Marlins complete a turnaround month of May with a victory against the Rangers
Following a dreadful March/April during which the Miami Marlins went 7-24, Miami turned things around and enjoyed a winning May, topping it off with an 8-2 victory against the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers on Friday night behind Jesus Sanchez’s memorable offensive performance. Miami went 14-13 for the month and is now 21-37 overall.
“I’m just proud of these guys. Things could have gone downhill pretty quick after a rough start,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “There could have been some blaming, some finger-pointing, but they came out every day and played as hard as they could, and I’m really proud of that.”
While the team’s offense certainly improved once the calendar flipped to May, pitching and health have been the key difference-makers for the club.
After missing significant time with arm injuries, Miami’s 2023 Wild Card Series starters, Braxton Garrett and Jesus Luzardo, returned to the team’s rotation in early May and have given Miami a formidable one-two punch.
Another standout pitcher this month has been Ryan Weathers. The left-hander has been stellar, boasting a 1.91 earned run average in 33 innings pitched through five May starts.
The team’s starting rotation ERA for the month was 4.29, half a run better than in March/April.
Highlighted by Tanner Scott, Miami’s bullpen also took a big step forward this month. Scott, the Marlins’ closer, went 3-0 and didn’t allow an earned run all month in 10 1/3 innings. Overall, the club’s relievers had a 3.75 ERA in May compared to a 4.77 ERA in March/April.
The Marlins’ offense also improved significantly in May, as indicated by the 68-point increase in team OPS (on-base + slugging). Jazz Chisholm Jr, Josh Bell and Nick Gordon led the way, with Chisholm’s OPS increasing from .725 to .845, Bell’s from .554 to .847, and Gordon’s from .547 to .719 from March/April to May.
Gordon went 1 for -4 with a home run and three RBI in Friday night’s win. “Just getting back in the swing of things, seeing the balls come from the pitchers’ hands again has gotten me into a routine, so I definitely feel normal again,” Gordon said.
Josh Bell went 1 for 4 with an RBI on Friday. When asked what’s changed since the start of May, Bell said, “things are finally falling for me a bit more now and been making better decisions on what to swing at and what not to.”
But the star of Friday night’s game was, unquestionably, Sanchez. After posting nearly identical numbers in May and April, Sanchez had arguably a career game on the month’s final day. He went 3 for 3 with a walk and three extra-base hits, highlighted by a three-run home run in the seventh to put the game away.
“My game plan for the last three-four years has been to try and find that fastball and make them pay when they throw that pitch,” said the Dominican right fielder through the team translator.. “As a team, for us offensive players, it’s having that pitching. They’re backing us up, which makes us feel comfortable and we get those results.”
After winning the series opener Friday, Miami will look to start the month of June on a good note. Ryan Weathers will make the start on Saturday and oppose Rangers right-hander Michael Lorenzen.