Alex Krutchik

Wednesday night reminded Marlins fans why they originally fell in love with Agustin Ramirez . The 24-year-old slugger went 2-for-5 in Miami’s 8-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, including an RBI double in the third inning that gave the Marlins the permanent lead. With his usual violent swing with a follow-through that looks like he’s twirling the bat backwards, the ball came off his bat at 110.6 miles per hour, past third baseman Nick Gonzales, and rolled to the left field wall. It was part of an inning that saw the Marlins put up four runs on just two hits, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch. Their eight total walks drawn on Wednesday tied a season high, with the other instance coming at the Washington Nationals in June. Ramirez’s single in the second inning left the bat at 107.8 miles per hour. “We still certainly believe in Augustin,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “He's a good player. He's another one who swings fast and hits the ball hard. We've seen him do things like tonight. So he's certainly very capable, and I think right now we just need contributions from him in as many places as we can get it.” Ramirez, who was brought over as a catcher in a trade with the New York Yankees in 2024 and made his Major League debut in 2025, was sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville in May of this year when his defense was a detriment to the team. To make matters worse, his offense, which was lauded as a plus-plus tool coming up through the minors and his first big league season, was merely average. He only had two home runs in 31 games, and his OPS was just .663. Ramirez was the designated hitter on Wednesday, which has been the norm since being recalled. His only start at catcher in his current Major League stint came on Sunday, and he was pulled after four innings in favor of Joe Mack. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix said after the trade deadline on August 3rd that Ramirez could also see time at first base. Since being called up on August 4th, Ramirez is 5-for-14. The hard-hitting right-hander wasn’t the only one with pop on Wednesday. Already up, 5-2 in the fourth, Griffin Conine hit a solo home run to center field off former Marlin Lake Bachar. It was Conine’s third home run in three games. The 29-year-old was robbed of a home run against Paul Skenes the night prior with a jump at the wall by Bryan Reynolds. He came into Wednesday with a slugging percentage of .577 and a .919 OPS with seven home runs since the All-Star break. Conine said the key lately has been avoiding chasing pitches out of the zone. “I think it's being selective, knowing exactly what I'm looking for,” Conine said. “I think the more time I spend, the more at bats I get, it's like the plan becomes clear of what (the opponent) is trying to do.” Heriberto Hernandez hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning for his team-leading 17th home run of the season. View full article

MIAMI, Fla. — With the Miami Marlins well on their way to securing a victory on Sunday, the vibes suddenly shifted after an injury to first baseman Kyle Stowers. Stowers extended the club's lead to 10-2 with a hit in the fifth inning, but after taking a turn around first base, he ran back to the bag and grimaced before briefly grabbing his left hamstring. Visibly frustrated, he gingerly walked off the field. The Marlins announced it as left hamstring discomfort. He will undergo further tests before the club decides whether to place him on the injured list, manager Clayton McCullough said postgame. Stowers missed most of spring training and the first three weeks of the regular season this year with a strain in his right hamstring. After initially struggling in his return, the 2025 All-Star posted a .897 OPS and 11 home runs in 44 games since June 15. He enjoyed a terrific series against the Angels, going 6-for-11 with two walks. Should Stowers land on the IL, the Marlins could call up Jonathon Long, who came from the Chicago Cubs in the Braxton Garrett trade at the deadline last week. He has been splitting time between first base and left field during his brief stint with Triple-A Jacksonville. He entered Sunday with a respectable 21.5% strikeout rate, .820 OPS, and a .351 BABIP in 103 games in Triple-A this year. Long does not have any prior MLB experience. Deyvison De Los Santos is another call-up candidate who is already on Miami's 40-man roster. During his third season in the International League, the 23-year-old seems to be trending in the right direction, recording his best OPS (.782) and strikeout rate (18.5%) since getting to Jacksonville. He homered again on Sunday shortly after the Stowers injury occurred. Agustín Ramírez could take some of the reps at first if Stowers misses time. Coincidentally, Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix just confirmed to the media last week that the longtime catcher is "trying to add versatility" by relearning a position he previously played from 2021-24 in the minors. Leo Jiménez is another name to watch considering that he was the choice to take over for Stowers on Sunday. However, Jiménez lacks the offensive upside of the aforementioned alternatives (.215/.310/.289 slash line in 53 games). The Marlins don't play again until 6:40 pm Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, so they can thoroughly assess the extent of Stowers' injury and carefully review their options before proceeding. View full article

MIAMI, Fla. — If the Miami Marlins are in freefall, they may have reached terminal velocity on Saturday. Miami’s 7-2 loss to the San Diego Padres was their 11th consecutive loss, tying a franchise record set in 1998 and matched in 2011. Perhaps the most frustrating part of this spiral is that it came directly on the heels of one of the better streaks the team had gone on since their 2023 postseason run. Just prior to the skid beginning on July 10, the Marlins swept the Seattle Mariners and Athletics, and capped off a 20-6 June to go 10 games over .500 and hold a wild-card spot. “I think every game is kind of its own chapter in a story,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “We had some chances early the last couple of days—first inning with some guys on, and you're not able to cash in. I think for the most part, we just haven't done enough within these games to find a way to get on top and to win.” Each of the previous losses during this streak came by margins of three runs or fewer, so this was the most lopsided contest of them all. Through the first 10 games of the streak, the Marlins’ .273 on-base percentage was the lowest in the majors. They also had the second-lowest batting average (.214) and wRC+ (70). Saturday’s loss did not help those numbers. The Marlins mustered five hits, all of which were singles. Even when they got on, the Marlins made mistakes on the basepaths that abbreviated what could’ve been a couple of rallies. Down 2-0 in the third inning, Otto Lopez hit a sacrifice fly to right field with runners at the corners. Esteury Ruiz scored from third thanks to the throw hitting the backstop. Marsee, standing at first base, hesitated on his run to second. After the ball had already ricocheted to pitcher Randy Vásquez, Marsee darted for the bag, and was thrown out. The Marlins scored one run in an inning that should’ve still had some juice to it. “He reads a lower trajectory coming in from (right fielder Gavin Sheets) there and hold,” McCullough said. “And then it gets by the catcher. Give Vásquez credit for backing it up. (Marsee tried) taking a shot to get into scoring position and he got thrown out.” Lopez himself got thrown out in the eighth inning when he tried going first to third on a Kyle Stowers single. Ruiz scored from third to make it 6-2, but Lopez’s overaggressiveness put Miami in a two-out situation with just a runner at first, instead of what could’ve been one out with two runners on. “It's hard to like fault guys for trying to make plays,” McCullough said. “The number of outs you got left, and somewhat weighing the risk versus reward. Again, guy makes a really good baseball play and gets you. Chalk it up to that, and just continue to discuss those things, and all become better from it.” Eury Pérez, for his part, continued his season turnaround. He put together a quality start, allowing three runs over seven innings with just one walk. The 23-year-old has a 1.75 ERA in six outings since returning from the injured list, which ranks third among qualified NL starters during that span. Staring down the possibility of suffering back-to-back-to-back-to-back series sweeps and setting a new franchise record for consecutive losses, the Marlins host the Padres again on Sunday afternoon. Janson Junk is their probable starter. View full article

MIAMI -- Aaron Nola is still a good pitcher. Maybe there was some doubt when the 32-year old came into Monday’s bout against Miami with a 6.03 ERA in six starts in 2026. He was also coming off a two-game stretch against the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves that saw him allow 11 earned runs and seven walks across nine combined innings. It seems he just needed a trip to south Florida to get back on track. Nola shut out the Marlins over six innings in a 1-0 Phillies win. He struck out five and didn’t allow a walk. All five hits the right-hander surrendered were singles -- some aided by poor defense by shortstop Trea Turner. Only one Marlins baserunner got into scoring position: Jacob Marsee moved to second base on a Kyle Stowers groundout in the sixth. “He’s always been able to really spin the ball,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said postgame. “And it's unique how he can get in the low 70s, but the amount of spin and break that he's able to put on it … he executed well and was able to move the ball around.” The Phillies bullpen continued carving through the Marlins lineup, allowing just two hits and no runs over the next three innings. As good as Nola was on Monday, he was only one pitch better than Marlins starter Janson Junk. Junk’s only run allowed was a solo home run to Bryce Harper in the third inning. Harper, (2-for-3 with a double) was the only Phillies batter to get an extra-base hit against Junk. The 30-year-old right-hander allowed five hits and zero walks, and struck out a season-high six hitters. Harper continued his tear against the Marlins as his home run was the 17th of his career at loanDepot park and his 39th against Miami overall. Junk has excelled in his role at the back end of Miami’s rotation, capitalizing even further on last year’s breakout season that saw him post a 2.68 ERA in the first half. He has a similar mark of 2.82 in seven starts this year. He’s allowed one run in his last three starts, one of which was a shutout against a Los Angeles Dodgers lineup that's second in the majors in batting average and OPS. “Overall, I thought it was solid. I left the game in a good spot and a chance to score some runs.(Relief pitcher John) King coming in and getting out of the inning for me was big time. Just unfortunate we couldn't come away with it.” Joe Mack debut: The No. 3 prospect in the Marlins organization made his Major League debut on Monday night. Batting 7th and catching, Mack went 0-for-3 with a fielder's choice. Mack told reporters postgame that every Phillies hitter offered him some type of congratulations as they stepped to the plate for the first time. "Yeah, that was really cool. They'd say hey to the umpire and then tell me congrats," Mack said. He also was able to make small talk with Bryce Harper while standing at first base, which the 23-year-old rookie will remember forever. Mack had several family friends and family in attendance for his start, and they will be there throughout the home stand. Notes: John King has stranded 16 of 18 inherited runners this year. Connor Norby subbed in at third base in the ninth inning. It was his second inning in that spot this season. Pregame, Clayton McCullough told reporters that he expects Mack to receive a solid amount of playing time. Liam Hicks will most likely start behind the dish against left-handed starters and will be at 1B/DH against righties. Agustin Ramirez, who was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville, will continue to see reps at catcher to further his development. View full article

In advance of making his Marlins debut on Monday, catcher Joe Mack speaks with the media about his journey to the majors, the moment he received the news of his call-up and more. View full video

MIAMI, Fla. — Otto Lopez quickly impressed people in his first season with the Miami Marlins in 2024. The former waiver claim ended his rookie campaign with a .270 batting average, 20 stolen bases, and elite defense at second base. Offensively, Lopez's main assets were his contact ability and speed. The Dominican native boosted his home run total the following year, from six to 15. Lopez made even more contact and lowered his ground ball rate, yet his overall slugging percentage actually went down. Early in his age-27 season, it's all seemingly coming together. Lopez has found a home in the heart of the Marlins lineup—and near the top of some prestigious leaderboards. Now playing shortstop, Lopez is quantifiably hitting the ball harder than he ever has. Entering Tuesday, his hard-hit rate of 53.6% puts him above the 90th percentile of MLB hitters. Contrast that with the previous two seasons, when he ranked below average. The only qualified shortstop who edges him out in that category is Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles (53.8%). His barrel rate—defined by Baseball Savant as the percentage of balls put into play with a perfect combination of exit velocity and launch angle—is also a career-high of 13.0%. This has culminated in a team-best 10 extra-base hits, the latest being a go-ahead RBI double in Monday's Marlins win. From a physical standpoint, Lopez credits hitting coaches Pedro Guerrero and Chris Hess with helping him engage his lower body more than his upper. He’s also been toying with “The Stack” this year, which is a bat-like tool with added weights that help improve swings, specifically by increasing bat speed. Lopez’s average bat speed is slightly higher than it was last year (72.1 miles per hour compared to 71.7 in 2025). Marlins manager Clayton McCullough says Lopez’s newfound power production is not just a byproduct of how he’s swinging, but what he’s swinging at. His pitch selection is allowing him to capitalize on the pitches he can inflict the most damage on, as opposed to just putting a ball in play. “There's less empty at-bats,” McCullough said. “There's less early-count chase. There's been less early-count soft contact. I think he just looks very hitterish right now.” Perhaps most impressive has been Lopez’s ability to add power without sacrificing his contact ability. His 16.3% strikeout rate and 19.5% whiff rate are both roughly on par with his typical career marks. “I think he has just given himself more of a chance to do this with consistency and regularity because the (pitches) that he's firing at give him the best chance to do that,” McCullough said. Getting balls up, out, over the plate, getting them elevated, or pitches that he can drive.” misisx.mp4 If Lopez were to maintain his .554 slugging percentage throughout 2026, it would be the 11th-highest single-season mark in Marlins history. The only shortstop who has ever topped that for this franchise was Hanley Ramírez in 2007 (.562 SLG), on his way to placing 10th in National League MVP voting. “He's a physically strong guy,” McCullough said of the 5’10”, 185-pound shortstop. “Maybe it doesn't appear that way. It's a really compact body. He's strong. He's got strong hands. There's speed in his bat. So I think it's not, to me, that completely shocking, that we're seeing some of this.” View full article

In advance of his season debut on Sunday, Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers speaks with the media about his recovery from a hamstring strain and comfort level at first base. View full video