Dealing with another injury to a key player, Marlins lose to Cardinals on Monday

After losing Kyle Stowers to the injured list during a brutal road trip, the Marlins opened a nine-game homestand Monday dealing with another oblique strain — this time sidelining third baseman Graham Pauley.

Before the 8-3 loss to the Cardinals at loanDepot park, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said that Pauley will be out “roughly a month” because of his Grade 1 right oblique strain.

Pauley was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sunday, opening the door for infielder Maximo Acosta to make his MLB debut Monday.

With Pauley on the IL, the 22-year-old Venezuelan was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding move, and McCullough started him at second base to give Xavier Edwards a day off.

“A lot of mixed feelings,” Acosta said before the game via team interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “Because this is an achievement. Since I was a little kid, I’ve been thinking about this moment. It’s difficult because my dad [Maximo Sr.] passed a couple of months ago and I know this was a dream for him that I was going to make an MLB debut.”

Acosta, said his father “taught me everything about this game,” including “how to love this game.” When he told his family of his call-up, “The excitement was overwhelming. We teared up talking about it.”

Moving forward, McCullough said Acosta and Javier Sanoja, who started at third base Monday, will split time at the hot corner in Pauley’s absence, with the plan for Acosta to “bounce around” the infield during his stint with the Marlins.

Pauley said he felt his oblique “flare up” Saturday.

“I’m going to try to make it as quick as possible,” he said of his recovery. “I want to be back here playing again. I hate this kind of stuff. It’s my first IL stint in pro ball. It’s something I pride myself on, being available. So, it sucks. But it’s something I got to deal with.”

Since his call-up from Triple-A, Pauley has been a defensive anchor. He has been making an impact at the plate, too. He went 4-for-4 with a homer last Wednesday in Cleveland after homering in back-to-back games the week before.

“He was really playing at a high level on both sides of the ball, so a blow for our team…but also for Graham,” McCullough said. “He was playing as well as he had at any point in his young major league career. For that to get stopped for a while because of this — but when he comes back, there will be a different level of confidence he has to draw from knowing he has proven to himself what we all thought, that there’s a really good player in there.”

Said Pauley: “I felt like I was in a good spot, helping the team win however I could. It’s unfortunate. I hope I come back better for it.”

PEREZ STRUGGLES

Starter Eury Pérez became the first pitcher in Marlins history to throw four wild pitches in a game. He also allowed four walks, three runs (two earned), and two hits over 4 1/3 innings Monday. “He righted the ship some as the outing went along, and just had a tough time in the fifth,” McCullough said.

The Marlins allowed three unearned runs and committed two errors Monday. “This was not a very pretty brand of baseball tonight,” McCullough said. “When the game was invented, this is not how it was drawn up. So, ugly. We gave up far too many free bases. … So we deserved to lose this game.”

Eric Wagaman homered for the second straight game — a 409-foot solo shot to center in the fourth inning — and now has a hit in four consecutive games.

THIS AND THAT

• Third baseman Connor Norby, who had surgery July 18 to repair a broken bone in his left wrist, is set to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday at Triple-A Jacksonville.

• Relievers Lake Bachar and Josh Simpson combined to allow five runs (four earned) on seven hits in three innings pitched.

• Left-hander Ryan Weathers (left lat strain) is scheduled to throw live batting practice Wednesday.

This story was originally published August 18, 2025 at 10:34 PM.