Kevin Barral

Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander remains winless in a San Francisco Giants uniform. The Marlins defeated Verlander at Oracle Park on Tuesday night. The 4-2 victory was Miami's seventh in the last 11 games. In the top of the second inning, Eric Wagaman drove in Kyle Stowers on an RBI double. It marks Wagaman's 17th double of the season, which is the highest total on the Marlins. It also moved him into the top spot amongst all MLB rookies. After Liam Hicks struck out, Connor Norby, who had been in a deep slump for much of the past month, drove Wagaman in on an RBI single, extending the Marlins' lead to 2-0. "Just be on time for the fastball," said Wagaman postgame. "He threw a lot of fastballs and I figured later in the at-bat he was going to throw some sort of breaking pitch and I felt like he just threw it right there and I was on time for it." The Marlins extended their lead in the top of the third inning thanks to an Otto Lopez RBI single, driving in Jesús Sánchez, who hit his ninth double of the season. Lopez went on to finish the night with his 12th multi-hit game of the season. Cal Quantrill, who made his 15th start of the season, gave the Fish 4 ⅔ innings, allowing two runs on four hits, two walks and three hits. After four scoreless innings of work, Quantrill surrendered a leadoff base hit to third baseman Casey Schmitt in the fifth, then a two-run homer to second baseman Christian Koss. That made it a one-run game. Per usual, the Canadian right-hander relied on his cutter as his most-used pitch, generating two whiffs and one of his strikeouts coming on that pitch. His fastball averaged 93.0 mph, topping out at 94.0 mph. Quantrill has not earned a win since May 18. He came very close to qualifying for one, getting Rafael Devers to hit into a potential inning-ending double play, but Devers made it down the line quickly to beat the throw to first and extend the inning. "Did a great job," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Probably just the one hanging slider there to Koss for the homer, but he threw the ball well again. Got a bunch of outs and the rest of the guys behind him tonight really did a good job." Following Quantrill, McCullough deployed Anthony Bender, who worked 1 ⅓ innings, striking out two. Between Bender, Cade Gibson, Ronny Henriquez and Calvin Faucher, the Marlins bullpen only allowed one hit, which came off of Bender, and even that resulted in an out. In the top of the seventh inning, Xavier Edwards knocked in a Marlins insurance run, driving in Norby and making it a 4-2 lead. Edwards is slashing .360/.435/.427/.862 with six RBI ever since returning from the IL and making the move to second base. With the win, the Marlins improved to 32-45. Notes - Cade Gibson continues to be an unsung hero for this Marlins bullpen. Through 23 ⅔ innings of work (16 appearances), Gibson has a 1.90 ERA and on Tuesday, he struck out two in 1 ⅓ innings of work. - Max Meyer is scheduled for season-ending left hip labral repair surgery on Friday with Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville. The recovery timeline is approximately 6-8 months. - The Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays are finalizing a trade that will send the recently DFA'd Robinson Piña to the Blue Jays in exchange for 24-year old reliever Colby Martin. Drafted by the Blue Jays last year in the 16th round, Martin has posted a 1.54 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 11.57 K/9 and 5.40 BB/9 through 21 appearances (23.1 IP) between Low-A and High-A. - The red-hot Edward Cabrera will toe the rubber against Giants ace Logan Webb on Wednesday. The Fish are looking to win back-to-back series, which they have yet to do in 2025. First pitch is at 9:45 pm ET. View full article

With the 2025 MLB Draft only a few weeks away, now is a good time to check in on the picks that the Miami Marlins made in the previous draft. The 2024 draft class was the organization's first with president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and director of amateur scouting Frankie Piliere. The Marlins had the 16th overall pick, landing high school hitters in the first two rounds, then going heavy on college bats after that. They signed 20 out of their 21 selections. The 2025 minor league stats below were updated prior to Thursday's games. Round 1, Pick 16—PJ Morlando, OF, Summerville HS (SC) Current level: Low-A With the first pick of the Piliere/Bendix era, the Marlins shocked everyone by selecting high school outfielder PJ Morlando. Going into the draft process, Morlando was one of the top rated players, but he was pitched carefully during his senior season and had limited opportunities to show off his game power (.403/.602/.571/1.173 with two home runs and ten RBI). The Marlins noted following the selection that they were impressed by the athleticism he showed at the MLB Draft Combine and he had the potential to play center field in the pros. Since joining the organization, Morlando has suffered three injuries to his back, elbow and most recently his hamstring. He has drawn plenty of walks in 21 career games, but simply isn't hitting, slashing .148/.404/.279/.683 with two home runs, five RBI and a 126 wRC+. Morlando turned 20 in May. It has been tough to evaluate Morlando's progress with the organization considering his uneven playing time. "I genuinely believe it's been a run of bad luck," said Frankie Piliere in an exclusive interview with Fish Unfiltered. "It's a tough sequence of events, but PJ's body is in a great spot. When you draft an 18, 19-year-old player, there's just naturally not just a learning curve to facing professional pitching, but staying healthy. I think over time, he's going to figure this out and he's just been through a patch of bad luck." Round 2, Pick 56—Carter Johnson, SS, Oxford HS (AL) Current level: Low-A The Marlins went overslot with the selection of Alabama native Carter Johnson. Through 61 games in 2025, he is slashing .190/.278/.275/.553 with two home runs, 29 RBI and a 67 wRC+. He has been Jupiter's primary shortstop this season, though that is largely because of the time missed by Starlyn Caba. "We figured it would be a longer road with the bat," said Piliere regarding Johnson. "It's a defense-first player with a younger body and he is going through the bumps and bruises right now. Obviously, we want him to do really well out of the gate, but I don't think you can go into players like this and be shocked or taken off track when it's not an instant success. We really believe in Carter. He's actually gotten faster and stronger since he got here. He's just going through the bumps and bruises of facing Jupiter-level pitching." It has been a bit of a surprise that the Marlins have not demoted Johnson to the FCL, giving him some time to get back on the track. Competitive Balance Round B, Pick 70—Aiden May, RHP, Oregon State Current level: FCL (60-day IL) The first college player that the Marlins took was Oregon State's Aiden May. With the Beavers, he had a 3.05 ERA, 10.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 through 73 ⅔ innings pitched. May has yet to make his organizational debut as he underwent right elbow arthroscopic surgery back in March and should be back around mid-July. Round 3, Pick 92—Gage Miller, 2B, Alabama Current level: High-A Gage Miller slashed .381/.474/.702/1.176 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI with the Crimson Tide last year. In his lone season in the SEC, Miller was a Second Team All-American and an ABCA/Rawlings All-Southeast Region Second Team selection. After an awesome start in Low-A Jupiter, Miller was promoted to High-A Beloit in 2024. He began the 2025 season in Beloit and through 57 games (246 PA), he is slashing .239/.346/.344/.690 with three home runs and 14 RBI. In the month if June, Miller is slashing .222/.329/.460/.789 with three home runs and four RBI. Round 4, Pick 122—Fenwick Trimble, OF, James Madison Current level: Double-A (7-day IL) "As soon as he got into pro ball and we started working with him, swing decisions improved quite dramatically and all of a sudden, you have a really interesting player," said Piliere about Trimble. "He's a little bit quicker than he was when we got him, swing decisions are better and it's still the same contact ability, same power and upside." Through 34 games this season between High-A and Double-A, he is slashing .277/.407/.429/.835 with two home runs, 17 RBI, 16 stolen bases and a 143 wRC+. He was the first draftee to be promoted to Pensacola. Round 5, Pick 155—Grant Shepardson, RHP, Mountain Vista HS (CO) Current level: FCL The Marlin went overslot with this selection and they're happy they did. Shepardson represented them well at the 2025 Spring Breakout game. Through seven starts in the FCL, he has posted a 2.84 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 10.66 K/9 and 4.26 BB/9 through 25 ⅓ innings pitched. Round 6, Pick 184—Payton Green, SS, Georgia Tech Current level: High-A In his lone season at Georgia Tech, Green slashed .308/.407/.577/.984 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI. He is hitting almost as well in the Midwest League as he did in the ACC despite it being a more pitcher-friendly environment. He is slashing .307/.379/.497/.876 with four home runs, 24 RBI and a 144 wRC+ through 41 High-A games. Green is a clear candidate to move up to AA-Pensacola following the trade deadline. Round 7, Pick 214—Nick Brink, RHP, Portland Current level: High-A "Nick Brink has the ability to move fast," Piliere noted on Unfiltered. In 2025, he has posted a 3.77 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 8.15 K/9 and 3.62 BB/9 in 13 appearances (12 starts). Brink leads this class in minor league innings pitched so far. Round 8, Pick 244—Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, OF, East Carolina Current level: High-A In his time at East Carolina, Jenkins-Cowart was named to the 2024 All-AAC First Team. He finished the season slashing .340/.386/.558/.945 with 13 home runs and 79 RBI. Through Low-A and High-A, Jenkins-Cowart has slashed .211/.303/.339/.642 with two home runs, 21 RBI and an 85 wRC+. Round 9, Pick 274—Dub Gleed, 3B, UC Irvine Current level: Low-A Gleed was briefly given a taste of Triple-A to provide emergency depth, though most of his time this season has been spent between the FCL and Low-A Jupiter. Overall, he's slashing .203/.382/.304/.686 with one home run, nine RBI and a 113 wRC+. Round 10, Pick 304—Michael Snyder, 3B, Oklahoma Current level: Double-A In his time at Oklahoma, Snyder was named to the All-Big 12 First Team, NCAA Norman Regional All-Tournament Team and ranked fifth in the country with 26 doubles. Across two levels in 2025, Snyder is slashing .247/.401/.386/.786 with four home runs, 37 RBI and a 130 wRC+. A versatile defender, most of his action has been coming at first base and left field. Turning 25 in September, Snyder is also the oldest member of this draft class. Round 11, Pick 334—Jake Faherty, RHP, Arkansas Current level: Low-A MTY2RDRfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0R3RlRCd0FHQWdvQVhRWUdVUUFIQ0E4SEFGa0RVQVFBQVFSUUJWQU1DRmNIVkZNRA==.mp4 Sources told Fish On First that multiple teams were after Arkansas pitcher Jake Faherty despite only throwing 15 ⅔ career innings in college. He currently finds himself in Low-A posting a 4.91 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 14.11 K/9 and 5.52 BB/9 through 14 ⅔ innings pitched. Faherty joined the Marlins for their exhibition game against the New York Yankees right before Opening Day where he topped out at 100 mph Round 12, Pick 364—Connor Caskenette, C, Purdue Current level: High-A Caskenette got off to a scorching start in High-A, but slowed down when promoted to AA, only playing in two games there before being sent back to Beloit. Through 35 games played across two levels, he is slashing .219/.364/.281/.645 with 11 RBI and a 97 wRC+ while only throwing out 11% of base-stealers. Round 13, Pick 394—Cody Schrier, SS, UCLA Current level: Low-A Coming out of UCLA, Schrier has played primarily in Low-A, where he's currently slashing .241/.302/.391/.693 with two home runs, 18 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 98 wRC+. With so many other Marlins prospects needing shortstop reps, he has been playing first base more than anything. Round 14, Pick 424—Cam Clayton, SS, Washington Current level: Low-A Clayton has been one of the better players for a lackluster Jupiter Hammerheads offense. He is slashing .292/.361/.510/.872 with three home runs, 13 RBI and a 144 wRC+ through 27 games played since his promotion to the Florida State League. At the age of 22, you can take some of these numbers with a grain of salt, but overall, great start for the former Washington Husky. Round 15, Pick 454—Coen Niclai, C, Service HS (AK) Niclai was the only player in this draft class who did not sign. He honored his commitment to Oregon, where he slashed .242/.324/.455/.779 with one home runs and four RBI in 23 games played as a freshman. He entered the transfer portal and has since signed with Arizona State. Round, 16, Pick 484—Eric Rataczak, 1B, Niagara Current level: High-A Although drafted as a first baseman, Rataczak is regularly playing right field for the Sky Carp in 2025. Through 42 games in High-A Beloit, he is slashing .241/.346/.346/.692 with two home runs, 19 RBI and a 99 wRC+. Round 17, Pick 514—Micah McDowell, OF, Oregon State Current level: High-A Between Low-A and High-A, McDowell is slashing .221/.341/.356/.697 with two home runs, 13 RBI and a 105 wRC+. Round 18, Pick 544—Nate Payne, LHP, Central Dauphin HS (PA) Current level: FCL Payne was the lone left-handed pitcher drafted by the Marlins last year and through eight starts in the complex league, he has posted a 2.03 ERA, 2.48 FIP, 12.77 K/9 and 4.06 BB/9 through 31 innings pitched. Similar to Shepardson, expect Payne to be promoted to Low-A later this summer. Round 19, Pick 574—Luke Lashutka, RHP, St. Leo Current level: High-A As a 23-year old in Low-A, there wasn't much to take away, but credit to Lashutka for finishing his Hammerheads stint riding a streak of 19 ⅓ consecutive scoreless innings. His High-A debut last Saturday was a much different story, allowing six runs on six hits, three walks and three strikeouts in 1 ⅓ innings of work. Round 20, Pick 604—Chase Centala RHP, UCF Current level: High-A Centala has quietly been great. He began the 2025 season in Jupiter, where he posted a 3.38 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 9.82 K/9 and a 3.99 BB/9 through 29 ⅓ innings pitched. Since his promotion to High-A, he has a 0.90 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 5.40 K/9 and 0.90 BB/9 through 10 innings pitched. There has been some luck, but the command has been great thus far. View full article

The Marlins are visiting San Francisco for the only time this season, beginning a three-game series against the Giants on Tuesday, but it's possible some of their players will be coming back here in the near future. After three straight years floating around the .500 mark, the Giants look like true postseason contenders again, and they are acting like it. They got the 2025 MLB trade season off to an early start by acquiring Red Sox infielder Rafael Devers on June 15 for a four-player package. Meanwhile, the Marlins (31-45 record) are going to be sellers. They were extremely active at the 2024 deadline by adding 15 total players in July trades and will once again focus on strengthening their organization with young prospects. There could be a match here. The Giants have a strong starting rotation. Led by ace Logan Webb, the staff ranks 12th among MLB teams in ERA and first in FIP. However, Justin Verlander is showing his age at 42 years old and he'll be a free agent after this season. Also, they lost Kyle Harrison in the Devers trade, who would've been a potential long-term rotation option. Depending on how the next month goes, they could be one of many teams involved in the Sandy Alcantara sweepstakes. If that's the case, the Giants would have a chance to make the strongest offer for Alcantara by including top prospect Bryce Eldridge. A 20-year-old left-handed hitter who is currently in Triple-A, Eldridge is slashing .263/.329/.484/.812 with ten home runs, 33 RBI and a 124 wRC+ this season. His tool grades, according to MLB Pipeline, are a 50 hit, 70 power, 40 run, 60 arm and 45 field, with an overall grade of 55. FanGraphs also values Eldridge as a 55-grade prospect, while Baseball America rates him a 60. Across the board, Eldridge's numbers have come back down to earth from his 2024 breakout season, including an increase in strikeout rate (25.4% to 29.0%) and decrease in walk rate (11.4% to 8.7%). It's still very impressive considering that he is nearly seven years younger than the average AAA player. It is rare to see trades involving consensus top-25 prospects, but Eldridge is in an unusual situation now that the Giants have acquired Devers to be their first baseman/designated hitter for years to come. After beginning his minor league career in right field, the Giants moved him to first base in 2024 and president of baseball operations Buster Posey said that he will continue to develop there despite being blocked by Devers. There is a clearer opening for Eldridge in Miami. Their first base combination of Eric Wagaman and Matt Mervis has done poorly this season. Neither of them are guaranteed money or roster spots beyond 2025. Fellow power-hitting prospect Deyvison De Los Santos is on a similar timeline as Eldridge, but Eldridge has the upside to be a much more complete hitter. On Tuesday afternoon, the Giants announced that Eldridge has a moderate right hamstring strain that will require an estimated 3-4 weeks of rehab. Assuming there are no setbacks, he should be able to resume baseball activities soon enough so that the injury has no impact on his inclusion in a potential deadline deal. Unless Alcantara completely dominates over his remaining pre-deadline starts, the Giants might demand an additional piece to balance the trade and help with their playoff run. The Giants have arguably the best defensive catcher in baseball in Patrick Bailey, but they aren't getting any offense from the position. San Francisco catchers are dead last in wRC+ and batting average. As crazy as it sounds, they may see significant value in pairing him with Nick Fortes (slashing .245/.294/.372/.666 with a 82 wRC+), who has caught the majority of Alcantara's starts. Fortes is under club control through 2028. This kind of trade would put a lot of pressure on Peter Bendix. He'd be acquiring the best position player prospect of his Marlins tenure, but the focus on quality over quantity means Eldridge needs to succeed to justify dealing one of the best pitchers in franchise history. View full article

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