) told me was that it was a lot of fun just to see me as a reliever over in Chicago, and to do the same thing here, which is just have fun," Pérez said via interpreter. "Even though there were some difficulties this month, I'm very happy that this was a good outing to end the season." The right-handed flamethrower recorded eight strikeouts, his highest total in what has been a rocky month of September. Pérez generated 17 whiffs and of his eight strikeouts, seven of them were swinging strikeouts. Despite throwing his sweeper just 13% of the time, it generated three strikeouts, the most of any pitch. His fastball was averaging 98.0 mph and topped out at 99.3 mph. Pérez finished the 2026 season posting a 3.91 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 9.62 K/9 and 3.85 BB/9, setting career-bests with 30 appearances and 159 innings pitched. "Looking at the ERA, I don't know if it tells the full picture of how Eury has grown as a as a starting pitcher," McCullough said. "We've seen a stretch where Eury was arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and I think one that we're very confident that he's capable of putting together stretches like that, a complete season of really high-end performance. We've seen Eury struggle to find the strike zone with enough consistency, controlling the run game and through all of that, Eury has learned a lot about himself, too. How to better manage himself within outings, limit damage, stay in the moment and put behind what has happened and still go out there and finish an outing strong." Going into 2027, he is eligible for arbitration for the first time. The Marlins and Pérez's representatives at CAA Sports previously had contract extension conversations, but those didn't go anywhere. Getting a deal done this coming offseason will prove to be even more difficult for the team now that the 23-year-old has a mostly healthy MLB season under his belt. Catching Pérez's complete game was rookie Joe Mack, who also hit the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. It marked his 14th home run of the season to break up the scoreless tie. Mack is now slashing .234/.282/.403/.685 with 52 RBI and an 86 wRC+ in 105 games played, production that should earn him consideration for down-ballot National League Rookie of the Year votes. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Heriberto Hernandez extended the lead with an RBI single and Griffin Conine hit his 18th home run of the season, making it 3-0. For Conine, he now has an .813 OPS in the month of September. "Joe has certainly shown what he's been able to bring to our team defensively this season," McCullough said. "Big home run here tonight, and I think we all know there is a lot of room left in Joe's offensive game to get better, and I think that's the exciting part with Joe. He should be at the top of the class as catchers as far as being able to do things on both sides of the ball, and that's going to require him to continue to make some adjustments and improve on the offensive side." The Marlins now have 79 victories, matching their total from 2025. They will go for their first series win against the Braves this season on Saturday with Jack Ralston starting what should be a bullpen game. First pitch is at 4:10 pm. View full article

With a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins, the Chicago Cubs have clinched a spot in the 2026 postseason while the Marlins dropped their 81st game of the season. In his final start of the 2026 season, Tyler Phillips went four shutout innings, allowing three hits, four walks and struck out two. Phillips capped off a month of September posting a 2.11 ERA, allowing five runs on 13 hits. However, the Marlins did not trust him to provide length—his most recent time completing the sixth inning was June 28 against the St. Louis Cardinals. After starting the season in the bullpen, a variety of injuries forced him to transition into the starting rotation. He went on to make 20 starts, posting a 4.00 ERA. Overall, he had a 3.34 ERA, 4.64 FIP, 7.18 K/9 and 3.98 BB/9 in a career-high 126 ⅔ innings pitched. Phillips will likely transition back into the bullpen for the 2027 season if All-Star Max Meyer and promising rotation candidates like Robby Snelling and Thomas White recover from their respective injuries. The Marlins' lone source of runs came in the top of the third inning, a Jakob Marsee RBI single that gave the Fish an early 1-0 lead. Marsee is now slashing .230/.347/.356/.703 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, 23 stolen bases and has reached a 100 wRC+ (exactly league average). After Phillips came out of the game, the Marlins deployed Jack Ralston out of the bullpen. He allowed a game-tying home run to Seiya Suzuki, his 25th home run of the season. In the ensuing inning, Nico Hoerner gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead on an RBI single off Ralston. Josh Ekness threw 1 ⅔ scoreless innings in the series finale. It was a notable series for Ekness, who on Tuesday recorded the second-fastest strikeout pitch by a Marlin under pitch tracking, behind only Tyron Guerrero at 102.5 mph. He now has a 3.34 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 6.98 K/9 and 6.07 BB/9 in 29 big league appearances. This caps off a 33-48 record on the road for the Fish. It marks their worst record on the road since the 2024 team that went 32-49. There was a big drop-off in the effectiveness of their pitching staff away from home this season, allowing 4.81 runs per game compared to 3.96 runs per game at loanDepot park. The Marlins will wrap up the 2026 season by hosting the Atlanta Braves with Eury Pérez taking the mound in Friday's series opener at 7:10 pm. View full article

This podcast is brought to you by Jet Ski Rentals of South Florida—offering Miami’s best jet ski and boat adventures. With six jet ski locations and over 120 boats, there’s something for every style and every budget. They’re reservation-based only. To inquire, call 305-990-2192, or check them out online at SFJetskiRentals.com. Make sure to use promo code FISHONFIRST to receive 10% off your next booking. The win-loss record looks almost identical to 2025, but this year's Miami Marlins were a much different team. AJ Ramos, Kevin Barral and Ely Sussman discuss how they feel the 2026 season went overall, whether Sandy Alcantara could stick around long term through the rest of his prime years and the urgency needed this weekend by the Fish to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. It's simple for the Marlins over their next three games: sweep the series or surrender. Just one head-to-head loss to the San Diego Padres would officially eliminate them from National League Wild Card contention. View full article

On Monday night, the San Diego Padres remained MLB's hottest team and defeated the Colorado Rockies, while Corbin Carroll walked off the Miami Marlins. Any combination of three more Padres wins or Marlins losses will officially eliminate Clayton McCullough's club from 2026 postseason contention. In the bottom of the ninth, the Marlins led 7-6 and deployed Pete Fairbanks. Only six pitches into his outing, Fairbanks walked off the mound for what may be the final time as a member of the Marlins organization with the recurrence of a nerve irritation issue. Entering the game for Fairbanks was rookie Jack Ralston. After getting the first out of the inning, Ralston surrendered a walk-off home run to Carroll on the fourth pitch of the at-bat. "It's gonna be tough for anyone," Clayton McCullough said postgame. "Jack came in and he got the out on the bunt, and then left something hanging offspeed that Corbin put a good swing on. Tough spot, but Jack came in there and went after him, and sometimes you lose." In this must-win game, Miami's second-half offensive stars, Jakob Marsee and Javier Sanoja, both homered and recorded multiple hits. Marsee, who in his first 98 games of the season posted a .600 OPS, has bounced back. Since July 24, Marsee is slashing .303/.409/.497/.906 with five home runs and 12 RBI. With the game tied at three apiece in the top of the fourth inning, Marsee hit his 10th home run of the season to retake the lead, 4-3. He now has a 96 wRC+ on the season. Marsee finished his night a double shy of the cycle. What has kept Marsee on the big league team through the course of the entire season is that he has gotten on base at a high clip (.342). He has also struck out just 20.5% of the time and is walking 12.7% of the time. Since that July 24 date, Marsee has only stolen three bases of the 22 total he has. Defensively, he has plus-8 outs above average in center field, contributing to his 1.8 fWAR overall. "Just seen him open up the entire field," McCullough said. "He's really done a great job of shooting some balls the other way and staying through the middle of the field. Still giving him a chance to have some coverage through the zone. He pulled the curveball for a homer today, so right now, his at-bat quality's been good all year. I think now, he's just opened up the entire field with his approach, and he's been collecting a lot of hits." As for Sanoja, he has been one of the best players in baseball since the All-Star break. He is slashing .285/.389/.462/.851 with five home runs and 12 RBI, graduating from utility player to impactful everyday player. Sanoja kicked things off in the top of the second, hitting his fifth triple of the season and driving in two runs. A Joe Mack sacrifice fly extended the lead, 3-0. In the fourth inning, Sanoja followed Marsee up with his ninth home run of the season, extending the Marlins lead to 5-3. Sanoja finished the night halfway to the cycle. Overall, Sanoja is slashing .293/.333/.454/.787 with nine home runs, 63 RBI and a 114 wRC+, which are all career-highs for the 24-year-old. He is striking out 8.0% of the time. Only former Marlin Luis Arraez has a lower K rate in the majors this season (min. 400 PA). "That's what we've seen this guy do for two years now," McCullough said. "He just he makes plays wherever you put him in the field. Comes up with big hits and at-bats for us. He's really playing at an extremely high level right now." Xavier Edwards, who recently came off the injured list, also recorded multiple hits. In the top of the seventh inning, Edwards knocked in an RBI single to extend the Marlins lead, 7-4. That run looked as if it would be crucial when in the ensuing inning, Tyler Zuber surrendered a two-run homer to Diamondbacks center fielder Jordan Lawlar, which made it a 7-6 game. The Marlins offense supported starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, who struggled on Monday night. He went five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits (one home run), walked two and struck out six. Alcantara has surrendered four or more runs in all of his September starts. "I think for Sandy to buckle down in the fifth and get the punch out on Arenado, get out of that with us still in the lead, I give him some credit for just kind of be able to move the ball forward, and outside of the Nootbaar home run, Sandy threw the ball very well," McCullough said. "Just had elongated couple of innings that got the pitch count up there, but I think as much credit to them for just being able to find some holes. Tonight, the batted ball luck wasn't really on his side." The Marlins will try to bounce back on Tuesday night with Janson Junk taking the mound at 9:40 pm. View full article