Kevin Barral

Once again on Sunday, Ryan Weathers worked deep into the game to give the Marlins a chance to win. Miami's bats finally woke up in the seventh inning to support him and take the series from the Diamondbacks. Led by excellent pitching and Jake Burger's bat, the Miami Marlins clinched their fourth straight series win on Sunday, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks by a final score of 3-1. "It always starts with pitching," said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. In the month of May, starting pitcher Ryan Weathers has completed six innings or more in all of his outings. He continued that streak in Arizona with six innings of shutout baseball, allowing four hits and one walk. He also struck out seven, which is the second-most for him this month. "Five walks all of May," noted Schumaker, "which just shows you his growth and the confidence he has in our pitching coach, but to watch his secondary pitches work so well in any count; we knew he had his fastball—he throws 97, we knew that—but all the work that he's put in to be able to spin it and to command his changeup at any given moment, it all starts there." Weathers heavily attacked the strike zone (65.9% of his pitches were strikes), primarily going with his four-seam/changeup combo. Although the sweeper was Weathers' least-used pitch, he generated four out of 12 whiffs and five of his seven strikeouts with it. The Diamondbacks have been a very good offensive team against left-handed pitching, slashing .281/.334/.443/.777 with 18 home runs and 83 RBIs. They couldn't get anything going against Weathers and a big reason for that was his ability to limit hard contact and generate ground balls. Weathers' groundball percentage was 66.7% in this start, raising his season average to 50.8% (the MLB average is 42.6%). Rookie lefty Blake Walston was very effective as well (4.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) and the game remained scoreless until the top of the seventh inning. With runners on first and second, Bryan De La Cruz looked like he may have grounded into an inning-ending double play, but a throwing error on Diamondbacks shortstop Kevin Newman allowed Nick Fortes to score from second and give Miami a 1-0 lead. S3d2ZXZfVjBZQUhRPT1fVXdoWlZsMEhCd1FBV1FZRFVBQUFBRkJSQUZrRVZGa0FVd2NDQWxVTkJBZGRCZ29F.mp4 After struggling since his return from the IL, Jake Burger capped off his strong series against the Diamondbacks by driving in two insurance runs to extend the lead to 3-0. Burger ended the series with six hits, including a home run in the first game of the series. Burger jokingly mentioned that his trip to a local water park during Thursday off-day was the key to his recent hot streak. "All ripping tubes," said Burger. "That had a big impact on it, but I think (hitting coach John) Mabry and I got some stuff figured out in the cage and I probably give that 90% and ripping tubes the other 10%...I think just calming everything down in the box. Skip and I had a really good conversation a couple of days ago: 'let's just get back to having fun,' and I do think ripping tubes was a part of that, but I think it's just getting in there and knowing who I am as a hitter and it's me versus that guy. It's no other thought. Just get in there and compete." With the win, the Marlins improve to 19-35, having taken two out of three from the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers and now the D-backs. This marks the first time since April 2023 that the Marlins have won four straight series. Next, the Fish will travel to San Diego for a three-game set which begins on Monday at 6:40 pm. They'll be reunited with star infielder Luis Arraez less than one month after trading him to the Padres. Since the Arraez trade, the Marlins have a .500 winning percentage, so they will put that to the test against one of the hottest hitters in baseball, who has a .391/.418/.471/.889 slash line with his new squad. View full article

After establishing a new professional career high with 11 strikeouts on Saturday, Marlins pitching prospect Noble Meyer speaks to Fish On First about the keys to his recent success. View full video

Making the trip to Jupiter on Saturday was well worth it as Marlins RHP Noble Meyer set a new career high with 11 strikeouts and continues to deliver strong starts. Here's what the young prospect told Fish On First after his latest outing. JUPITER, FL—Fish On First number two prospect Noble Meyer has been improving rapidly. After struggling with his control early in the 2024 season, the 19-year-old righty has begun to dominate at the Low-A level. Facing the Tampa Tarpons on Saturday, Meyer pitched five innings, giving up two runs off of two hits, three walks and struck out a career-high 11 batters. "Everything felt like it was like sharp today," said Meyer after his start. "Slider was really coming in nice. Throwing hard too—had a couple of high 80s, accidental cutter at 90—and the fastball velo is coming back. It's there. I know it's been down, but it's really coming back." Mainly going with his four-seam fastball and slider, Meyer was able to generate 14 whiffs on the night. His four-seamer velocity was averaging 95.0 mph and topped out at 97.5 mph (tracked as his hardest-thrown pitch this season). Five of his 11 strikeouts were swinging and at one point in his outing, he had six straight strikeouts. Some of the notable bats he faced and struck out were New York Yankees number four prospect Roderick Arias and number six prospect George Lombard Jr. He struck out Lombard three times and Arias once. The only mistake of the night for Meyer came in the top of the first, surrendering a two-run shot to Dylan Jasso. "He was staying off the plate, so I can tell he was diving back onto the plate trying to get to an away pitch, trying to bait that out. I throw one in, trying to make sure, 'Hey, you're not gonna be able to do that.' On the chalk, pulls his hands through, makes an amazing swing, 105 off the bat. Just gotta tip the cap. It's a great swing." Meyer had posted an 8.00 ERA in his first three starts of the season with more walks than strikeouts. However, he has allowed only three earned runs over his last five starts combined (1.08 ERA) while generating a lot more swing-and-miss. "I just changed my mentality and told myself, I'm not gonna have a battle with myself. I gotta throw a strike here, but I'm gonna execute and I'm gonna give you my best stuff," said Meyer. "Good luck hitting it." Assistant general manager Gabe Kapler helped Meyer arrive at his current mindset by reminding him to "make it a battle against them, not yourself." Meyer has also received advice from director of player development Rachel Balkovec. Kapler and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix were both spotted at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Saturday. "I've talked to Kapler a lot," said Meyer. "I've talked to Rachel a lot and I don't think I've had a full conversation with Bendix, but I am looking forward to it." Through eight starts this season, Meyer's ERA is now at 2.91 with a 1.21 WHIP and 43 strikeouts. His next scheduled start is a week from Saturday against the Daytona Tortugas, the Cincinnati Reds Low-A affiliate. View full article

Braxton Garrett turned in the best start of his career on Friday night, throwing a 95-pitch shutout against the Diamondbacks and leading the Marlins to a win. After a rough two starts to begin his 2024 season, Braxton Garrett was tasked with facing the National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Garrett not only out-dueled former Marlin Zac Gallen, but he threw the first complete game of his MLB career, a 95-pitch "Maddux" to defeat the Diamondbacks by a final score of 3-0. Efficiency was key for Garrett, averaging 10.6 pitches per inning and on top of that, not issuing a single walk. Garrett's sinker/slider combo was great, recording five out of his six strikeouts between those two pitches. He used his whole arsenal and ended up generating 11 whiffs. Four of his 11 whiffs were swinging strikeouts. "I think I pulled him more than anyone in the sixth inning last year," said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "To do a complete game this year just shows you where he's at and how much better he's gotten since maybe the first day I met him in spring training last year." "Hard to put into words, really," said Garrett in his postgame on-field interview. "After the fifth, sixth inning, I was just telling myself to keep getting quick outs, go as long as I can and look what happened." Because the game was close throughout, Schumaker still had to manage carefully entering the final inning. Closer Tanner Scott was warming in the bullpen just in case. "I knew (Garrett) was going to go out in the ninth and then I was going to give him one hitter until he got two outs. When he got two outs, I was gonna give him two hitters. I didn't wanna just leave Scott out there and not give Brax a chance to win the game, but Corbin (Carroll) hit a ball pretty hard and I was getting a little bit nervous. Then (Jesús) Sánchez made a good play, (Jake) Burger made a good play and seems like (Christian) Walker just missed it, but credit to Braxton: got quick outs and allowed himself to get into the ninth inning and obviously get the complete game shutout." Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett are the first Marlins pitchers to pitch at least eight innings in back-to-back games since Dan Straily and Wei Yin-Chen (8/31/18 and 9/1/18). Garrett also became the second Marlins lefty (joining Dontrelle Willis in 2005) and the fifth Marlins pitcher overall to toss a Maddux. He became the first Marlin since Sandy Alcantara on (4/4/23) to throw a complete game. This marks the fifth shutout that Nick Fortes has caught this season, all five of them happening in the last 11 days. "Me and Nick were talking and I felt like I could throw my sinker down and away every single pitch and they would've kept rolling over it," said Garrett. "I can't say enough about Nick. He's so incredible back there and made some really awesome calls." What took pressure off of the Marlins starter was the early 3-0 lead that the offense gave him against Zac Gallen. Entering Friday's game, Gallen was a perfect 3-0 against his former club, posting a 1.35 ERA. However, in the top of the second inning, three straight base hits set up Otto Lopez with the bases loaded where a hit up the middle drove in two runs. Ever since coming off the IL, Jake Burger was 6-for-59 with one RBI and 16 strikeouts. On Friday, Burger had a 2-for-4 night which included his fourth home run of the season. Lopez and Burger were the only Marlins to have multi-hit games. "He just needs to relax," said Schumaker about Burger. "You're not going to get four hits every at-bat. It's a long season. He's hit his whole life, he's gonna be fine...He's a middle-of-the-order bat that can do damage and I think at the end of the season, you'll see a lot of damage." Despite losing to his former team, Gallen gave the Diamondbacks seven innings, struck out five and only walked one. His head-to-head success against Jazz Chisholm Jr. continued. Chisholm laid a bunt down in his first at-bat, but was unable to reach base. He struck out the other two times. Nearly five years after they were traded for each other, Chisholm is now 0-for-12 with five strikeouts against Gallen. "He's one of the best in the game," said Schumaker about Gallen. "He's going to have Cy Young award votes again. Every single year he plays in the big leagues, he'll get Cy Young votes. He's that good." With the win, the Marlins are now 18-34 on the season and aim to clinch their fourth straight series win with Sixto Sánchez taking the mound on Saturday against Jordan Montgomery for the Diamondbacks. First pitch is at 10:10 pm EST. View full article

Two years ago, Chisholm earned an All-Star selection with 60 games of excellent production at the start of the 2022 season. How do his current numbers stack up after the same 60-game sample size? In 2022, Jazz Chisholm Jr. fully broke out as a star. The Miami Marlins second baseman slashed .254/.325/.535/.860 with 14 home runs, 45 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and a 136 wRC+. Chisholm's combination of power, speed and personality attracted international support and MLB fans voted him a National League All-Star Game starter, a rare honor for any Marlins player. He wasn't able to play in the All-Star Game, unfortunately, due to a back injury. In fact, his season was cut short on June 28, so he couldn't even build upon his special 60-game start. Still only 26 years old, Chisholm should be entering the prime of his career. It is within the realm of possibility that, if healthy, he can put up similar numbers again or even take his game to the next level. Through 60 games in the 2024 season, how close is Chisholm to his 2022 form? Overall, there is a big gap. Chisholm is slashing .251/.319/.429/.747 with eight home runs, 29 RBIs, 11 steals and a 110 wRC+. However, since the Luis Arraez trade, he has taken over as the team's lead-off hitter when facing right-handed pitchers and there has been improvement. He's slashing .275/.325/.477/.802 with four home runs and 11 RBIs since May 4. 3a51bacc-f2c4e9f6-b929fae9-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Although Chisholm was named an All-Star, there were still flaws in his game back then. One of the biggest improvements from 2022 to 2024 has been lowering his strikeout percentage from 27.4% to 24.0%. Chisholm is also much improved at hitting left-handed pitching. In 2022, Chisholm slashed .143/.205/.314/.519 against lefties and would often be benched by then-manager Don Mattingly in those matchups. In 2024, Chisholm is slashing .244/.298/.410/.708 with two home runs and 11 RBIs, pretty much a league-average hitter. The most obvious change from two years ago: Chisholm is playing a different position. He made the transition from second base to center field following Miami's acquisition of Arraez and he has continued to play there every day since Arraez's departure. Chisholm's defensive metrics have been mixed, rating well in outs above average since 2023 (5 OAA), but poorly in defensive runs saved (-11 DRS). That being said, it's important to note that center field has been the weakest hitting position in MLB this season (.230/.296/.368/.663 slash line). Chisholm stands out from the group more than he would otherwise. The best news of all, Chisholm is proving to be durable for the first time. He has played 60 out of 61 Marlins games entering Wednesday. Even before his season-ending injury in 2022, he had missed 13 of the team's games on his way to making 60 appearances. Whatever ends up happening to Chisholm, he has matured in certain aspects of his game and there's reason to believe that there's still room for improvement. If he gets back to showing off his home run power more consistently, this should end up being the first 20/20 season of his career. View full article

For the first time in his career, Luzardo completed eight innings of work, leading the Marlins to a 1-0 win against the Brewers and Miami's third straight series win. MIAMI, FL—The last time Miami Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo entered the eighth inning of a ballgame, it was his final start of the 2023 regular season against the New York Mets. Luzardo ended up going 7 ⅓ innings, giving up one run off of four hits. He walked one and struck out ten. That game was cut short and ultimately ruled a Marlins loss after the infamous rain delay in Citi Field. On Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Luzardo finished the eighth inning himself. The Venezuelan pitcher was even more dominant, and he needed to be because a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning accounted for the only run in the Marlins win. "I think since he's come off the IL, it's the best version," said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "One walk in 20 innings since he's come off the IL shows you what it's all about. He's in a groove." One of the biggest issues for the left-hander entering this game was his fastball command. Although Luzardo struck out seven in his last start, he still wasn't comfortable with it. This time around, he lowered his velocity and the location of his pitches heavily improved. His average fastball velo was 94.1 mph, down 1.7 mph from his season average. He generated six whiffs on the four-seam and threw 72 strikes on 100 pitches. "I still go back and try to reach for it," said Luzardo after the game. "Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not, but in terms of health, I felt healthy and right now, I'm focused. The location and my misses had been really good, which is something that me and Mel (Stottlemyre Jr.) talked about a lot. Just emphasizing location over velocity." Along with strong use of his four-seam and slider, Luzardo's changeup has vastly improved from where it was prior to his IL stint, generating nine whiffs in his last start and six times on Wednesday. It's still his third most-used pitch, but it's been impacting the result of his starts a lot more. "Utilizing that side of the plate with his four-seam definitely opens (the changeup) on the other side of the plate," said catcher Nick Fortes following the game. "Everything kind of goes hand in hand, but yes, past three starts he's definitely had really good fastball command, really good slider command and then a really good changeup whenever we need it. It's been a complete package for him." The Marlins have thrown four shutouts in their last eight games. Fortes has caught all four of them. According to Fish on the Farm, Luzardo became the second Marlins pitcher to throw eight shutout innings in loanDepot park. Adam Conley was the last to do it, which came in 2016. He gave up four hits and struck out four. Opposing Luzardo was Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. His last time against the Marlins, he gave up four runs off of nine hits and only struck out four. On Wednesday, Peralta gave up one run off of four hits, one walk and struck out seven. His only mistake came against the first hitter of the game: Jazz Chisholm Jr.. On a 3-1 count, Peralta surrendered a lead-off homer to Chisholm off of his four-seam. It was Chisholm's second lead-off home run of the season and the seventh of his career, surpassing Chris Coghlan's Marlins career total. Hanley Ramirez holds the franchise record with 25. A few minutes earlier, former teammate and good friend of Chisholm, Luis Arraez hit his first home run of the season, a lead-off homer of his own for the San Diego Padres. Chisholm says he was "a little bit pumped up" to receive the notification on his phone about it and had to do the same. The Marlins have won three straight series and are now 17-34 on the season as they begin a six-game west-coast road trip to Arizona and San Diego. Braxton Garrett will take the mound for the Marlins in his third start of the season on Friday night. First pitch will be at 9:40 pm. 42fe77cb-a089420d-f39a10fd-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 View full article

After a strong start against the Detroit Tigers, Trevor Rogers struggled on Tuesday night. A sixth-inning rally wasn't enough as former Marlin Christian Yelich had a game-winning, two-run triple to even up the series for the Brewers. MIAMI, FL—For Trevor Rogers, Tuesday's start against the Milwaukee Brewers was an opportunity to take another step forward and help the Miami Marlins secure a series win. However, Rogers struggled with his control throughout the start did not factor into the decision. The Marlins ended up taking the lead in the bottom of the sixth, but their bullpen couldn't come through. The Brewers defeated the Marlins by a final score of 7-5. Rogers went only 3 ⅔ innings, gave up four runs off of six hits and four walks. He also struck out four. After initially showing higher velocity than usual, topping out at 94.8 mph in the first inning, his four-seam fastball averaged 92.6 mph overall vs. the Brew Crew. "I've been putting in a lot of work," said Rogers when it came to the increase in velocity. "Working on a small things and just trying to get back and working on so much, kind of getting out of my normal routine, but it's a necessity as far as me getting back to where I need to be. It's a long process and two weeks into this whole new routine. No excuse, gotta put the ball over the plate and give this team a chance." Walks were the main issue for the 26-year-old. Rogers walked the lead-off hitter in each of the first three innings and two of them ended up scoring, putting the Marlins behind early 2-0. A William Contreras double drove in Andruw Monasterio in the top of the first and in the top of the second, a Blake Perkins RBI single drove in Gary Sanchez. Rogers made a pitch usage adjustment, using his changeup only 6.7% of the time on Tuesday, the lowest rate of his MLB career. In his previous starts this season, opponents were hitting .323 off the changeup with a 91.0 mph average exit velo. The slider, which is his least-used pitch on average so far in 2024, had the highest usage against Milwaukee (35.6%). "Thought I was landing it pretty well back door," said Rogers on the slider. "(Home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz) missed a couple of calls, but that's gonna happen. Had a good swing-and-miss. It was more horizontal [movement] than I wanted it. That's a quicker fix to get depth back to that pitch, so in a good spot with that." Otto Lopez continued his success at the Major League level Tuesday night. In the bottom of the second inning, facing Brewers rookie Robert Gasser, Lopez drove in Jazz Chisholm Jr. on an RBI single to put the Marlins on the board. Lopez, who is a rather quick player, laid down a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the sixth inning with runners on first and second. Chisholm, the runner on second, was able to take advantage of the throw to first on the bunt and scored from second. Chisholm's sprint speed on the play was 30.9 feet per second. That put the Marlins down one run. "Pretty electric place and good baseball play from Jazz," said Skip Schumaker. "I'm not sure how many people can run the bases like that. Really impressive instincts. Not a lot of people can do what he did." Chisholm shared his insight on the play following the game: "As soon as I saw the catcher field the ball, he was pretty far from home plate and then the momentum was still going away from the plate. Just used my speed to give us some runs and get a rally going." Along with the impressive baserunning, Chisholm notched another multi-hit game and scored two runs. Particularly since the Luis Arraez trade, he's been one of the Marlins' hottest hitters. "I called my grandpa, Franklin Stubbs," said Chisholm. "He's my baseball grandpa. So I called him and I was like, 'Man, I feel like I'm not hitting the ball the right way.' He's like, 'Yeah, you're not. Just go watch your old videos from when you were in high school. Go watch your first time coming into pro ball get back to that swing because that's the Jazz Chisholm I know.' I feel like I got back into that. Swinging down to the ball instead of trying to hit everything out of the park. Just trying to get hits and let the homers come." Marlins third baseman Emmanuel Rivera posted his third multi-hit game of the season. His last came on May 1 against the Colorado Rockies. Rivera's first hit of the night was a double, but his biggest hit of the game would be in the bottom of the sixth to drive in Tim Anderson on an RBI single to tie the game at four apiece. A Dane Myers sac fly drove in Rivera, who was moved up on a Christian Bethancourt base hit. The Marlins took a 5-4 lead during that rally, but it ended up not being enough. Since returning from the IL and going back to a bullpen role, A.J. Puk hadn't allowed a hit nor a run. Jake Bauers led off the eighth inning with a double against him. Even so, Puk was one out away from stranding Bauers on third and preserving the lead. Milwaukee's most productive hitter this season, William Contreras, worked a 3-2 count and walked to extend the inning. Puk got a more favorable lefty-lefty matchup, but it was against Christian Yelich. The 2018 NL MVP smacked a triple, driving in two runs. Puk then gave up a double to Willy Adames that drove in a third run. "I missed my first-pitch slider," said Puk recalling the Yelich pitch sequence, "and then went with a sinker in, hit it into the dugout. Did the same thing, hit it on the black and made a good adjustment. [He] put the ball in play and got me good." The triple had an exit velo of 111.0 mph, the hardest hit for either team on Tuesday. With the loss, the Marlins drop to 16-34 on the season while the Brewers move to 28-20. The rubber match will be a battle of aces. Jesús Luzardo will go up against Freddy Peralta. First pitch is at 6:40 pm. View full article

A 7-24 start in March/April quickly took the Marlins out of the 2024 postseason race, but many players on the roster have turned things around since then to make the team far more competitive. After a putrid start to the season, the Miami Marlins currently find themselves at 16-33 on the season. Although they are on pace for the most losses in franchise history, the overall record doesn't truly reflect the talent that they have. In the month of May, the team is finally clicking, going 9-9 since the calendar flipped and showing improvement in every area. Understandably, there were serious concerns about Miami's offensive production once the decision was made to trade NL batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres. The Marlins lost their leadoff hitter, creating a hole in a lineup that was already struggling mightily even with his help. Fortunately, several underperforming veterans have gotten hot at the plate to make up for Arraez's absence. Josh Bell, the most expensive player on the Marlins roster, has begun looking like his usual self. In the month of March/April, Bell slashed .181/.269/.285/.554 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. In the month of May, he has completely turned it around, slashing .328/.408/.522/.930 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. "It wasn't like I was gonna take him out of games," said manager Skip Schumaker regarding Bell's slow start. "He's good on both sides of the plate. It's just a matter of time and we needed him to get going." On Saturday, Bell took New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz deep for a three-run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Marlins eventually won in extra innings. On Monday, Bell delivered the walk-off hit himself, ripping a single through the infield with the bases loaded to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers. 200d8dea-6909a21b-9c59957a-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Utility man Nick Gordon is a platoon player, mainly facing right-handed pitching. The recent scheduling has been favorable for him as the Marlins faced only three lefty starters in their first 18 May games. That has put Gordon in a position to start almost every single day in left field, and he's taken advantage of the consistent playing time. In the month of March/April, Gordon slashed .177/.208/.338/.547 with three home runs and 12 RBIs. In May, Gordon is slashing .327/.352/.481/.833 with two home runs and six RBIs. Schumaker noted following Saturday's game that Gordon isn't putting as much pressure on himself to hit for power, yet he's still making quality contact, raising his average exit velocity from 86.5 mph to 89.2 mph. The Marlins catching tandem has been extremely underwhelming offensively to begin the season, but this past weekend, both Nick Fortes and Christian Bethancourt hit home runs against the Mets. In the first month of the season, the catchers combined to hit 8-for-95 with five RBIs. They've improved to 13-for-54 with nine RBIs in May. The trade of Arraez and injury absence of shortstop Tim Anderson cleared the way for Marlins waiver claim Otto Lopez to get an opportunity. After torching the Triple-A level, Lopez has made a smooth transition to the big leagues, slashing .296/.339/.519/.858 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and a 140 wRC+. He also leads all Marlins position players with 0.8 bWAR (tied with Bryan De La Cruz). The Marlins have turned to Jazz Chisholm Jr. to be their new everyday leadoff hitter. Since the Arraez trade, Chisholm is slashing .286/.438/.492/.840 with two home runs and six RBIs in 16 games, closely resembling the production that made him an All-Star in 2022. In addition to these bats turning the corner, the Marlins' run prevention has been a lot better in May. Recently, their pitching staff threw three straight shutouts, becoming the first Marlins team in 19 years to do so. Jesús Luzardo has posted a 1.54 ERA and 0.84 FIP in two starts since returning from the injured list. The Marlins have also benefited from the emergence of Ryan Weathers. The young lefty went eight innings against the Detroit Tigers and seven more against the Brewers on Monday, keeping games close while also helping the bullpen stay rested. b06e2ab5-d65ac4b1-239ae9f4-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 You can see the difference from a defensive standpoint. Marlins fielders combined for minus-20 outs above average in March/April, per Baseball Savant, by far the worst mark in MLB. Entering Tuesday, they are at plus-one OAA in May. The Marlins have nine games still to play in May: two at home against the Brewers, then they go on the road to face the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres for three games apiece before returning to Miami on May 31 to host the defending World Series champs, the Texas Rangers. View full article

Marlins first baseman Josh Bell addresses the media after Saturday's comeback win, describing his game-tying three-run home run off of Mets closer Edwin Díaz and how he pulled himself out of an early-season slump. View full video

For his career, Josh Bell had been 0-for-5 against closer Edwin Díaz. On Saturday, Bell took him deep on the first pitch to keep the Marlins alive, setting up an Otto Lopez walk-off base hit in the bottom of the tenth. MIAMI, FL—After winning each of their past three games in shutout fashion, the Miami Marlins showed that their offense is also capable of leading them to victory. On Saturday, despite trailing the Mets 7-2 after five innings and 9-5 entering the bottom of the ninth, they found a way to tie it up and finish the job in extra innings, much like the team that had so many late-game rallies in 2023. The Marlins walked-off the Mets by a final score of 10-9 in ten innings. This season, Mets closer Edwin Díaz has struggled, posting a 3.57 ERA and 4.37 FIP. Díaz has also struggled to close out games as he only had five saves on the season, but three blown saves. On Saturday, he suffered his worst blow-up of them all. Vidal Bruján led off the ninth inning with a double and was driven in by Jazz Chisholm Jr., but still trailed 9-6. A Bryan De La Cruz base hit put runners on first and second with Josh Bell up. In his career against Edwin Diaz, Bell was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. On the first pitch that the Marlins first baseman saw, he took Diaz deep 428 feet to dead center for a three-run shot that tied the game at nine apiece. "He might be a guy that you want to wait out." said Bell after the game. "Just watching Bruján, watching Jazz and De La get hits there, decided to try to jump on the slider over the heart of the plate." After what was a rough start to the season for Bell, a new month has been exactly what he needed. Entering Saturday's game, Bell was slashing .296/.387/.463/.850 in May with two home runs and 10 RBIs. On Saturday, Bell went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. "Didn't think he was going to hit .160 or .170 forever," said Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "He's just too good of a player. He's gonna be playing every day. It wasn't like I was gonna take him out of games. He's good on both sides of the plate. It's just a matter of time and we needed him to get going." Bell tied it, but Otto Lopez walked it off for the Fish, the first walk-off hit of his career. With a runner on third, Lopez was facing former Marlins reliever Jorge Lopez (no relation to each other). On a 1-1 count, Lopez went with the sinker right down the middle that the rookie infielder was able to take advantage of and knock an RBI single to center field. After tough start to the season, Marlins utility man Nick Gordon has turned it around, slashing .302/.318/.465/.783 with two home runs and four RBIs in May. Gordon kicked the game off with an RBI double, driving in Jesús Sánchez to have the Marlins trail by one run in the bottom of the second inning. Gordon ended the game going 2-for-4 with an RBI, a walk and a run scored. "Not trying to hit it over our bullpen," said Schumaker following the game on what he's seen from Gordon this month. "When he's middled the other way, he's a good hitter. When you're seeing the doubles and singles the other way, that means he's staying on the ball. He's got enough power pull side. That's going to happen. He doesn't have to try to force it." In the bottom of the third inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. took advantage of Mets starter Luis Severino's sinker and hit his sixth home run of the season, tying the game at two apiece. The ball left the bat at 106.4 mph and went 413 feet. That was Chisholm's third-longest home run of the season. Chisholm would then knock in an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Marlins center fielder ended the game going 3-for-5 with a home run two RBIs. He scored two runs as well. The lead-off hitter is now slashing .260/.333/.434/.767 with six home run and 24 RBIs. Starting pitcher Braxton Garrett took the mound for his second start of the season. Garrett ran into trouble right away. In the top of the first inning, the Marlins starter surrendered back-to-back RBI singles to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead. Both of those hits came on the changeup. In the top of the fourth inning, Francisco Lindor grounded out, but the runner on third scored, giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. Although Garrett struck out five, he gave up six runs. That's because in top of the fifth inning, Miami went to Declan Cronin with one out and the bases loaded. One of the best relievers on the team this season, Cronin had yet to allow any inherited runners to score. Different story for him in this appearance. The first hitter he faced was Harrison Bader who smacked an RBI single to drive in two runs, making it a 5-2 game and then Jeff McNeil drove in Starling Marte and Bader on an single, giving the Mets what looked at the time to be a comfortable 7-2 advantage. With the win, the Marlins find themselves on a season-best four-game win streak and move up to 15-32 on the season while the Mets drop to 20-25. The Marlins go for their second sweep of the season on Sunday with Sixto Sánchez taking the mound. First pitch is at 1:40 pm. View full article

After throwing back-to-back shutouts in Detroit to take the series, the Marlins held another opponent scoreless on Friday, led by Jesús Luzardo's seven-strikeout performance. MIAMI, FL—On Friday, the Miami Marlins kicked off game one of a six-game homestand. The weekend series featured the division rival New York Mets. Jesús Luzardo, coming off an eight-strikeout performance against the Philadelphia Phillies, looked to repeat that again. Luzardo led the Marlins to their third straight win in shutout fashion by the final score of 8-0. It's the third time in franchise history that the Marlins have shut out their opponents for three straight games. It was previously done in 2004 and 2005. “I think it's super, super cool,” said Marlins catcher Nick Fortes who has been behind the plate the last couple of games. “I think that's kind of a very unique accomplishment accomplishment I would say so. It's something I take a lot of a lot of pride in. It's not just me. It's a testament to these pitchers who have been putting so much work in. It's really really cool to see.” If the Marlins shut out the Mets on Saturday afternoon, the 2024 Marlins would become the first team in franchise history to shut out an opponent four straight times. Luzardo was coming off his best start of the season, but had been on a pitch limit after spending time on the injured list. On Friday, he got a longer leash (89 pitches) and completed six innings for the second time this season. Everything clicked for the Marlins starting pitcher. As impressive as Luzardo's seven strikeouts were, Friday's game also marked the first time this season that he didn't allow a walk. e62541d2-84b1e958-dea58ab5-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 “I think the fastball in up to righties really opened up the change,” said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. “The changeup was his pitch tonight. It was super effective. His slider is usually his pitch, but when he doesn't, not that he didn't have it, but the changeup was just the pitch to go to tonight.” Going with his usual fastball/slider combo worked. He generated 14 whiffs and six of his seven strikeouts were swinging. Luzardo mixed the four-seamer and slider well, using the four-seam 34% of the time while using the slider 35% of the time. Although he used those pitches the most, the changeup accounted for nine of the 14 whiffs. “I lean on it a little bit,” said Luzardo when talking about his changeup. "Not as much as I did tonight. I felt like it was basically my go-to pitch and it got me out of a lot of bad counts and jams.” Christian Scott, a Top 30 prospect in the New York Mets system according to MLB Pipeline, had been dominant through two starts. In his debut against the Rays, he went 6 ⅔ innings of one-run ball, striking out six. Against the Atlanta Braves, he struck out eight through six innings of work. On Friday, the Marlins got to Scott early in the second inning. Otto Lopez kicked off the scoring with a sac fly, driving in Jesús Sánchez to give Miami an early 1-0 lead. Production from Marlins catchers this season has been nothing short of disappointing. Any sort of offensive impact from the catching position is a plus. With runners on first and second with two outs, Nick Fortes took Scott deep for a three-run shot to extend the Miami lead to 4-0. Entering Friday’s game, Fortes had been slashing .127/.159/.190/.348 with one home run and five RBIs. Fortes has noted the struggles and knows that there’s room for improvement. “It’s tough because I know that there's so much more in there for me,” said Fortes. “I know I can do a lot better. It's been frustrating, but I've definitely been putting the work in and I think I'm starting to finally get to a point where I feel a little bit more comfortable. Hopefully, I can continue to ride that a little bit, but I'm just trying to keep my focus on our pitchers which is what Skip has told me is the most important thing.” The Marlins went on to score three more runs. Vidal Bruján scored on a wild pitch, Bryan De La Cruz drove in a run on a sac fly, Josh Bell grounded into a fielder's choice, but the runner on third scored and Jake Burger drove in his first run since returning from the IL. The Marlins took a commanding 8-0 lead that they never looked back from. With the win, the Marlins move to 14-32 on the season while the Mets fall to 20-24. On Saturday, Braxton Garrett will take the mound for the Marlins making his second start of the season while Luis Severino will take the mound for New York. First pitch will be at 4:10 pm. View full article

Fish Unfiltered—Episode #58 We're pleased to welcome back Billy Gil of the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz! Billy joins Kevin Barral and Isaac Azout for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of the Miami Marlins, their promotion with Burger King, key players they should rebuild around, what it's like to attend Marlins home games and much more. 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, Big Fish Small Pod, Swimming Upstream and more. The Fish On First podcast is now being presented by MPT College Consulting! They pride themselves on helping clients navigate the college application process. This includes preparation for standardized testing, guidance through high school, assistance with essays and applications, and choosing the right college. Visit them today at mptcollegeconsulting.com to learn more about their services and schedule a free consultation. Follow Billy (@billygil), Kevin (@kevin_barral), Isaac (@IsaacAzout) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article