MIAMI — It’s one thing for the Miami Marlins to take a series and potentially sweep a wild-card contender. It’s another to do so while establishing a successful patchwork of the starting rotation.

Ryan Gusto threw four scoreless innings with four strikeouts in an 8-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. It was his first actual start with the Marlins this season. He was previously a starting pitcher with the Marlins late last season after being acquired by the Houston Astros at the trade deadline. 

“I'm really happy about it," said Gusto of his outing. "I think it's something to build off of. I think they'll let that pitch count, getting comfortable in that starter role is something that's really good for me.”

Now it’s Tyler Phillips’ turn to continue his progress from reliever to starter. 

Phillips was one of the Marlins' most reliable relievers and was called upon for multiple innings at a time. Through 16 appearances in relief, Phillips posted

a 1.82 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and a .221 opponent’s batting average with 30 strikeouts in 34.1 innings. 

Phillips is at his best at home. With 10 appearances and one start, he has a 0.98 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 27.2 innings pitched. 

Phillips came into a game in the third inning after Gusto on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays, throwing a season high 82 pitches with three runs allowed on seven hits in 4.2 innings pitched. It was the Marlins’ only loss so far in June. 

Phillips’ big league career started in the rotation with the Philadelphia Phillies. Even after the two solid starts with the Marlins, Phillips has a 6.34 ERA through 44 innings in 10 career starts. 

Much of that was before he became the lovable face-slapping bullpen behemoth seen today at loanDepot park. He established himself with the Marlins by posting a 2.78 ERA through 77.2 innings last year. 

At 33-35, the Marlins have climbed from eight games under .500 at the end of May to now 2.5 games out of a wild card spot. June is proving to be their month, as the Marlins have won seven of their last eight games, all against teams who are ahead of them in the standings. 

“We dug ourselves a bit of a hole, but now we're playing much better here the last ten days or so,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "It's always going to go back to our ability to pitch and play and play defense.”

Kyle Stowers is starting to recapture the magic from his breakout season last year. Coming off a three-run home run on Wednesday, Stowers has nine RBI and a .740 OPS in eight games this month. 

McCullough said what Stowers “can bring to our offense is no secret.”

“Kyle's been on the barrel a lot more of late,” McCullough said. “He's certainly a huge part of our lineup in the middle there, and with how much the guys in front are getting on base, and his ability to drive them in is a big thing for us.”

The Diamondbacks (34-33) have lost nine of their last 12 games and are in danger of dropping to .500 after this series. The Diamondbacks will look to Merrill Kelly (5-4, 5.71 ERA) to stop the skid. 

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