Mike Ferguson

Known for his big personality, Kevin Millar never shied away from the big moment. On this day 25 years ago, Millar came through in the clutch for the Florida Marlins with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to down the Philadelphia Phillies and complete the comeback, 6-5. Through three innings at Pro Player Stadium on Sept. 28, 2001, things didn’t look good for the Marlins as they were on the short end of a 5-1 score. After Doug Glaville got the scoring started for Philadelphia with a two-run single in the first, Marlon Anderson added an RBI double in the second. Mike Lowell got the Marlins on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the second but Scott Rolen and Travis Lee hit back-to-back homers to open the third. It was a rough outing for Florida starter Ryan Dempster, but the bullpen gave the Marlins a bit of momentum. Following two scoreless innings from Benito Báez, Florida cut the four-run deficit in half with two runs in the fifth. Andy Fox led off the inning with a solo home run before Eric Owens plated Derrek Lee with an RBI single. Florida would get two more scoreless innings of relief from Kevin Olsen. In the bottom of the seventh, Owens’ second RBI single of the game scored Dave Berg and cut the lead to 5-4. It also ended the day for Philadelphia starting pitcher Robert Person. José Santiago was able to get the final out for the Phillies in the seventh. Braden Looper and Vic Darensbourg each worked scoreless innings for the Marlins. As the contest went to the bottom of the ninth, Philadelphia turned to closer José Mesa. As was the case four years earlier when he was a member of the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the World Series, Mesa was unable to hold a ninth-inning lead at Pro Player Stadium. Lead-off man Dave Berg started the rally with a one-out single before taking second on a passed ball and third on a single by Lee. With runners on the corners and one out, Owens was nearly the hero. His shot to right was caught just shy of the way, but it served as a sacrifice fly and his third RBI of the day as the Marlins drew even. With the scored tied 5-5 in the top of the 10th, Antonio Alfonseca was able to induce three groundouts on just eight pitches. That set the stage for Florida to win it in the bottom of the frame. Cliff Politte was able to get Lowell to fly out to start the inning, but on the sixth pitch of the ensuing at-bat, Millar took the right-hander’s fastball that was left up and hammered it. The line-drive shot easily cleared the “teal tower” in left field for a walk-off home run and capped the four-run comeback. Derrek Lee led the Marlins with three hits while Berg and Owens each added two. Anderson, Travis Lee and Bobby Abreu finished with two hits apiece for the Phillies. Alfonseca earned the win while Politte took the loss. A .296 hitter over parts of five seasons with the Marlins, Millar finished his 12-year big-league career with 170 home runs and three walk-off shots. His first came as a member of the Fish and on this day a quarter-century ago. View full article

Known as Pro Player Stadium for a longer stretch of the Florida Marlins’ time at their original ballpark than by any other name, the club’s biggest home win at the original stadium came in walk-off fashion. The same was true for its final win there, which came on this day 15 years ago. In the next-to-last game of the season and next-to-last game at what was then Sun Life Stadium, Bryan Petersen was the unlikely hero on Sept. 27, 2011. His walk-off home run gave the Marlins their final home win at what was originally Joe Robbie Stadium and over the Washington Nationals, 3-2. With the score tied 2-2, the Marlins came to bat against Washington’s Doug Slaten in the bottom of the ninth. Slaten was able to get two quick outs, striking out Logan Morrison on three pitches before getting John Buck to fly out to center. With Petersen 0-for-2 with a strikeout to that point, extra innings seemed like an inevitability. Before anyone could blink, Petersen sent the crowd home happy for the final time. Petersen turned on the first pitch he saw from Slaten – a fastball left over the middle of the plate. Faster than it arrived, Petersen’s shot left. His blast was a no-doubter well into the right-field stands, giving Florida the victory. Prior to the walk-off bomb, the Marlins hadn’t led since the fourth inning when Emilio Bonifácio’s sacrifice fly plated Matt Dominguez. On the first pitch of the fifth, Mike Morse drew Washington even with a solo shot off Florida starter Javier Vázquez. After Ian Desmond singled home the go-ahead run for the Nationals in the top of the sixth, Bonifácio scored the tying run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the frame. While John Lannan gave the Nationals a quality start, Vázquez ended up going the distance for Florida, striking out nine. Lead-off men and shortstops Bonifácio and Desmond each had two of the five hits for their respective teams. Just 25 years old at the time, Petersen spent three seasons in the big leagues – all with the Marlins – and recorded just two career home runs. His last, however, will forever have the distinction of delivering the club its final win in its original stadium. It came on this day 15 years ago. View full article

Throughout the years, many Major League Baseball players have played with heavy hearts following the death of loved ones or friends. Rarely, however, do entire clubs have to deal with the loss of a teammate. That was the situation for the Miami Marlins on this day 10 years ago. One day after the tragic death of José Fernández, the Marlins took the field against the New York Mets. On an emotional night, Dee Strange-Gordon set the tone with an emotional lead-off home run in a 7-3 win for Miami. With every member of the Marlins wearing Fernández’s initials "JDF" and his jersey No. 16 on their caps, Adam Conley was able to work a scoreless top of the first for Miami on Sept. 26, 2016. That set the stage for an emotional Strange-Gordon to lead off the bottom of the inning. A left-handed bat wearing Fernández’s jersey for the evening, Strange-Gordon opened by mimicking Fernández’s batting stance while standing in the right-handed batter’s box. After taking the first pitch for a ball, the Miami second baseman moved back to the other side of the plate. In 155 team games that season, Strange-Gordon had not homered, but he took Bartolo Colón’s 2-0 pitch over the right-field wall for a lead-off home run. Teary-eyed, Strange-Gordon rounded the bases as the Marlins went ahead to stay. It was the first of a season-high four hits for the evening for the Miami second baseman. That would be the only run of the inning for Miami but the Fish continued to tack on over the next two innings. After Conley worked a 1-2-3 second, the Marlins scored four runs in the second. Miami opened the bottom of the second with four straight hits. After J.T. Realmuto’s RBI infield single scored Giancarlo Stanton to make it 2-0, Justin Bour scored on an Adeiny Hechavarría ground-rule double. A sacrifice bunt from Conley plated the third run of the inning before Strange-Gordon drove in his second run in as many innings with an RBI single. In the third, Bour’s RBI triple scored Christian Yelich, chased Colón and extended the lead to 6-0. Bour later scored on an RBI single from Hechavarría. After three shutout innings from Conley and a 1-2-3 fourth from Mike Dunn, the Mets broke up the shutout in the fifth on Asdrúbal Cabrera’s two-run double. Lucas Duda capped the scoring for New York with an RBI single in the eighth. In addition to Strange-Gordon’s four knocks, Bour was 3-for-3 for Miami. Hechavarría added two hits. Cabrera had two of the seven hits for the Mets. Following the contest, the Marlins placed their hats on the mound to honor the memory of the late Fernández. It capped an emotional night that took place on this day a decade ago. View full article

With the 2026 season approaching its end, there have been many great pitchers to toe the rubber for the Miami Marlins over the years. One, however, could argue that no one brought more flare to the mound than José Fernández. The 2013 National League Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, the world said goodbye to Fernández on this day 10 years ago. Fernández and two others died in a boating crash in the early morning hours of Sept. 25, 2016. Fernández was piloting his boat that struck a jetty at Miami Beach before dawn. Investigations later determined that Fernández was going 65 miles per hour while under the influence of drugs. The impact killed the 24-year-old Fernández and both passengers onboard – 27-year-old Emilio Macias and 25-year-old Eduardo Rivero. The tragedy struck the South Florida community as well as the Miami Marlins and has since complicated the legacy of a blossoming young talent. In addition to his teammates and family, Fernández left behind a daughter who had yet to be born. Fernández and his pregnant girlfriend had announced that they were expecting their first child just days prior to the fatal crash. While Fernández’s story is certainly a tragic tale and by all accounts, could have been avoided, his efforts as a pitcher were a sight to behold. At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds with a devastating breaking ball, Fernández went 38-17 over four seasons in the big leagues while posting a career 2.58 ERA. Fernández continues to hold Miami single-season records for fewest hits allowed per nine innings and strikeouts. The club’s career leader in win percentage, Fernández also ranks in the top 10 in club history in wins, strikeouts and complete games. A Cuban exile, Fernández left fans with great memories over a short period of time. He died much too young. The world said goodbye to Fernández on this day a decade ago. View full article

Still one of the most iconic stories in Florida/Miami Marlins history, Cuban defector Liván Hernández was one of the heroes in Florida’s run to the 1997 World Series and the series’ MVP as a 22-year-old rookie. His debut, however, came during the 1996 season – on this day 30 years ago. In what would be his only appearance of the 1996 season, Hernández threw three scoreless innings of relief. He also showed what he could do with the bat in a 12-1 rout of the Atlanta Braves. Florida was up 11-1 in the top of the sixth inning on Sept. 24, 1996 at Pro Player Stadium when Hernández got to call to keep momentum going after a stellar outing from starter Pat Rapp. The Cuban right-hander did just that. In the sixth inning, Hernández was able to work around two singles to pitch a scoreless frame, which included his first career strikeout. After giving up a single to Javier López on the first pitch of his big-league career, Hernández fanned Dwight Smith swinging. In the seventh, Hernández was again able to work out of trouble. He allowed a single to Luis Polonia and a walk to Chipper Jones to start the inning but responded by getting Andruw Jones to ground into a double play. One pitch later, Eddie Pérez popped out to end the Atlanta threat. In the bottom of that inning, Hernández proved that he was no slouch at the dish. With one out, Hernández pulled Joe Borowski’s offering through the left side for his first career hit in his first career at-bat. He would cap the scoring later in the inning by coming around from second base on Jerry Brooks’ RBI single. Now up 12-1, Hernández struck out Smith for the second time for the second out of the eighth inning. Following a two-out walk, Hernández got Mike Mordecai to pop out to conclude a successful outing. Jay Powell worked a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the win. While Hernández shined in his debut, it was far from a one-man show. Rapp had given the Marlins five solid innings, allowing just a run on seven hits and three walks. Hernández scattered three hits and two walks in his three scoreless innings of relief. For the Marlins, it was domination from the start. Florida raced to a 6-0 lead with a six-running first inning, which featured seven straight two-out hits. After Jeff Conine doubled home Luis Castillo for the first run, Devon White, Greg Colbrunn, Kurt Abbott, Charles Johnson, Rapp and Castillo each followed with singles. Only Colbrunn’s hit did not produce a run. Following Rapp’s RBI single, Braves manager Bobby Cox pulled starter Steve Avery. The Braves broke up the shutout with a run in the fourth, but the Marlins answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a sacrifice fly from Édgar Rentería and a two-run double from White. An RBI groundout from Castillo and RBI single from Rentería in the fifth extended the lead to 11-1. As a team, Florida finished with 21 hits, led by Castillo’s three. Conine, White, Jesús Tavárez, Colbrunn and Johnson each had two knocks. White led the Marlins with three RBIs while Castillo, Conine and Johnson each scored twice. Just a run-of-the-mill September call-up at the time, Hernández would go on to be one of the more significant figures in Marlins history. He spent parts of four seasons with the team and was the Opening Day starting pitcher in 1998. Hernández made his big-league debut in what would be his only relief outing for the Fish on this day three decades ago. View full article

Now a member of the Hall of Fame, outfielder Andre Dawson spent 21 years in Major League Baseball with four different teams, including his final two seasons as a member of the Florida Marlins. On this day 30 years ago, Dawson hit the last of his 438 career home runs in Florida’s 6-0 win over the Houston Astros. On the mound, Rick Helling had allowed just one hit and two walks through eight innings at Joe Robbie Stadium on Sept. 22, 1996. After Kurt Abbott singled and Charles Johnson walked with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, interim manager John Boles had a decision to make as the pitcher’s spot was up. Boles had Dawson grab a bat. Facing Xavier Hernandez, Dawson was able to get ahead in the count, 3-1. The fifth pitch was a fastball that was left up and the legend didn’t miss it. Managing to keep it to the right of the foul pole, Dawson blasted a no-doubter into the left-field seats for a three-run blast, doubling the Florida lead to 6-0. Prior to Dawson’s exclamation point, all of the offense had come in the first inning. After a Gary Sheffield sacrifice fly plated Luis Castillo for the first run, Greg Colbrunn singled home Édgar Rentería before scoring on Joe Orsulak’s RBI triple to make it 3-0. From there, Houston starter Darryl Kile settled in, holding the Marlins scoreless over the next five innings while striking out 10. Helling fanned five before Chris Hammond worked a scoreless ninth for Florida. An eight-time All-Star, the 1977 National League Rookie of the Year and the 1987 National League MVP, Dawson finished his career with nearly 2,800 hits. “The Hawk” would become the first Marlins player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. His final home run came as a member of the Fish and on this day three decades ago. View full article

A rangy centerfielder with speed, power and the ability to hit for average, Devon White enjoyed a stellar 17-year Major League Baseball career in which he won seven Gold Gloves and was a three-time All-Star. White finished with more than 1,900 career hits, 208 career home runs and 364 stolen bases. Of those home runs, two were walk-off blasts, including one that came on this day 30 years ago. Shut out for eight innings, Jeff Conine and White changed things with two swings of the bat. Their back-to-back home runs lifted the Florida Marlins to a thrilling 2-1 walk-off win over the Houston Astros. For the first eight innings at Joe Robbie Stadium on Sept. 21, 1996, the Marlins had managed no runs and just five hits. Starting pitcher Doug Drabek had given Houston seven shutout innings of four-hit baseball before Billy Wagner worked a scoreless eighth. With the Astros leading 1-0, Wagner was left in to pitch the ninth, which proved to be a costly mistake. Conine was 0-for-3 to that point, but after getting ahead in the count 2-1, was able to take a Wagner fastball that was left up to right field and just over the wall for the game-tying opposite-field home run. Hitting from the right side, the switch-hitting White took a breaking ball from Wagner three pitches later and deposited it over “teal tower” in left field for his first walk-off home run in more than a decade. The teams combined for just 12 hits. White and Houston’s Jeff Bagwell each finished with two. Derek Bell singled home Craig Biggio for the Astros’ lone run in the fourth inning. On the mound, Al Leiter gave the Marlins a quality start, yielding just a run on three hits and one walk in seven innings while striking out five. Lefty Félix Heredia recorded the final five outs to pick up his first career win. At 34 years old, the 1996 season would be statistically one of the best of White’s career. For the year, he hit .274 with 17 home runs, 84 RBIs, 37 doubles, six triples and 22 stolen bases. His final home run from that season was a walk-off blast that came on this day three decades ago. View full article

Nearly a decade after his passing, José Fernández’s death in a boating accident that killed him and two others remains a tragedy that, by all accounts, could have been avoided. One thing that the 6-foot-3, 240-pound right-hander left behind, however, was great memories for baseball fans. On this day 10 years ago, Fernández took the mound for the final time and he did not disappoint. Over eight innings, Fernández allowed just three hits in the Miami Marlins’ 1-0 win over the Washington Nationals. Already the owner of the Marlins’ single-season strikeout record as he took the hill at Marlins Park on Sept. 20, 2016, Fernández was able to work around a one-out double by Washington’s Stephen Drew in the top of the first. Fernández avoided damage by retiring Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon, which began a streak of 19 straight retired batters for the Miami starter. As good as Fernández was, however, Washington’s Tanner Roark was about as good for most of the night. For 5 2/3 innings, Roark had kept the Marlins off the scoreboard and held to just two hits. In the bottom of the sixth, he made his only critical mistake of the night. Facing Giancarlo Stanton, Roark was able to get ahead with a first pitch that was fouled off. But his second pitch was up in the zone, and Stanton went the other way and over the wall in right field for the go-ahead home run. Up 1-0, that’s all the offense that Fernández would need. In the top of the eighth, the Nationals made their biggest threat of the night, but Fernández was left in to put out the fire. After striking out Clint Robinson to open the frame, Fernández surrendered consecutive singles to Wilson Ramos and Brian Goodwin. With runners at the corners and one out, Fernández dug deep and struck out Danny Espinosa swinging. He was then able to get Daniel Murphy to ground out to end the inning and Fernández’s evening. On 111 pitches, Fernández allowed just the three hits without yielding a walk. He finished the night with 12 strikeouts. In the top of the ninth, David Phelps was able to finish what Fernández started. After yielding a one-out single to Drew, Phelps fanned Harper and then got Rendon to ground out to end the contest and collect the save. Over four seasons, Fernández was a two-time All-Star and finished with a 38-17 record and splendid 2.58 ERA. His final start was an absolute gem. It came on this day a decade ago. View full article

An All-Star for the Atlanta Braves in 2010, infielder Omar Infante never supplied a whole lot of power, hitting just 82 home runs over parts of 15 years in Major League Baseball. His only walk-off homer came as a member of the Florida Marlins and against his former team – on this day 15 years ago. Against the Braves, Infante played the role of hero at Sun Life Stadium on Sept. 19, 2011. His walk-off two-run home run atoned for an earlier fielding error and lifted Florida to a thrilling 6-5 win. Through six innings, the Marlins appeared in great shape, holding a 4-1 lead. Atlanta changed that with four runs in the top of the seventh. After former Marlins All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla homered off Ricky Nolasco to lead off the inning, the Florida starter was able to induce consecutive groundouts. That third out, however, proved to be elusive. Nolasco surrendered a two-out single to another former Florida infielder, Álex González, before yielding consecutive walks to Jason Heyward and Brooks Conrad. With the bases loaded and two outs, Florida turned to lefty Mike Dunn, a former member of the Braves. Dunn surrendered an infield single to Michael Bourn and then issued a game-tying four-pitch walk to Martín Prado. An error by Infante one pitch later allowed the go-ahead run to score and what had been a 4-1 lead for Florida when the inning started was now a 5-4 advantage for the Braves. Eric O'Flaherty stranded the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh inning and Jonny Venters worked a 1-2-3 eighth for Atlanta. Closer Craig Kimbrel was able retire Greg Dobbs and John Baker to open the bottom of the ninth, but an infield single by the speedy Emilio Bonifácio on an 0-2 pitch allowed Infante the opportunity to atone for his earlier error. After taking the first pitch for a ball, Infante turned around Kimbrel’s 96-mph fastball and put it well into the seats over the “teal tower” in left field for the first walk-off home run of his career and sixth homer of the season. An All-Star for the first time in 2011, it was Kimbrel’s first blown save in more than three months. For the night, all of the Marlins’ offense came via the home run. Giancarlo (then known as Mike) Stanton took Atlanta starter Mike Minor deep for solo home runs in the first and third innings to give Florida a 2-0 lead. After Heyward answered with a solo shot for the Braves in the top of the sixth, Logan Morrison gave the Marlins a 4-1 lead with a two-run blast in the bottom of the inning. At the top of the order, Bonifácio, Infante and Stanton each had two of the 10 hits for the Marlins. Stanton scored three times. Uggla had two of the six hits for the Braves. As for Infante, he enjoyed a solid 15-year career with four teams, hitting .271 with more than 1,400 career hits. While his only All-Star Game appearance came as a member of the Braves in 2010, his only walk-off blast came as a member of the Marlins. It happened on this day 15 years ago. View full article

Throughout their 34-year history, the Florida/Miami Marlins have twice rallied from seven runs down to win a game. On this day 25 years ago, however, the Florida Marlins completed their biggest comeback…in Canada. Against the Montreal Expos, the Marlins' first game following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center was on Sept. 17, 2001. The Marlins stunned the small, home crowd with 10 unanswered runs to erase a six-run deficit. Eight of those runs came in the sixth inning as Florida rallied for a 10-6 victory. It was scoreless halfway through the contest at Olympic Stadium. The Expos changed that in the bottom of the fifth with six runs. Few would have guessed that Montreal would have been behind the next time it came to bat. After an RBI triple from Montreal’s Peter Bergeron got the scoring started in the bottom of the fifth, Tim Raines and José Vidro came through with RBI singles to make it 3-0. Orlando Cabrera then doubled the lead with a bases-clearing double. During the big fifth inning, however, Expos starting pitcher Javier Vázquez was hit in the head by a pitch and forced to leave the game. Through five innings, the Marlins had managed just two hits against Vázquez. Britt Reames came in to pitch in relief for the Expos to open the sixth inning and left without ever recording an out. Florida opened the frame with seven straight hits. After Derrek Lee and Cliff Floyd each singled, Preston Wilson drove them home with a two-run double. He’d later come around to score as Mike Lowell doubled on the 10th pitch of the at-bat against Reames. With the score now 6-3, Kevin Millar and Charles Johnson kept the hit parade going with consecutive doubles. Johnson’s double to left plated two and just like that, the Marlins were within a run with the tying run on second and nobody out. Guillermo Mota was called on to relieve Reames, but he also struggled. Following an Álex González bunt single, Mota was able to get Andy Fox to fly out for the first out of the inning. Luis Castillo followed by giving the Marlins the lead with a two-run triple. Up 7-6, Castillo came around to score on Lee’s RBI single to increase the lead to two. Mota was relieved by Joey Eischen, who finally stopped the bleeding by striking out Floyd and Wilson. After eight runs and nine hits, the top of the sixth finally ended. The offense, however, was able to carry the momentum into the seventh. Vladimir Núñez worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning for Florida on the mound. At the plate, the Marlins added two more runs in the seventh. Millar doubled home Lowell before scoring on González’s RBI single. Núñez threw three scoreless innings of relief. Juan Acevedo closed it out by facing the minimum in the ninth for the Marlins. Despite throwing just two pitches, culminating in a double play to end a disastrous fifth inning, Ricky Bones picked up the win for the Marlins. The Marlins finished with 18 hits, including 16 over the final four innings. González led the team with four knocks, followed by Floyd’s three. Lee, Wilson, Lowell, Millar and Johnson each added two hits. Vidro and Geoff Blum each finished with two hits for the Expos. The eight runs in the sixth and the six-run comeback each tied team records for the Marlins at the time. They came north of the border on this day a quarter-century ago. View full article

After making the postseason in 2020, the Miami Marlins didn’t come close to following that with an encore worth celebrating in 2021. They did, however, finish ahead of the Washington Nationals for fourth place in the National League East. On this day five years ago, Miami avoided being caught by the Nationals and won the three-game set between the teams in dramatic fashion. The Marlins stunned Washington with four runs in the ninth, capped by Jesús Sánchez’s two-run home run in an 8-6 win. Scoreless through three and a half innings at Nationals Park on Sept. 15, 2021, Washington had scored in five straight innings as the contest went to the top of the ninth. Miami had scored in three straight innings but had never led as it sat on the wrong side of a 6-4 score. Facing Kyle Finnegan, it didn’t take long for the Marlins to put the tying run in scoring position. After Isan Díaz walked to open the inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled one pitch later. A wild pitch then moved both runners into scoring position. Miguel Rojas followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to one. After Lewin Díaz grounded out, Bryan De La Cruz’s RBI fielder’s choice tied the game at 6 apiece. Díaz and De La Cruz had each put the ball in play on the first pitch. Sánchez followed suit but his swing left the infield and the yard. On a high fastball on the outer half of the plate, Sánchez went the other way for a no-doubter to left-centerfield and into the Washington bullpen for the go-ahead two-run blast – his second two-run shot of the day. Now with an 8-6 lead, Dylan Floro closed things out with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. In addition to Sánchez’s big day, De La Cruz also homered in the win, going 1-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Rojas and Chisholm each added two hits. Rojas had two RBIs while Chisholm scored a run. Alcides Escobar finished with four of the 15 hits for the Nationals. Josh Bell had three hits and a home run in the loss. The Marlins would finish two games better than Washington in the standings at 67-95 to 65-97 for the Nationals. Although Washington took the season series, the final game and series between the teams in the nation’s capital went the way of the Marlins. It happened on this day five years ago. View full article

In more than 5,200 games as a franchise, only four members of the Florida/Miami Marlins ever managed to hit three home runs in one game. The first one to do it at home accomplished the feat on this day 20 years ago. In the Florida Marlins’ 16-5 rout of the New York Mets, Cody Ross left the yard three times. He finished the day with four hits and tied a franchise single-game record with seven RBIs. Ross wasted little time making his presence felt at Dolphins Stadium on Sept. 11, 2006. After Aníbal Sánchez worked a 1-2-3 top of the first for Florida, Miguel Cabrera singled home the first run for the Marlins against New York starter David Williams in the bottom of the inning. With the Marlins leading 1-0, two on and two out, Ross worked a seven-pitch at-bat before taking the Mets’ lefty deep for a three-run bomb to extend the lead to 4-0. The Mets managed to cut the lead in half in the second on a two-run home run by former Marlins All-Star Cliff Floyd, but New York would get no closer. After Cabrera doubled home a pair in the bottom of the second, Sánchez helped himself with an RBI single in the third – an inning that Ross also singled in. With the Marlins leading 7-2 through three innings, New York’s Carlos Beltrán and Florida’s Dan Uggla traded solo blasts in the fourth inning. After Ross flied out in the fourth, Miguel Olivo singled home Cabrera to give Florida a 9-3 lead after four. That score would remain until the bottom of the sixth when Josh Willingham took Heath Bell deep for a solo shot to lead off the inning and extend the advantage to 10-3. After a Wes Helms double, Ross took Bell’s 2-0 pitch over the wall in left field for a two-run home run. After a scoreless seventh, Sánchez’s day was done; he allowed three runs on just four hits and one walk while striking out eight. Not done, however, was the Florida offense. Following a Jason Wood double and an error that scored a run in the bottom of the seventh, Helms plated the Marlins’ 14th run with an RBI fielder’s choice. Facing Royce Ring with one on and two outs, Ross worked another full count before going yard once again – and again to left field. That capped the scoring for Florida and put the exclamation point on a monster day for Ross. Trailing 16-3, the Mets were able to push across two runs against Florida’s José García, who was making his big-league debut, in the eighth. García bounced back to toss a 1-2-3 ninth to end the game. With the three home runs, Ross joined Mike Lowell as the only Marlins ever to homer three times in a game and became the first to do so in a contest that didn’t go to extra innings. Since then, Brian Anderson (Sept. 18, 2020) and Kyle Stowers (July 13, 2025) have since accomplished the feat for the Fish. Ross, however, is the only member of the club ever to hit three home runs in a game in the Marlins’ original ballpark. Those blasts came on this day two decades ago. View full article

In 34 years as a franchise, no pitcher threw more shutouts for the Florida/Miami Marlins than A.J. Burnett. Dontrelle Willis, however, did throw as many. On this day 20 years ago, Willis tied Burnett’s club record with his eighth career shutout. Willis allowed just three hits and tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts in the Florida Marlins’ 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Willis was looking for his fifth straight quality start as he took the Dolphins Stadium mound on Sept. 10, 2006. The Florida lefty struck out both Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley during a 1-2-3 first inning. By the time Willis returned to the hill, he had a 2-0 lead. The Marlins drew first blood in the bottom of the first on an RBI single from Miguel Cabrera that scored Hanley Ramírez. Dan Uggla scored to make it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly from Wes Helms later in the inning. Helms added a second sacrifice fly in the seventh. The biggest threat for Philadelphia came in the top of the second as Ryan Howard singled and Jeff Conine walked to open the inning. Willis responded by striking out Pat Burrell and Chris Coste before getting Abraham Núñez to line out to end the inning. After hitting Shane Victorino with two outs in the third, Willis faced the minimum over the final six innings, utilizing double plays in the fourth and fifth innings. Willis retired the final 13 batters he faced. For the day, Willis threw 122 pitches. He was ultra efficient during the middle innings, throwing just nine pitches in the fourth inning, five in the fifth and 10 in the sixth. Willis struck out Utley for the third time to end the contest. He also fanned Chris Coste three times in the win. Despite just the three runs, Florida finished with 10 hits and chased Phillies starter Cole Hamels after just four innings. Ramírez led the Marlins with three hits. Cabrera and catcher Matt Treanor each added a pair of knocks. Howard had two of the three hits for Philadelphia. After leading the National League with five shutouts in 2005, Willis’ gem against the Phillies would be his lone shutout of 2006. No one knew it at the time, but it would also be his final home victory as a member of the Marlins. It came on this day two decades ago. View full article