Kevin Barral

Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara speaks with the media at loanDepot park after earning a win against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. After struggling throughout April and May, Alcantara has posted a 2.74 ERA in the month of June. View full video

MIAMI, FL—Thanks to a Sandy Alcantara quality start and Kyle Stowers snapping a long homerless streak, the Miami Marlins will head to San Francisco on a happy flight. They defeated the Atlanta Braves in Sunday's rubber game by a final score of 5-3. Alcantara, who made his 15th start of the season, gave the Marlins six innings of work, allowing three runs on six hits, two walks and striking out four. In his last four starts, Miami's 2022 Cy Young Award winner holds a 2.73 ERA. Alcantara's slider was his most-used pitch, generating three whiffs and in two of his four strikeout pitches. His sinker averaged 97.1 mph and topped out at 99.0 mph, generating two whiffs. "They (the Braves) struggle with breaking balls," said Alcantara. "I saw Eury (Pérez)'s start yesterday, so a lot of breaking balls and that's where I took a couple things from those first two games. Today I was executing my breaking balls, throwing a lot of cutters with fastball combination was great today." Similar to his last outing against the Phillies, Braves hitters made Alcantara work, fouling off 25 pitches and posting a low 58% first-pitch strike rate. In the top of the first inning, Alcantara surrendered a first-pitch double to Marlins killer Ronald Acuña Jr. He was driven in by third baseman Austin Riley, giving the Braves an early 1-0 lead. In the top of the third, catcher Drake Baldwin drove in Acuña, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead. Alex Verdugo grounded into a force out that allowed the Braves third run of the ballgame to score. "He's pitching closer to what everyone expected coming into the season," said manager Clayton McCullough following the game. "It was going to happen. He's on a good run now. He used all his pitches really well. To lefties, the ability to throw that cutter, throw the slider, harder breaking balls to complement the fastball/changeup helped him." For the first time since May 14 Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers hit a home run, taking Braves starter Bryce Elder deep in the bottom of the second inning, tying the game at one apiece. It marked Stowers' 11th home run of the season, tying him for the team lead with Agustín Ramírez. "I'm sure he probably felt great running the bases," said McCullough, who was coincidentally doing an in-game interview with FanDuel Sports Network Florida while Stowers was at the plate. Otto Lopez notched his 11th multi-hit game of the season. In the third inning, Lopez hit a 102.5 mph RBI single, driving in Xavier Edwards and tying the game at two. In the fifth inning, Lopez put the Marlins ahead, 3-2. Dane Myers gave the Marlins an insurance run, making it a 4-2 game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Xavier Edwards drove in Nick Fortes on an RBI single. It marked his 19th multi-hit game and 16th RBI of the season. He also stole his 14th base of the season in the bottom of the third. With the win, the Marlins move to 31-45 on the season and are an even 12-12 against National League East opponents. For the first time since September 15-17, 2023, they won a series over the Braves—Atlanta had beaten them in three of their last five series against each other and split the other two. The Marlins will head to San Francisco to kick off a three-game set against the Giants, but first have a rare Monday off-day. Cal Quantrill will take the mound for the Marlins on Tuesday. First pitch is at 9:45 pm. View full article

Miami Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera speaks with the media at loanDepot park after taking a no-decision in Thursday's start against the Philadelphia Phillies. Pitching one of the best games of his MLB career, Cabrera was removed with a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning. The Marlins lost, 2-1. View full video

MIAMI, FL—The Miami Marlins are the only team in baseball that has not had a starting pitcher complete seven innings of work this season. That remained true on Thursday night as manager Clayton McCullough took the ball away from Edward Cabrera with one out in the top of the seventh inning, only 82 pitches into a scoreless outing. Everything went downhill after the that and the Marlins went on to lose by a final score of 2-1. Cabrera went 6 ⅓ innings allowing two hits, walking three and striking out five. He is only the second Marlins starting pitcher this season to record an out in the seventh inning. He joined Max Meyer, who did so on May 9 against the Chicago White Sox. "I wanted to stay, but the manager makes the decisions," Cabrera said postgame via an interpreter. "He's the boss, so you gotta respect that." After taking Cabrera out, McCullough summoned lefty Cade Gibson from the bullpen. With Alec Bohm on first, he surrendered a base hit to Max Kepler to put runners on the corners, then threw a wild pitch moving Kepler to second. Otto Kemp was hit by a pitch to load the bases and a Bryson Stott fielder's choice tied the game at one apiece (the run was charged to Cabrera). "Cade's been great for us and with Kepler coming back up there at that particular time in the game, Kepler's third time coming up, just liked that matchup there to get Cade in the game and have him and a run of hitters to give him the best chance to get us out of that particular inning," said manager Clayton McCullough. "Thought that Eddie certainly threw the ball terrifically to that point and I liked Cade coming in there with Kepler hitting." Although Gibson had the platoon advantage against Kepler, Cabrera has posted reverse splits in 2025, performing better against lefties than righties in terms of strikeout rate and OPS allowed. In the top of the eighth inning, Kyle Schwarber took Anthony Bender deep for his 23rd home run of the season, giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Cabrera generated 14 whiffs, six with the curveball and five with the slider. He went sinker-heavy, with that pitch averaging 97.5 mph and topping out at 98.9 mph. The changeup, which has been his most-used pitch this season, was only thrown 12% of the time. "I think he did a good job taking some shots in, which opened up breaking balls away, kept the ball off the barrel as far he was," said McCullough. "Other than a couple walks on some of the lefties, some side misses, he was competitive in close pitches. Looking at Edward as we continue to go through this season, just another really encouraging step." Cabrera was given some run support in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to a Nick Fortes RBI infield single. Going into Thursday's game, Fortes was sporting a .919 OPS in the month of June. That was all the Marlins were able to get against Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez, who gave his team eight innings of work, striking out four. "It's the same thing as Cabbie—when a guy's got his good stuff, it makes for tough at-bats," said Fortes postgame. "You just have to compete and try to move the ball forward." With the loss, the Marlins fall to 29-44 on the season and dropped three out of four to the Phillies. Next, they will welcome the Atlanta Braves to town for a three-game set. Janson Junk will take the mound for his first start of the season. For the Braves, Didier Fuentes, a 20-year-old righty who is the Braves number ten prospect according to MLB Pipeline, will make his Major League debut. View full article

Miami Marlins right-hander Adam Mazur speaks with the media at loanDepot park after starting Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Mazur allowed all four of his runs in the fourth inning and took the loss. View full video

MIAMI, FL—Another trade acquisition from the 2024 deadline joined the Marlins ahead of game three of a four-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies. Adam Mazur, who was one of four players acquired from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing, made his Marlins debut as a spot starter. While there were positives from his performance, Mazur allowed the Phillies to take control with a fourth-inning rally as the Fish fell by a final score of 4-2. Mazur gave the Marlins 5 ⅔ innings of work, allowing four runs on four hits (one home run) and four walks, also striking out five. He threw 97 pitches (59 for strikes). In the top of the fourth inning, Mazur surrendered an RBI single to former Marlin J.T. Realmuto, and with runners on second and third, second baseman Bryson Stott took Mazur deep for his fifth home run of the season, giving the Phillies a 4-0 lead. Outside of that inning, it was a solid outing for the 24-year-old. His fastball averaged 94.8 mph and topped out at 96.8 mph. His slider, which is known to be his best pitch, generated six whiffs and he used it for four of his strikeouts. He ran into some trouble in the top of the sixth inning, walking Stott and allowing a base hit to Brandon Marsh. He was taken out after that. "Felt good," said Mazur. "Got through the first three well and was competing. Then lost a little bit there in the fourth and made a big mistake pitch in a big situation. Obviously want that one back, but overall was happy with how I battled and even with runners on, was able to minimize the damage." Mazur previously made eight MLB starts for the Padres last season. That experience taught him he should "attack" hitters more often this time around, Mazur said. Historically, Mazur has a career 1.8 BB/9 in the minor leagues. However, his ability to limit the walks still is not translating to the Major League level—he posted a 5.6 BB/9 as a Padre and walked four on Wednesday, which would've marked a season high for him in AAA. "The stuff was very good," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "I think it allowed him to be a little more scattered than he would like with some of the walks there. I thought he used his secondary pitches well with the sweeper, the harder breaking ball. The fastball had good life at the top of the zone. It was a really good stuff across the board." For Mazur, this felt like a second Major League debut. It was with a new organization that wanted to trade for him last season, so a lot was riding on this start for the righty. "There's definitely a little more nerves, but it felt good," said Mazur. "It was nice to get back out there." It isn't yet clear how the Marlins plan to fill out their rotation moving forward with Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera and Cal Quantrill already in place. Long reliever Janson Junk is a strong candidate for the final spot, which may lead to Mazur going right back down to Jacksonville. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Connor Norby snapped a 19-game homerless streak, taking Phillies starter Ranger Suárez deep for his fourth home run of the season. It is only the third home run allowed by Suárez this season and Norby took him 415 deep to dead center, cutting the Marlins deficient to just three, trailing 4-1. Suárez, who entered Wednesday's game with a 2.32 ERA, threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out eight and only allowing four hits. "He just has the ability to pepper the bottom of the strike zone with the sinker and the changeup," said McCullough. "The ability to throw the two-seamer in on righties and have it work back over the plate, especially getting some counts and be able to dart that ball in there after having guys hanging out over, having eyes out over the plate. Tough to square up and he doesn't make a whole lot of mistakes in the middle of the plate." The Marlins made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth against Matt Strahm, beginning the inning with a Heriberto Hernández double. Dane Myers then drove him in on an RBI single. After the second out of the inning, Jack Winkler extended the game by singling for his first career hit. With the loss, the Marlins drop to 29-43 on the season and will look to split the series on Thursday with Edward Cabrera toeing the rubber against Christopher Sánchez. First pitch is at 6:40 pm. View full article

MIAMI, FL—For the first time in his career, Jesús Luzardo will be taking the mound at loanDepot park as a visiting player. In his first career start against the Miami Marlins, which came on April 20, he went seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits, no walks and striking out seven. Now, his Phillies are the road team in this NL East matchup and Luzardo is the probable starter for Tuesday's game. Luzardo grew up in South Florida and spent parts of four seasons pitching for the Marlins (2021-24). Most of the hitters in the opposing lineup are former teammates of his. "I really like pitching in this ballpark and pitching in front of family and friends is always nice, but I feel like I've matured to the point where I can keep my emotions in check," Luzardo told Fish On First. "It's going to be fun, seeing a lot of familiar faces over there, a lot of guys I made relationships with, so it's always fun competing against people you know." Luzardo was informed that he had been traded on December 22 right before meeting up with former Marlins draft pick Jake Eder to go on a fishing trip. "Kinda shocked when they said it was Philly. Mix of emotions and then obviously, super excited to be able to join a team with high hopes and playoff chances." Nearing the midpoint of his first season in Philly, Luzardo has already noticed differences between his new organization and his previous one. "I would say the biggest one is the expectation over here," Luzardo said. "You come in and it doesn't even need to be said—it's more of the expectation to perform and to win. They hold themselves to a certain standard. Nothing against (the Marlins) at all because I have a lot of good friends, lot of good relationships there, but the standard over here is extremely high." The Phillies are the reigning NL East division champs and have made three consecutive postseason appearances. Their current .597 winning percentage is on pace to be the franchise's best since 2011. Through 14 starts, Luzardo has posted a 4.23 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 10.6 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 78 ⅔ innings pitched. His overall ERA is inflated by two horrible starts where he allowed 20 earned runs, but in his most recent start against the Chicago Cubs, Luzardo went six innings, allowing one run and struck out ten. Luzardo's pitch mix now includes a sweeper, which he is throwing 26.3% of the time. It generates a whiff rate of 47.5% and has turned into a great putaway pitch against left-handed batters. "They asked me right when I got traded if I had ever thrown (a sweeper)," said Luzardo. "I said no, so I started working on it on my own and then I brought it to them. They loved it and we polished it together. It's been working for me, thankfully." Luzardo will toe the rubber against Cal Quantrill at 6:10 pm. View full article

Prior to making his first career start in Miami as a visiting player, Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo speaks with Fish On First about being traded by the Marlins and the differences he's noticed so far with his new club. View full video

Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara speaks with the assembled media at loanDepot park following Monday's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Alcantara allowed two runs in his five innings of work and surpassed Josh Johnson for second place on the franchise's all-time strikeout list. View full video

MIAMI, FL—Coming off his best start of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sandy Alcantara found himself facing a much tougher lineup on Monday night. Alcantara was good overall against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and made some Marlins history in the process. He now has a 2.12 ERA through his last three starts combined. However, the Marlins fell to the visiting Phillies by a final score of 5-2. On the second pitch of the game, shortstop Trea Turner took Alcantara deep to dead center, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning, Max Kepler hit his ninth home run of the season, which was also a solo shot. On 100 pitches, Alcantara went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, one walk and five strikeouts. During his previous two starts, his curveball usage was a lot higher—against the Pirates, for example, it was the most-used pitch in his arsenal. On Monday, that usage went down to 18%. "My curve today wasn't great," Alcantara said. "I continued to throw it. Every time I threw one, it just bounced in front of the plate. I like to throw my curve. I like to repeat it, but after my curve, I got more pitches that I have to throw and everything was good." Phillies hitters fouled off 25 of Alcantara's 100 pitches. He uncharacteristically posted a 47.6% first-pitch strike rate and only induced only three groundouts. "Couple mistakes," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Good swing by Turner and then Kepler had a good at-bat on the home run. Other than that, It was still one walk. He was filling it up and I think—credit to them—they just hung in during those at-bats and fouled some off. I think it was another solid start from Sandy as far as the stuff." Alcantara now has 834 strikeouts during his Marlins career, surpassing Josh Johnson (829), who pitched for the Fish from 2005-2012. Only Ricky Nolasco (1,001) remains ahead of him on the franchise's all-time strikeout list. "I feel very grateful and thankful to this organization for the opportunity that they give me in 2018 when I came here for the first time," said Alcantara following the game. "Putting my name second place for most strikeouts makes me feel great...Everything I do, I do for the team." Where Alcantara still wants to improve is going deeper into games, noting in Spanish that he would like to throw 110-120 pitches in a game. He has maxed out at 107 pitches so far this season. The Marlins offense struggled, only scoring two runs on five hits. In the bottom of the second inning, a slumping Connor Norby drove in Kyle Stowers on an RBI single, tying the game at one apiece. When trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Agustín Ramírez drove Xavier Edwards in via a sac fly, making it a 3-2 game. Phillies starter Mick Abel held the Marlins to just one run on three hits, one walk and three strikeouts through five innings. Their bullpen only surrendered two hits, which came off Matt Strahm in the eighth. "First time seeing him," said McCullough of Abel. "It's a quick arm. Velo is good and plays to the top of the strike zone. The quality breaking pitches play down below. Get some of the north-south action there. I thought we stressed him there in the third inning or so and put together some good at-bats, but I think he's a good arm. He did enough to just hold us at bay there." In the bottom of the second inning, Marlins outfielder Dane Myers was hit by a pitch, resulting in him coming out of the game due to left elbow discomfort. Clayton McCullough told the media postgame that they are waiting for the swelling to calm down before they undergo any testing. More information should be provided within the next day or so. With the loss, the Marlins drop to 28-42 on the season. Cal Quantrill will take the mound for the Marlins on Tuesday as former Fish and Florida native Jesús Luzardo will start for the Phillies. With the Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup game happening in Sunrise at 8:00 pm, the Marlins have moved first pitch up to 6:10 pm, helping fans of both teams avoid as much conflict as possible. View full article

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. View full article

Kevin Barral and Isaac Azout bring Ely Sussman onto Fish Unfiltered to discuss an extended stretch of mediocrity from the Miami Marlins. They get into Sandy Alcantara's best start of the 2025 season, Eury Pérez's return to the rotation and Ryan Weathers' injury setback, plus who could conceivably represent the Marlins at the MLB All-Star Game. Find Fish Unfiltered on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes The Offishial Show, Swimming Upstream, Big Fish Small Pod and more. Pérez made his return from Tommy John surgery on Monday, exiting after a prolonged third inning. His final line: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (70 pitches/43 strikes). On Tuesday, Alcantara held the Pittsburgh Pirates scoreless through six frames and earned the win. His ERA for the season still sits at a hideous 7.14. Weathers was placed on the 60-day injured list after suffering a left lat strain. He will not be eligible to be reinstated until August 8 at the earliest. The Marlins find themselves with a 25-41 record, losers of five consecutive series. Follow Isaac (⁠@IsaacAzout⁠), Kevin (⁠@kevin_barral⁠), Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (⁠@FishOnFirst⁠) on Twitter. Join the ⁠Marlins Discord server⁠! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at ⁠FishOnFirst.com⁠. View full article

It was one bad pitch that really ruined what was going to be another nice start for Marlins starting pitcher Cal Quantrill. Andrew McCutchen's historic home run paved the way for the Pittsburgh Pirates to defeat the Miami Marlins by a final score of 5-2 on Wednesday and take the series. With the loss, the Marlins have now lost five straight series. Quantrill, who has turned his season around since the start of May, was great through four innings of work, keeping the Pirates to just one run. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Quantrill surrendered a three-run homer to McCutchen. The longtime Pirate surpassed Roberto Clemente for third place on the franchise's all-time home run list. It was his 241st HR as a Pirate and 324th career HR. The Marlins starter finished his afternoon going five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Quantrill's fastball velocity continues to tick up, averaging 94.0 mph in Pittsburgh and topping out at a season-best 95.9 mph. His cutter was again a good weapon for him, generating four whiffs and he used it to strike out three. "He kept us at one run, got into the fifth and came down with a splitter to McCutchen and it just caught a little too much plate that went for a home run," said Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough. "Between him and Lake (Bachar), what they were able to do today, come in here, for them to throw the ball like that really kept us in the game and gave us a chance." Heriberto Hernández, who was called up on May 30, has been on fire after struggling in his first two games. In the top of the first, Hernández extended his hit streak to four games with a double that left the bat at 104.2 mph. In the sixth inning, he hit his first career home run, taking Pirates starter Bailey Falter deep to get the Fish on the board. "The home run, really impressive swing on a ball up and away to get on top of that and drive it out to a really big part of the ballpark," said McCullough. "I think Bert has really taken some aggressive swings, looks under control, balanced in the box and he's swinging at pitches that he's wanting to fire at. Right now, he's putting some good swings together." Outside of Hernández, the Marlins offense was dormant, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Connor Norby was the only other player with a multi-hit game, his ninth of the season. Falter cruised through 5 ⅓ innings pitched, allowing one run on five hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Manager Don Kelly took him out at 71 pitches. There was certainly a case to keep him in the game longer. "Sneaky heater and then I think he did a good job of mixing in the slider down below," said McCullough. "He could run his fastball, up crowding the righties a little bit, which opened up his ability to get down and below the zone as well. We just didn't cash in on a few opportunities we had, but I thought for the most part, he did a good job of keeping us off balance there the first time and a half through." With the loss, the Marlins drop to 25-41 and will head to Washington D.C. to take on their NL East rival Nationals. Edward Cabrera will take the mound for Miami on Friday at 6:45 pm. View full article