Marlins looking to carry over momentum into second half of the season

The Miami Marlins bounded into the All-Star break toting back-to-back wins against Baltimore, with Kyle Stowers smashing pitches like piñatas in Sunday’s beatdown before jetting off to the showcase in Atlanta.

It was exactly the finish needed after a three-game skid heading into the weekend threatened to derail the torrid tear they’d been on for three weeks.

Kicking off with an eight-game winning streak — their longest since 2008 and just one shy of matching the franchise record — the Marlins closed the first half by winning 14 of 20.

At 44-51, including 24-24 on the road, they sit third in the National League East, two games ahead of the Braves, whose 2025 payroll is three times more than their own modest $67 million. For the optimists, the Marlins are just 7.5 games out of a wild-card spot.

At this point last season, the Marlins were 33-63. This year, they hit their season low on June 21, falling 15 games under .500 again after a 7-0 home loss to the Braves.

They opened June by losing seven of eight, including a three-game sweep at loanDepot park to a Rockies team that arrived with a 9-50 record.

“Our group has continued to show a lot of resiliency — they have a lot of belief in themselves. They’ve showed that a number of occasions,” said Marlins’ first-year manager Clayton McCullough.

“I’m very encouraged and proud of how our group has continued to respond. … They just know that it’s certainly not over until it’s over, and we have been getting contributions from up and down the roster from so many guys. That is a real sign of our team continuing to grow.”

The Marlins’ surprising first half was shaped by several storylines, including the big bats of Stowers and rookie catcher Agustín Ramírez.

Minutes after learning of his first All-Star selection July 6, Stowers’ voice cracked as he candidly recalled his spring training struggles and doubts about making the roster. On Sunday, he became the first player in franchise history to record five hits (5-for-5) and six RBI in a game, and one of only four to hit three homers in a game.

The 27-year-old, whose walk-off grand slam against the Athletics May 3 stopped a season-long six-game slide, is slashing .293/.368/.543 with 19 home runs, 54 RBI, and 46 runs scored. He ranks ninth in the majors in OPS (.911) and 12th in slugging.

Since his MLB debut April 21, Ramírez, 23, has split catching duties as part of a three-man rotation with fellow rookie Liam Hicks and veteran Nick Fortes. To keep the bats of Ramírez and Hicks in the lineup, McCullough has used both at designated hitter and has also platooned Hicks at first base with Eric Wagaman.

It’s paid off at the plate.

Hicks ranks second among qualified MLB rookies in OBP (.367) and fifth in OPS (.778).

Ramírez leads all MLB rookies in extra-base hits (35), is second in home runs (14) and tops all NL rookies in both RBI (41) and runs (40).

His 35 extra-base hits are the most by any Marlins player through their first 71 career games, and his 14 home runs (half of which came with two outs) are tied with Jesús Sánchez for the second-most in that span — trailing only Giancarlo Stanton’s 15.

Ramírez went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored in his debut and set franchise records for hits through two games (five) and three games (seven), and extra-base hits through five games (seven).

He’s kept delivering in big moments since.

“We have certainly improved individually — a lot of players had very good stretches in the first half,” McCullough said. “I believe that there has been incremental improvement across the board, and in some cases, greater degrees of improvement, and that there’s a lot more left to go.

“Think about a guy like Augustín Ramírez. As terrific a half as he’s had, there’s a whole lot more left for him to reach his ceiling. You could say that about a number of players.

“I’m not surprised with the type of talent we had in the room and their eagerness to want to get better. The most exciting part for myself and our staff is that we feel like there’s just a whole lot more left to go. In a lot of ways, we’re just scratching the surface with individuals and the capabilities of what this group can do moving forward.”

The Marlins racked up a season-high 18 hits in Sunday’s 11-1 win. Their 408 runs in 95 games before the break rank ninth-most in franchise history for a first half — and the most since the 2017 squad scored 410 in just 87 games.

The Marlins have been especially dangerous late in games. They lead the majors in batting average (.268) and hits (292) from the seventh inning on, and their .340 on-base percentage in that span ranks third, behind only the Phillies and Blue Jays. More than a third of their runs — 154, or 37.7 percent — have come in the seventh inning or later.

They’ve also done damage with two outs. They rank third in the majors with a .259 average and third in the NL with 165 RBI in those spots.

Improving defensively is McCullough’s top concern for the second half.

“For us to continue to put ourselves in positions year after year to be a consistent winner, have playoff aspirations, for me, it’s always gonna come down to, on the mound, our ability to continue throwing strikes — and that’s been a big step forward — and on the defensive end, having it buttoned up from game to game, series to series,” McCullough said.

“The offense is gonna ebb and flow with much more volatility over a course of a season than some of the other areas, so it’s important defense remains a real focal point.”

On the mound, it’s been a tale of two Tommy John comebacks for the Marlins — Sandy Alcantara has struggled with inconsistency, while his mentee Eury Pérez has looked sharper with each start, flourishing from the moment he returned.

Edward Cabrera is pitching with more confidence, control, and consistency than ever before in his career. He delivered 11 impressive consecutive starts before giving up four runs on eight hits over four innings in Baltimore on Friday.

Cabrera exited the game with a right elbow injury, but manager McCullough told the broadcast crew during Sunday’s game, “We’re optimistic it’s nothing serious,” and expects Cabrera to return to the rotation after the All-Star break.

Former reliever Janson Junk, who hadn’t started a game since 2023, has delivered quality starts in all three starts, including seven shutout innings Saturday. He’s allowed two earned runs in 19 innings in those starts. And the Marlins’ bullpen, with Anthony Bender, Ronny Henriquez, and several others, has been solid.

What the roster will look like after the July 31 trade deadline remains uncertain, but McCullough and Marlins’ president of baseball operations Peter Bendix seem aligned on the franchise’s future.

When asked recently if Bendix reminded him of Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman — McCullough served as Los Angeles’ first-base coach the past four seasons — he said the two are “very similar in a lot of ways.”

“One, Peter cares a lot about people. He cares a lot about culture. He lets people do their jobs. You have a lot of autonomy working with Peter,” McCullough said. “He’s very supportive, and I felt the same things with Andrew. You never felt a sense of panic with Andrew. It was a very steady, steady hand, and Peter is very much like that.”

McCullough said that stability helped in the season’s first half.

“As this season’s gone along, it’s not, you know, ups and downs and riding the wave,” McCullough said. “He’s been very supportive, and he has a clear vision and direction with where we’re gonna go with this organization. So I’m grateful for the support that he’s shown myself and our staff all the way through.”