Marlins Remain in Favorable Position After .500 Roadtrip

The Miami Marlins can’t help but feel encouraged about returning to loanDepot park after a .500 road trip through Pennsylvania. 

After the Philadelphia Phillies limited Miami to two runs through two games, the Marlins’ bats broke out in a big way with a 12-4 win on Wednesday. Four different Marlins hitters homered on Wednesday, including Kyle Stowers, who hit two bombs in a 4-for-5 afternoon. Stowers, who missed much of the first month due to a hamstring injury, is finally seeing his bat return to form. 

In his last seven games, Stowers is slashing .308/.419/.692 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 26 at-bats.

“Any time you have success, you kind of loosen up the shoulders a little bit, and vice versa; when things aren't going your way, maybe you tense up a little bit,” Stowers said. “There's a sweet spot somewhere between caring a lot and trying too hard. I was able to kind of thread that needle today.”

Wednesday’s win was another example of how important Sandy Alcantara is at the front of the Marlins' starting rotation. Injuries have the rotation looking vastly different compared to opening week. Max Meyer and Sandy Alcantara are truly the only two pitchers whom the Marlins can truly count on six innings at a time. 

“We lost the first two games here, so I wanted to do my best for my team to at least win one today,” Alcantara said. “I always like that responsibility; I think that's why I'm here. When I have the opportunity to be on the hump after back-to-back losses, I know I can do better to win the game. Today was great. We’re going to have a happy flight.”

Alcantara, whose four days of rest between starts are filled with trade rumors, struggled early on against a rival that had his number since April 2022. By the end of his start, he came away with only two of the four runs given up being earned, with six strikeouts in six innings. 

The run support Miami provided through the first two innings allowed for more patience in Alcantara. After giving up four runs through the first two frames, he went on to hold the opposition scoreless through the next four innings and set the tone for the bullpen to keep the Phillies batters at bay. 

“He buckled down, mitigated some damage there, and was able to hold them,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “I know the line might not look like it, but this might have been one of his best starts of the season.”

The Marlins (37-38) are 7-3 in their last 10 games and two games out of the third wild card spot. They will host a San Francisco Giants (31-43) team in disarray to the point of possibly prompting Buster Posey to do his best David Samson impression. The Marlins should win that series despite starting with a bullpen day on Friday and ending likely with Ryan Gusto on Sunday. 

After that series, the Marlins will take on a Texas Rangers team (35-38) that is in a similar situation as they are: middle of the pack but squarely in postseason contention. 

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