Meyer shows resilience, continues All-Star push as Marlins stay hot
With his eighth consecutive win in Saturday’s 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants, Miami Marlins pitcher Max Meyer passed Dontrelle Willis for the second-most consecutive starts without a loss to open a season in team history, trailing only former World Series MVP Liván Hernández, who won nine straight games as a rookie in 1997.
Through five innings, the 27-year-old struck out seven batters and gave up seven hits while allowing two runs, continuing to cement himself as Miami’s most consistent pitcher in a season defined by injuries across the pitching staff.
Coming off an unconvincing third season in which he finished just 3-5 with a 4.75 ERA, Meyer hadn’t fully answered yet whether he could translate into a dependable rotation role. Through the first half of this season, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough believes he has.
“Max has had a phenomenal start. Going back a few months, there were a lot of questions about whether he can be a starter,” McCullough said. “But he’s come out and showed the confidence we had in him and why we believed that he can be a starter. Being healthy and building on his struggles from the past have allowed him to take some steps forward.”
In one of his rougher outings of the season, Meyer showed his ability to steady himself in the middle and prevent a game from unraveling, the kind of adversity every starting pitcher is guaranteed to face at some point.
The right-hander surrendered a solo home run to left fielder Casey Schmitt and a run-scoring double to center fielder Drew Gilbert in the fourth, then put runners on the corners. But he still found a way to limit the damage, escaping the jam by striking out Giants designated hitter Bryce Eldridge looking.
“Just had to make some big pitches and dig as deep as I could,” Meyer said. “I knew that I had to keep the ballgame tight.”
Luckily, Meyer had early support from Miami’s lineup, which built a 6-2 lead after a strong bottom of the fourth inning. Center fielder Jakob Marsee put the Marlins ahead with an RBI single before second baseman Xavier Edwards drove in another run while grounding into a double play. Heriberto Hernández then extended the lead with a two-run home
The All-Star Case for Meyer
Meyer returned for one more inning after working out of trouble in the fourth, ultimately exiting with a 2.80 ERA while continuing to build his All-Star résumé.
With Saturday’s win, the fourth-year right-hander is tied with Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski and Phillies left-hander Christopher Sánchez for the most wins in the National League with eight.
Besides leading the NL in wins, he also ranks among the league’s top 10 in ERA (2.80) and strikeouts (102).
“There’s some All-Star talk, and he should be getting it,” McCullough said. “He’s certainly pitched like an All-Star in this first half of the season. … You never know when it might click for an individual.”
While he still trails Hernández for the most consecutive wins to open a season in franchise history, Meyer has already set the Marlins record for most consecutive starts without a loss, surpassing Hernández and reaching 16.
What’s next
The Marlins (39-38), now above .500 for the first time since April 14, close out their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday at 1:40 p.m. at loanDepot park.
Right-hander Ryan Gusto is scheduled to start against Giants right-hander Logan Webb. Gusto enters at 0-2 with a 7.24 ERA, while Webb is 4-4 with a 3.46 ERA.
This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 9:31 PM.