Marlins drubbed in Colorado, now 4 games over. 500. Personnel news, where things stand
A six-pack of Marlins notes after Thursday’s 14-4 loss in the final game of a four-game series against Colorado, leaving Miami at 46-42 heading into a three-game series against the Athletics in Sacramento:
▪ The Rockies, who trailed 3-1 in the third inning, erupted for seven runs off Calvin Faucher and Cade Gibson in the sixth to turn a one-run game into an 11-4 blowout, handing Miami its second loss in a row and dropping the Marlins to 4-3 on the 10-game road trip.
Infielder Javier Sanoja pitched the eighth for Miami, his third appearance on the mound this season, and allowed two runs.
During the past two days, the Marlins faced the pitchers with the highest ERA in the National League (Kyle Freeland at 7.25 and Michael Lorenzen at 6.91) and failed to win either game, blunting the momentum of a 20-6 June.
Max Meyer (9-1) sustained his first loss of the season in Wednesday’s 5-2 Rockies win, and pitching was a mess all day Thursday. Right-handed starter Ryan Gusto struggled, allowing three runs in three innings, raising his ERA to 5.55.
Perhaps it’s time to give another shot to left-hander Braxton Garrett, who was bombed in two Marlins starts earlier this season but is pitching well at Triple A, including eight shutout innings Wednesday. He has a 1.55 ERA in 12 starts at Jacksonville.
The Marlins, at some point, likely will turn to right-hander Karson Milbrandt, who was invited to the Futures game on All-Star weekend in Philadelphia. He’s 4-1 with a 1.63 ERA in 13 starts in Double A and Triple A.
The Marlins also could try to continue getting by with Gusto until Janson Junk returns from his shin injury.
Junk began a minor-league rehab assignment with Jacksonville last Sunday but left the game after being struck on the left wrist by a 106 mph batted ball.
X-rays were negative, and manager Clayton McCullough said he will resume his rehab pitching schedule with a goal of throwing 60-plus pitches in a game.
▪ Shortstop Otto Lopez, who leads baseball in batting average at .336, had a single and a double and a triple Thursday and now has 36 multihit games, tying Miguel Cabrera in 2006 for the most multihit games before the All Star break in team history.
Liam Hicks extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games, marking the longest active streak in baseball. It’s the Marlins’ longest hitting streak since Jake Burger’s 13-game streak in August 2023.
▪ Besides the continued excellence of Hicks, Lopez and Xavier Edwards, the Marlins also are heartened by the recent play of Griffin Conine (since returning from injury) and Owen Caissie.
Caissie drove in a run, putting him on pace for 87 RBI – which would approach Dan Uggla’s team rookie record of 90. After hitting .207 through the end of April, he has hit .264 since. He’s at .239 overall, with a .297 on base average.
Meanwhile, Conine hit .296 in his first eight games after tearing a hamstring April 9. That included the first four-hit game of his career this week.
▪ On the flip side, Jakob Marsee entered Thursday mired in a 2-for-36 slump. He went 0 for 3 on Thursday, leaving him at .187 with a .307 on-base.
At some point, McCullough could opt to give the right-handed hitting Estuery Ruiz more playing time, especially against lefties. Ruiz is hitting .244 with a .340 on base percentage. Marsee is just 9 for 65 (.138) against left-handers.
The Marlins haven’t sent Marsee down to the minors because of their need for a center fielder, his ability to cover a lot of ground defensively, and the belief that his at-bats has generally been pretty good. But there’s always a breaking point with that thinking, as Connor Norby saw this week when he was sent to Triple A.
▪ The loss of right-handed reliever Anthony Bender, for an undisclosed amount of time, was a significant blow this week.
Bender, who’s on the 15-day injured list, sustained a stress reaction in his right shin — the same injury he suffered last August that sidelined him for the duration of the season.
Bender has been a critical component of a bullpen that ranks fifth in the National League in ERA (3.25)
He has a 2.62 ERA in 34 ⅓ innings, with eight holds, two saves and 41 strikeouts; batters are hitting just .169 against him. He had permitted just three runs over his past 22 innings.
▪ It’s mock season! ESPN has the Marlins picking Georgia prep center fielder Trevor Condon with the 14th pick in the July 11 amateur draft.
“The Marlins have been targeting players similar to the Orioles: position players with above-average power and some defensive/athletic value,” ESPN lead draft analyst Kiley McDaniel said. “There isn’t a great option who fits that mold at this pick so I’d normally go with the best available college pitcher, but Condon is too good for me to pass up. He’s a plus hitter and plus runner who has been super productive on the biggest stages. There’s the faint rumble of Kevin McGonigle’s music playing right now.”
Other options projected for the Marlins’ range include seven college players: catcher Daniel Jackson (Georgia), shortstop Justin LeBron (Alabama), right-handers Liam Peterson (UF) and Cameron Flukey (Coastal Carolina) and Logan Reddemann (UCLA) and Cade Townsend (Mississippi) and center fielder Derrick Curiel (LSU)
This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 6:08 PM.
