Marlins Stumped by Guardians in 1st Home Series Loss Since May

MIAMI — Despite another solid pitching performance from their starter, the Miami Marlins weren’t able to provide much run support. 

The Marlins fell to the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 on Saturday despite six strong innings from Eury Pérez. The Marlins (52-44) have dropped their first series at home since May 18-21. Miami remains in control of the third National League wild card spot. 

Perez was coming off a perfect performance through seven innings against the Athletics in Sacramento. There would be no attempt at a perfect game this time around, as Travis Bazzana singled to lead off the game. 

Within moments, Perez found himself with the bases loaded before his first out. He escaped the jam with a strikeout and a double play. 

Perez finished with two runs allowed on eight hits with six strikeouts in six innings, lowering his ERA to 3.78 on the season. 

“Eury’s stuff, I thought, was fantastic,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “There wasn’t a lot of rhythm to that game.”

The Guardians broke through in the fourth inning to take a 2-0 lead. Gabriel Arias singled, and Petey Halpin singled and scored on a double by Steven Kwan. 

The Marlins almost had a chance to take a 1-0 lead in the third inning, but Kwan fielded a ground ball and threw out Kyle Stowers at second base before Otto Lopez was able to cross home plate. 

“He knows he’s not going to get the guy at the plate. He sees Stowers rounding kind of hard and for [Bazzana] to be there, that was the play of the game, by far,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He’s a Gold Glove for a reason. He’s the best left fielder on the planet.”

The Marlins eventually made it on the board in the seventh inning, cutting Cleveland’s lead to 2-1. Joe Mack doubled and scored on a single by Liam Hicks. 

The Guardians struck back with two more runs in the eighth off the Marlins bullpen. Kahlil Watson, who was once a Marlins first-round draft pick, finally got a hit in his first series in Miami with a double to left field. He scored on a two-run double by Patrick Bailey. 

Tanner Bibee went 6.2 innings with a single run allowed on five hits, four walks, and three strikeouts. 

“We needed this from Tanner,” Vogt said. “He stepped up three times through the order, did his job, and then some.”

The Marlins will look to salvage the series before the MLB All-Star Game. Tyler Phillips (2-3, 3.28 ERA) will start what is expected to be a bullpen game. 

The Guardians will look for the sweep with Joey Castillo (7-4, 3.66 ERA) on the mound. 

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