The Miami Marlins keep hanging around until everything breaks

The Miami Marlins are learning one of baseball’s cruelest lessons in real time.

“This game will humble you,” said Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk.

That was how Junk described Wednesday night after Miami’s 9-1 loss to the first-place Atlanta Braves at loanDepot park. That single sentence probably explained the game better than the scoreboard did because for stretches, the Marlins actually competed.

Miami entered Wednesday night having split its first two games against Atlanta and actually landed the first punch. Xavier Edwards, who’s on torrid pace this season, started the offense again for the Marlins. At the top of the lineup, Edwards got on base and later scored on a Heriberto Hernandez sacrifice fly in the first inning that gave them an early 1-0 lead.

For about 12 minutes, it felt like the Marlins might be cooking something.

That’s when Atlanta answered back faster in the second inning. Austin Riley played hero as he crushed a big three-run homer for the Braves.

They never got a chance to build anything. The crowd that had some life in the first inning suddenly got a lot quieter.

From there, Atlanta settled in while veteran left-hander Chris Sale found his rhythm and completely slowed Miami’s offense after the opening frame.

“That’s why Sale’s been good for so long,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said afterward. “It really felt like after that first inning he got into a really good rhythm. The slider really picked up.”

Miami managed only four hits the rest of the night as Sale continued carving through the lineup with sharp command and late movement.

“I think the slider was working well today,” Marlins outfielder Esteury Ruiz said. “I had a different plan, but today was his day. He won today.”

Still, the game did not completely feel out of reach entering the sixth inning.

Then baseball did what Junk warned about, it humbled the Marlins.

Olson started the sixth with an RBI single. Albies followed with another run. Suddenly, Atlanta was treating the inning like batting practice.

Then Smith crushed a triple to deep center. The Marlins could’ve stopped it there, but a collision in the outfield, a bobbled catch by the infielders and multiple errors while playing defense allowed Smith to score.

“Both guys are going for it,” McCullough said about the collision. “You’re trying your best to communicate, whether it’s verbally or some nonverbal stuff, but both guys are going full speed and unfortunately those things do occur.”

Ruiz said afterward the collision looked worse than it felt.

“I’m feeling great,” Ruiz said. “I think it looked even worse on TV than it actually felt.”

Meanwhile, Junk was left staring at another outing where one difficult stretch completely changed the story of his night. His final line showed eight earned runs allowed across five innings, though he felt the game unraveled far quicker than the numbers suggested.

“The last inning was just unacceptable,” Junk said. “I felt like I made some good pitches and then next thing you know it’s five runs.”

That’s the balancing act the Marlins continue trying to figure out this season. They compete early. They flash potential. Edwards continues setting the tone offensively and young players continue battling.

But against teams like Atlanta, small mistakes do not stay small for very long.

One hanging sweeper turns into a three-run homer.

One collision turns into an inside-the-park home run.

One bad inning suddenly leaves a game looking far uglier than it actually felt.

And right now, that’s the difference the Marlins are still trying to close.

This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 8:07 AM.