Kevin Barral

Maybe trying to do too much was the issue for the Miami Marlins as they fell to the New York Mets on Wednesday, 8-3. With struggles from Eury Pérez and a lackluster offensive performance, the Marlins missed an opportunity to beat up on a Mets team that's already out of the playoff race and looking toward the future. "We didn't play really well this series," said Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "Just bad timing for this series, and it wasn't lack of effort. They played hard. Maybe too hard at times and try to force some plays. Just another tough, tough game." The biggest issue for the rookie Pérez was not being able to find the strike zone. Walking three and only striking out two, he gave up three runs, with only two of them being earned. Pérez relied heavily on his fastball, which isn't typically his best pitch. Even though he averaged 96.9 mph with it, his command was not consistent and the Mets took advantage. They swung at it 25 times, with only three of those swings being whiffs. Pitch locations and results of every Eury Pérez fastball | Baseball SavantPérez gave up an early home run to designated hitter Mark Vientos in the top of the second inning. Then in the third, Pérez gave up a single to Ronny Mauricio which resulted in another run due to back-to-back errors by the Marlins defense. Finally, Pete Alonso hit a sac fly to drive in the third run of the game. Following the Mauricio single, Jake Burger was taken out of the game with an apparent injury. It was later announced that he was removed due to right quad tightness. Burger said he felt discomfort on "the initial launch for the ball before it got by me," trying to reach an errant throw from Jesús Sánchez. He hopes to available for the Marlins' next game on Friday. Getting back to Pérez, this was his shortest outing since his nightmare start against the Atlanta Braves. It was also the first time in his career that he has recorded more walks than strikeouts. Postgame, when Pérez spoke to the media, he mentioned that with the end of the season approaching, he is just starting to feel it. He has totaled 128 innings between the majors and minors compared to only 77 innings during the 2022 season. After Pérez was removed from the game, the Mets were able to score five more runs off of Johnny Cueto and the Marlins bullpen. That included homers by Vientos, Brett Baty and Brandon Nimmo. Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga once again produced a quality outing where he went six innings, struck out three, walked two and gave up two runs off of seven hits. The second run that Senga allowed was a Josh Bell leadoff home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The ball left the bat at 108.2 mph and went 417 feet. That was Bell's 21st home run of the season and his 10th as a Marlin. Bell is also the second Marlins player to homer off of Senga—the other was Jazz Chisholm Jr. on April 8. Friday was expected to be Cueto's spot in the rotation, but Schumaker told the media that he will continue to come out of the bullpen for the near future. Instead, the Marlins will be going with an opener (he didn't give a specific name) in their first game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Looking up and down the Miami Marlins roster, there is a lot of playoff experience. David Robertson (2009), Johnny Cueto (2015), Jorge Soler (2021) and Yuli Gurriel (2017 & 2022) are all former World Series champions. So was manager Skip Schumaker (2011) during his playing days. Also, some players still remain from the Marlins team that reached October in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. What you might not realize is pitchers Jesús Luzardo and A.J. Puk gained that experience, too. Both were part of postseason baseball as members of the Oakland Athletics. Puk was on their 2019 AL Wild Card Game roster, though he did not appear in the game. The 2021 A's looked like serious contenders for most of the season before coming up short in the end. Puk came up from the minors in August to contribute out of the bullpen for them. "It was definitely the best time of the year," said Puk. "It's fun being in it. Don't put too much pressure on yourself and just go out there have fun and play and know that what's gonna happen is gonna happen and the team's real focus is right now. I am excited to see what we can do." Luzardo had a 5.91 ERA and 7.13 FIP in 10 ⅔ total innings in 2019 and 2020. His best outing was his postseason debut where he went three shutout innings, struck out four, walked two and gave up one hit against the Tampa Bay Rays. https://cuts.diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2019/2019-10/02/20de8e11-9cace03c-5538028d-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Luzardo finds himself in a different role these days—he is a stable piece of the Marlins rotation. With a 3.68 ERA and 3.67 FIP in 166 ⅓ innings pitched, he's been a huge reason why they are still in the NL Wild Card race with only 10 games left in the regular season. "I think the mentality is just go out and play the best brand of baseball we can," said Luzardo on Wednesday before the game. "At the end of the day, if we go and everyone does their job and plays as good of baseball as possible, I think we're gonna have a good chance." Although Luzardo does have his own playoff experience, he still values what the older veterans on the team have to say. "I'll take all the experience I can get," said Luzardo. "I still asked to Cueto, Soler and Yuli about the playoffs and how they've been, but in my time, just what I've been able to tell these guys is take it game by game and forget about yesterday. If you have a good game, a bad game, the most important game is the next one. I think that's what I can give to the younger guys in my position." Luzardo is expected to make two more regular season starts to push Miami to a Wild Card berth: Saturday at home against the Brewers and next weekend on the road against the Pirates during the Marlins' final series.

MIAMI -- In 2022, Luis Arraez won the American League batting title with a .316 batting average. One year later, while in the National League, his batting average is currently .351. Although he stands at the top of not only the National League but all of Major League Baseball, there are a couple of players who aren't too far behind and could get in the way of Arraez making history. In the month of August, Arraez put up his worst numbers of the season, slashing .236/.243/.336/.579. A lot of it can be attributed to Arraez using a different approach at the plate where he would try to lift the ball more to see if he can generate some power, but that isn't who Arraez is. He is a professional hitter who can get on base by slashing line drives all over and drive runs in. "I am human," said Arráez a couple of weeks back. "I just didn't have luck in the month of August. I would just hit the ball and it would go right in front of the position players. Just the day before, I hit three straight line drives and I didn't have any luck." Throughout the month of September, Arráez is slashing .387/.415/.677/1.092 with five home runs and 11 RBI. Not only is Arráez still attempting to hit for more power, as he now has 10 home runs on the year, but he is still looking to get on base at a high clip and drive runners in with his signature slap hits. In game one of the three game set against the New York Mets, Arráez reached the 200 hit plateau for the first time in his career. On the Marlins history side of things, Arráez became the fourth Marlin to reach the 200 hit plateau, but this is the sixth time that a Marlins player has reached it. Hanley Ramirez did it once in 2007, while Dee Strange-Gordon and Juan Pierre each did it twice. Additionally, if Arráez wins the National League batting title, he would become the third Marlins player ever to win the award and would hold the highest single-season batting average in franchise history (Hanley Ramirez previously held that honor with a .342 BA in 2009.) History?If Arráez is able to hold on to the lead he currently has, he will become the first player in MLB history to win the batting title in back-to-back years in a different league. The only player to win the batting title in two different leagues was New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahiu. He won the National League batting title in 2016 as a member of the Colorado Rockies and then the American League title in 2020 as a member of the New York Yankees. "Yeah, look. Since the beginning of the season they had already told me about it," said Arráez when I spoke to him about the possibility. "I have great competitors behind me, and I think that they are great hitters." If there is someone in the National League who can spoil his chance at history, it is NL MVP favorite Ronald Acuña Jr of the Atlanta Braves, who currently sits at a .337 batting average. Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman is just behind Acuña at a .335 clip. Freeman's month of August is what helped him out a lot. In August, he slashed .374/.434/.617/1.051, easily his best month of the 2023 season. "Great guy," said Arráez when asked about Freeman. "One my favorite baseball players. Not just as a player, but as a hitter. I think that Freddie is an amazing guy and that he deserves a lot of respect. I always follow him, he is a great player and no, I cannot get confident, because if I get confident, I know that in three days he can have five hits and he can pass me." Ronald Acuña Jr. is ahead of Freeman in the batting race, and he is chasing some history of his own: A 40/70 (!) season. This is a feat that has never been achieved in baseball history. Unfortunately for Acuña, he went down in Game One of a three-game set in Miami with right calf tightness. Luckily, it looks like he will be able to avoid the IL.

Fresh off clinching the NL East for the sixth consecutive season, the Atlanta Braves strolled into loanDepot Park on Friday to begin a three-game set with their division rival Marlins. An exciting back and forth contest ended with the Marlins taking down the mighty Atlanta Braves to a final score of 9-6. "I mean, if nothing else really happens this year, just super proud of how these guys go about their business," said Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "There's no quit. They fight to the end. When we gave up the lead in the sixth inning, I guess it'd be six to four. With a really good back end bullpen, De La [Cruz] coming out of the game, they just didn't give up." After a tough outing against the Philadelphia Phillies, Johnny Cueto was on the mound and was able to provide a marginally better start on Friday as he went four innings, struck out two and gave up three runs on seven hits. This season, Cueto has mostly used his fastball followed by his slider. On Friday, Cueto shifted his attention towards a fastball/changeup combo. All eight of Cueto's whiffs came on those two pitches. A big factor has been the way that he has used his infamous shimmy, messing with hitters' timing and generating some weak contact. "I thought it was tough," said Schumaker. "Tough for him to get through. It's tough on any pitcher to get through that that lineup, but for him to give us four innings with the bullpen day tomorrow, it was important. Considered him going out in the fifth inning, but just felt like it was already third time through and we had some guys that were semi-fresh." The Marlins' offense took advantage of Atlanta starter Bryce Elder's recent rough stretch these past few months and ambushed him for three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Luis Arráez got it going for Miami as he hit his fifth career lead-off homer and his third as a Marlin. Arráez home run also was his eighth of the season, tying a career high. Arráez got to Elder's sinker, which is his primary pitch. Marlins led, 1-0. After slashing .214/.267/.214 in Miami's four game set in Milwaukee, Jake Burger was happy to finally be back home. Following a strikeout of Josh Bell, Burger laced an 102.1 mph double to left, his first XBH since September 9. Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out after, but Bryan De La Cruz, who is the king of September, drove in Burger on an RBI single to make it 2-0, Miami. Miami's final first inning run came from a Jesus Sanchez triple, his third of the season which drove in Bryan De La Cruz from second. Miami took the 3-0 lead early in the first, giving Johnny Cueto some room to work with. It didn't take long for the Braves to get their offense going. After a quiet two innings, the Braves number nine hitter Michael Harris II hit a first pitch homer off of Cueto. That was Harris II's 17th home run of the season, and the 13th home run allowed by Cueto this season. Ronald Acuña, who is chasing a 40/70 season, got a base hit and after Ozzie Albies grounded out, Acuña made his way to second base. With one out in the inning, Austin Riley drove in Acuña with an RBI single. Riley's RBI left the bat at 74.4 mph and Acuña had a 29.7 sprint speed. That gave Atlanta the second run of the ball game. In Acuña's next at bat, he lifted a sac fly that drove in shortstop Orlando Arcia who had a double in his plate appearance. Braves were just down 4-3 after the sac fly. The Braves then went on to tie the game at four apiece with an Eddie Rosario sac fly in the fifth. In the top of the sixth inning, the Braves got to work. Miami went to David Robertson and right off the bat, Orlando Arcia got himself a double. After Arcia moved to third thanks to a productive out by Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña worked the walk which set up Ozzie Albies with runners on the corners. After a long 10 pitch at bat, Albies won the battle and drove in both Arcia and Acuña on an RBI double to give Atlanta the first lead of the game. Braves led, 6-4. Marlins MagicIn an eventful seventh inning, the Marlins were able to retake their lead. Luis Arráez, who in a major league game has never had a multi-homer game, gave the Marlins their fifth run of the game thanks to a solo shot into the right field seats. That was Arráez ninth home run of the season. After Bell and Burger were retired, Braves manager Brian Snitker went to lefty Brad Hand to finish the inning. Jazz Chisholm Jr, however, got a base hit to keep the inning alive. Garrett Hampson followed with a clutch RBI double to drive in Chisholm Jr and tie the game at six. With Hampson at second, Miami decided to pinch hit Yuli Gurriel for Jesus Sánchez. The Braves intentionally walked Gurriel and with with runners on first and second, Xavier Edwards was hit by a pitch which loaded the bases for Jacob Stallings. "Going into the at bat, I mean obviously just kind of surprised that the X [Xavier Edwards] got hit and I walked up to the box and I didn't realize that he hadn't run to first yet. He was like, still right there. I had to check on him there, but I just kind of had a feeling I was gonna get it done. It's kind of funny. I looked at where the left fielder was positioned before the hit. I don't know why, I just looked out there and just felt like I was gonna get it done." Leading up to this moment, Stallings had been hitting the ball better as he surpassed the Mendoza line and in June and July had a batting average over .250. With the bases loaded and two outs, Stallings hit a 91.9 mile per hour bases-clearing double which gave the Marlins a 9-6 lead over the best team in baseball. Andrew Nardi and Tanner Scott pitched the eighth and ninth, respectively, to close out Friday's blockbuster affair. Scott earned his ninth save of the season while A.J. Puk earned the win. The former Marlin Brad Hand suffered the loss as Atlanta fell to 96-52 while Miami improved to 76-72. The Marlins and Braves will go at it again tomorrow at 4:10 pm with Bryan Hoeing getting the start. The Braves have not yet announced a starter. Notes: Luis Arraéz completed his first career multi-homer game, lifting two solo shots on Friday. Stallings went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI, his first multi-xbh game since May 24, 2021. Bryan De La Cruz was taken out of Friday's ballgame with right ankle discomfort. He is day-to-dayMVP favorite Ronald Acuña Jr. also was taken out of Friday's ballgame with right calf tightness. We are told it was precautionary.

When it comes to prospects, we focus so much on the tools that these players have and what they project to become at the major league level. However, there is something to be said for the guys who actually produce on the field while moving through the minors. These are the Miami Marlins minor leaguers who most deserve recognition based on their 2023 numbers. All stats updated entering September 15 (the MiLB regular season isn't over yet for Triple-A Jacksonville and Double-A Pensacola) International Player of the Year: Andres Valor Signing out of Venezuela for $520k, Valor has gotten off to a great start to his young pro career. Slashing .294/.360/.466/.825 with five home runs, 25 RBIs and a 116 wRC+, Valor is only 17 years old. Something to note is that outfielder was helped by a .377 BABIP, which will be difficult to maintain at higher levels against improved fielders. It's important for him to reduce his strikeout rate a bit against right-handed pitching and put more balls in play. Valor was also an easy choice given the fact that the rest of the 2023 signing class has been underwhelming for the most part. Most Surprising Player: Will Banfield Ever since being drafted by the Marlins, Banfield has struggled offensively, never coming anywhere close to a wRC+ over 100 at a full-season level. There were positive signs late in the 2022 season after he earned the promotion to AA Pensacola. Banfield stuck at the AA level this season and proved that his strong finish was more than just a hot streak. Currently slashing .262/.305/.477/.782 with 23 home runs and 75 RBIs along with great defense, he leads the Blue Wahoos in hits and total bases. The 23-year-old has figured out how to consistently lift the ball and let his strength do the rest. The concern that I have with Banfield is his aggressiveness at the plate. There is still plenty of swing-and-miss to his game and very few walks. It's unclear how that approach will translate as he moves up. It's no secret that the Marlins have gotten terrible production from their catchers in the majors. Banfield is someone who will be competing for a spot on their 26-man roster come 2024 spring training. Underrated Prospect of the Year: Javier Sanoja Javier Sanoja has put up one of the best offensive seasons in the Marlins farm system, yet he doesn't get talked about accordingly. The speedy Sanoja began the season with the Jupiter Hammerheads and was promoted to High-A Beloit in August. He finished the season slashing .298/.348/.388/.736 with four home runs, 67 RBIs and 37 stolen bases. Just as impressive, he did that while playing premium defensive positions, mostly center field and shortstop. In the spirit of fellow Venezuelan Luis Arráez, Sanoja struck out at a 7.0% rate at both levels, which was amongst the lowest in the minor leagues. Undrafted free agent Jake Thompson also deserves a shoutout here. He has a 151 wRC+ at High-A and Double-A combined. Top 2023 Draftee: Noble Meyer The start-to-start improvement we have seen from Marlins first-round pick Noble Meyer is impressive. After a rather shaky pro debut, Meyer's pitch count has gone up after each start. In his latest start, which was a Jupiter Hammerheads playoff game, the right-hander tossed 3.2 IP where he didn't give up a hit and struck out two. For the most part, his fastball velocity has been in the mid-90s and he already has a lot of confidence in his breaking balls. Meyer feels that getting ahead in the count is something that he wants to improve, which comes down to fastball location. Sixth-round pick Jake DeLeo also made a strong case to win this award. Pitcher of the Year: Patrick Monteverde With Eury Pérez heading to the big leagues and other Marlins pitchers with the highest ceilings getting limited workloads, the clear candidate to win the award is Pat Monteverde. Posting a 4.18 ERA through AA and AAA (122.2 IP), Monteverde was especially dominant during the first half of the season. Even with limited fastball velocity, Monteverde has been able to find his success by generating a lot of soft contact and swing and miss. Expect Monteverde to begin the 2024 minor league season with the Jumbo Shrimp. There were two relievers in the minors who really stood out as well: Anthony Maldonado (1.72 ERA and 73 K in 47.0 IP) and Luarbert Arias (1.87 ERA and 77 K in 57.2 IP). Hitter of the Year: Troy Johnston This was an easy choice. Troy Johnston's first stint with AAA Jacksonville didn't go well, so he was asked to repeat Pensacola in 2023. After he slashed .296/.396/.567/.963 with 18 home runs, 83 RBIs and a 151 wRC+ down there, the lefty bat earned another promotion to the Jumbo Shrimp. So far through 43 games played at the highest minor league level, Johnston is slashing .339/.407/.560/.967 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs. On top of what he has done with the bat, he has been even better on the basepaths, accomplishing the first 20/20 season for a Marlins prospect since 2008. https://fishonfirst.com/farm/troy-johnston-20-20-season/The 26-year-old really has nothing left to prove in the minors now that both his power and speed have taken steps forward. Having a player like Johnston on the current Marlins roster could help out their offense. Instead, it seems that he'll have to wait for 2024 to compete for a spot.

After three years without appearing in a professional game, Miami Marlins prospect Sixto Sanchez threw one inning at the AA level on Tuesday night. The Marlins acquired Sanchez in February of 2019 from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for catcher J.T. Realmuto. After a superb rookie season in 2020, he has been marred by injuries ever since. In his one inning of work on Tuesday, Sanchez allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out two. When it came to velocity, Sanchez topped out at 88 mph on his fastball. But for the majority of his outing, he went with off-speed pitches, which generated a few whiffs. After inducing a weak grounder to short, Sanchez then struck out Cal Conley after beginning that sequence with a slow curveball at 73 mph. After a failed bunt attempt, he got another swing and miss with the off-speed pitch, giving him his first professional strikeout in three years. Sanchez then gave up his first walk after the strikeout and then gave up a sharp single to Drake Badlwin, which put runners on first and second with two outs for Jesse Franklin. He began that sequence with a curveball for a strike that was a lot faster than the 73 mph pitch that he threw to the previous batter. After Franklin fouled off the second pitch, Sanchez threw another breaking ball down which got the hitter to whiff and end the inning. Although his reduced velocity is a concern—his fastball used to sit in the high 90s before the injuries—this is a huge milestone for the Dominican right-hander. Getting into his first professional game since spring training of 2021 and being able to have success with the two strikeouts and the scoreless inning was big. It is not certain when Sixto Sanchez will pitch again, but he will most likely have a bigger workload as he goes.

The Miami Marlins had the opportunity to complete a three-game sweep of the LA Dodgers on Thursday night. Unfortunately, Ryan Pepiot was magnificent through seven shutout innings to help the Dodgers salvage a game against Miami, beating them 10-0. Thursday's starter for Miami was Braxton Garrett, who didn't have his best stuff. In 3.2 IP, Garrett walked three, struck out four and gave up one earned run on three hits. He also hit a batter. The Dodgers made him work, which is why he was taken out with two outs in the top of the fourth with 91 pitches. Aside from using the slider just a bit more than the sinker on Thursday, Garrett went with his usual arsenal which also included the cutter. What hurt Garrett was his lack of command and a pesky Dodger lineup. They worked a lot of deep counts, especially in the fourth when Austin Barnes and Miguel Rojas both worked seven pitch at bats. Before Barnes and Rojas, Kiké Hernandez worked a 10 pitch plate appearance which resulted in a walk. "Brax just couldn't put anybody away," said Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. "They kept fouling pitches off and long at bats and just couldn't only put anyone away, but put it in play. He only gave up three hits one run, but his pitch count just got way too high and couldn't let it go any further." Garrett reiterated Schumaker's point. "They had really good at-bats. Feel like I found myself a lot of times in great counts and then I just struggled getting out of at-bats. They're fouling off a ton of balls off cutter and tried to sink them. Just couldn't put them away." The one run that Garrett surrendered came in the top of the third inning when designated hitter, Will Smith, drove in Miguel Rojas with the bases loaded and one out. Garrett was replaced by J.T. Chargois, who punched out Mookie Betts to end the threat in the fourth. After reliever J.T. Chargois did his job, the Marlins went with long man George Soriano to start the fifth, where things got ugly. The Dodgers pounded him for six hits and five earned runs, knocking him out of the game after only recording four outs. One of the five runs came from Freddie Freeman's 52nd double of the season, which tied a Dodger franchise record for most doubles in a season. On that double, with Mookie Betts on first, the ball boy mistakingly picked up the live ball. At the umpires discretion, he allowed Betts to score anyway. The last time the Marlins faced starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot, he tossed five innings, struck out five and only gave up one run on three hits. This time around, he was even better. Pepiot retired the first 19 batters he faced, flirting with perfection in South Florida. It was broken up by first baseman Josh Bell, who drilled a clean single up the middle. Pepiot would complete the inning, going seven strong while striking out three. Pepiot, who for the most part has a high strikeout rate, didn't strikeout too many guys, but generated a lot of weak contact, which allowed him to work quickly and efficiently. "The changeup gave us trouble all night," said Schumaker. "We couldn't lay off of it. We swung out of the zone, couldn't hit it when it was in the zone and just kind of back and forth with the fastball at the top and then with a changeup. Kind of tunneling it and we just couldn't lay off it. We knew coming in that he had a good changeup, we faced him at their place, but it was just in the strike zone so long and just fell out in the bottom out towards the end and we just had a tough time laying off the pitch." The Dodgers would go on to score four more runs to make it a 10-0 Dodgers win. First, Chris Taylor drove in Max Muncy on an RBI double. In his next at bat, Taylor crushed a three-run homer to give them the 10 runs. Garrett suffered his eighth loss on the season while Pepiot earned his second win. The Marlins now travel to the city of brotherly love to face off against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. Eury Pérez will take the mound for game one for Miami as Cristopher Sanchez goes for the Phillies. Game begins at 7:05 pm EST.

Marlins rookie infielder Xavier Edwards talks to Fish On First's Kevin Barral about returning to the majors, how he changed his hitting approach this season, what he can learn from teammate Luis Arraez, where he's most comfortable defensively and more. Subscribe to the FOF YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you don't miss any of our player interviews!

After taking a crucial game one against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the vibes around the Miami Marlins were high as they beat one of the best teams in baseball and had won five in a row overall. But prior to Wednesday's game, they learned that both Sandy Alcantara and Jorge Soler had placed on the IL. Despite the deflating news, the Marlins still had a game to play. The Marlins went with JT Chargois as the opener and decided to go with a fairly traditional bullpen until the top of the fifth inning, which is when they went with Edward Cabrera who took most of the workload. The only run that the Dodgers scored against the Marlins first three pitchers was a Jason Heyward solo homer which A.J. Puk surrendered. That was the ninth home run that Puk surrendered. Heyward's only two hits against left-handed pitchers this season have both been home runs. Dodgers led, 1-0. The bottom of the fifth inning saw two unlikely candidates spark the offense against Lance Lynn. First, Jacob Stallings led the inning off with a 102.5 mph double which was followed by a Joey Wendle 105.5 mph homer to right field to put the Marlins ahead, 2-1. Prior to Wendle's homer, he was slashing .095/.136/.143/.279 in his last 10 games, so if someone needed a big at bat, it was the slumping Wendle. "He's been fighting," said Skip Schumaker. "Every day, he was trying to get back on track and obviously not where he's wanting to be. This part of the season, you can throw all that stuff away and know that we're trying to get to where we want to get to with 20-something games left and so he's out there trying." The home runs didn't end there. After Wendle's home run, Luis Arráez and Jake Burger worked walks to get on base. Cleanup hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a three-run homer to left field and the Marlins led, 5-1. That was Chisholm Jr.'s 16th home run of the season. "Sometimes when you hit a couple of home runs, you start to overswing," said Skip Schumaker. "I still feel like he's taking good at-bats and not overswinging. He's got enough twitch and enough talent. He doesn't need to create more and I think he's starting to understand that." After Bryan De La Cruz popped out, Jesús Sánchez followed him up and his a solo homer 441 feet into the second deck and that extended the Marlins lead, 6-1. That was Sánchez's 14th home run of the season. Back-to-back singles brought to you by Xavier Edwards and Jacob Stallings (bunt single) set up a Joey Wendle RBI single which was then followed by a Luis Arráez RBI double. Marlins took a 9-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. That huge bottom of the fifth by the Marlins set a season high for runs scored in an inning. The Marlins final two runs of the game came thanks to Joey Wendle and pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel, who both had RBI doubles. That gave the Marlins a 11-1 lead. Edward Cabrera, who was making his first appearance back after being sent down to AAA Jacksonville, looked great. Cabrera struck out eight hitters through four scoreless innings of work and only walked two batters, which occurred in his first inning. https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-09/06/225c5817-15f90093-5bf97eb4-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4After the initial control issues, Cabrera attacked the strike zone a lot more in his start, throwing more than two-thirds of his pitches for strikes. He got ahead in the count a lot, which was a key factor that led to him generating swing-and-miss outside the zone for K's. Postgame, when speaking to Cabrera, he really emphasized that what he was working on in AAA translated to his appearance. The Marlins ended up winning the game by a final score of 11-4. Bryan Hoeing entered the game in the ninth and gave up a couple of runs, including a home run to James Outman. The Marlins go for the sweep on Thursday with Braxton Garrett on the mound for Miami. Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Near the conclusion of Sandy Alcantara's start against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, the 2022 NL Cy Young award winner felt discomfort in his throwing arm. It could prove to be the conclusion of his 2023 season. As first reported by Craig Mish of SportsGrid, Alcantara suffered a right forearm flexor strain. The Marlins placed him on the 15-day injured list prior to Wednesday's game. https://fishonfirst.com/news/tracking-miami-marlins-injury-rehab-updates/"Personally, I feel good, but at the same time, I feel sad," said Alcantara just a couple minutes after the news was announced. "I [have to] be shut down for a couple of days. I don't like to stop working, especially working out there with my teammates, but I feel bad about it." Alcantara has posted a 4.14 ERA and 4.03 FIP through 184.2 innings pitched. Although he didn't look like his 2022 self, he was still providing a lot of length (including three complete games), which is something the Marlins really valued with a bullpen that has been burnt out this season. There isn't a clear timeline for Alcantara's return yet. He will be undergoing further tests to determine the severity of the injury. In his absence, the Marlins will need to get "creative" with their rotation plans, said manager Skip Schumaker. He name-dropped Bryan Hoeing and newly recalled Edward Cabrera as part of that group effort. Reliever JT Chargois is serving as an opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, and Schumaker did mention that there will be another opener used soon. Alcantara's IL stint is retroactive to September 4. That means even in a best-case scenario, he will miss at least 13 of Miami's 24 remaining regular season games, including series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves. The first day he is eligible to be reinstated is September 19 against the New York Mets. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Taché/Bally Sports Florida

Troy Johnston slimmed down entering this season, determined to be a better baserunner without sacrificing any power. All that work has paid off. On Sunday, he became the first Marlins minor league player since 2008 to have 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. After beginning in AA Pensacola (repeating the level he played at for most of last year), Johnston was promoted to AAA Jacksonville and has continued to produce. Across both levels, he is currently slashing .314/.404/.572/.976 with 24 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Compare that to the 2019, 2021 and 2022 seasons where he combined for 32 homers and 11 steals. "I am proud of that accomplishment of course, but it was a testament to how much I was willing to change to find success," Johnston told Fish On First just a day after reaching the milestone. "Of course disappointed with my original placement after Spring Training, I decided I needed to get better in every avenue I was lacking including defense and baserunning and I’m happy with how my coaches have worked with me on becoming a more well-rounded player." The more surprising part of the first baseman's 20/20 milestone is the stolen bases, especially his efficiency (only caught once in 21 attempts). "Basestealing-wise, I have always been nervous about it," said Johnston. "But trial and error has been my best friend and being sneaky about it. Running at the right time with the right jumps because I am not a burner by any means. Talking to other good base-stealers like Nasim Nuñez and JD Orr, I learned a lot from what they did and tried to do it myself. Seems to work okay so far." Johnston had already established himself as a talented hitter, but the amount of over-the-fence power that Johnston has shown this season is another big change. He credits his new mechanics for that. "I think the boost in power came from my swing change on trying to cut down my leg kick more and more because I was not on time with the fastball a significant amount of the time. It made for much more consistent contact on all pitches." At the AAA level this season, aside from the addition of the pitch clock and the ban of the shift, there is the automated ball-strike system (ABS). Offensive numbers have gone up significantly in the International League as a result, but Johnston's .356/.423/.583/1.006 slash line is still 51% better than league average in terms of wRC+. The 26-year-old is facing competition that's the same age as him and dominating to the same degree he did at AA. With this new power and speed combining with Johnston's great plate discipline and contact skills, he is doing everything possible to earn an opportunity in the majors. The Marlins currently find themselves in the thick of a playoff chase and a bat like Johnston's could help an offense that has had its ups and downs. Even including their successful series against the Nationals, Miami ranks 29th among MLB teams in runs scored since the All-Star break. Although Johnston knows that he is extremely close to the major league level, he doesn't allow that to distract him. "As of right now, I’m focusing on being the best Jumbo Shrimp I can be, but being a late-inning lefty bat for a pinch-hit opportunity or as a backup first baseman behind Bell is where I see myself. Being a lefty bat, I feel as though I bring some versatility because we have a mainly right handed lineup. But I don’t worry about that too much because you definitely want to be where your feet are in this game." AAA Jacksonville has three series remaining in the regular season (18 total games). If Johnston isn't called up, at least he has an outside shot of reaching 30 homers (six away) and challenging the franchise's single-season MiLB RBI record (21 away from tying it).

MIAMI -- It's fair to say that Jesus Luzardo is back. On Wednesday night, he went six innings, struck out eight and surrendered only one hit to All-Star Yandy Diaz. Instead of going to his usual fastball, the Venezuelan went to his changeup more on Wednesday, which has been his third most used pitch this season. "Zeus was incredible tonight," said Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. "I thought [Nick] Fortes did an incredible job as well, behind the plate blocking the balls [with runners] on second and third, and he was throwing slider after slider and Nick was working his tail off." For the Rays was Zach Eflin, who was every bit as dominant as Luzardo tonight. He went 6.1 innings, struck out four, gave up four hits and no runs, improving to 13-8 on the season. Eflin, who received the largest free agent contract in team history, went with his three usual pitches: sinker, curveball and cutter. Although he was unable to get many whiffs, he was able to generate a lot of weak contact that resulted in quick outs. "Just being able to throw strikes, get ahead of guys," said Eflin when he was asked what was working for him. "Keeping my balance, mixing up pitches. CB (Christian Bethancourt) was once again awesome behind the plate." Something to note is that in the bottom of the fifth inning, with Yuli Gurriel at the plate and Jesus Sanchez on second base, Gurriel hit a foul ball that went deep into the right field corner and Sanchez didn't attempt to tag and go to third. It ended up being moot, but Skip was asked about it postgame. "Yeah, he should tag, didn't do anything but yeah, it should have happened. We talked about it and he understood," said Schumaker. Gurriel later grounded out which moved Sanchez to third base, but Rays catcher Christian Bethancourt picked Sanchez off. "We know Bethancourt has an absolute cannon behind there and when there's a left-hander up, that could be a call play all the time, and I think it looks worse when you don't score," said Skip. After a back and forth between both teams pitching staffs, the Rays struck first in extra innings. With a man on second base, Jonathan Aranda moved up the base-runner with a single and then Josh Lowe hit the game-winning RBI single to drive in Jose Siri. Although that was the Ray's winning run, they extended their 1-0 lead thanks to a Randy Arozarena two-run single that drove in both Aranda and Lowe to give Tampa a 3-0 lead in the top of the tenth. "We had some good at bats all the way through," said Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash. "They pitched really really well. Luzardo was spot on. Fortunately for us, Efllin kinda went toe-to-toe with him and did the same thing." David Robertson pitched the ninth inning in what was his first appearance since Saturday's meltdown against Washington. He came into a tie game rather than a save opportunity in the top of the 10th inning where things unraveled for him. "It's frustrating," said David Robertson following the game. "I've said many times I really don't like the new rules in baseball, I think they should wait till the 12th inning to do that, but that's the game we're playing right now. Siri is a fast runner. Those guys put three ground balls and we ended up with a loss." With the Marlins loss, they now drop to a game under .500 at 66-67. The last time the Marlins were under .500 was on May 25th when they were 25-26. They now head to Washington D.C. to face on the red hot Washington Nationals. Eury will take the mound on Friday. Game Notes: After his fourth strikeout of the game, Jesus Luzardo passed Dontrelle Willis for the second-most by a Marlins left-hander in a season in franchise history with 171.Andrew Nardi left Wednesday's game after he was struck by a 99.6 MPH comebacker by Harold Ramirez. X-rays were negative and he hopes to avoid the IL.Miami lost the season series to Tampa 3-1 as their Citrus Series struggles continue.