It began with two outs on his first two pitches and progressed into Marlins’ right-hander Edward Cabrera’s best start of the season.

“Everything he was throwing was electric,” said catcher Nick Fortes.

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But with one out in the seventh inning, the Phillies still scoreless and Cabrera having allowed only two hits, manager Clayton McCullough turned to the bullpen.

Cabrera, who had just struck out Nick Castellanos swinging, exited. The Phillies scored one run, then another in the eighth.

And just like that, the Marlins’ hopes of a four-game split ended with a 2-1 loss Thursday night at loanDepot park.

“Personally, yes, I wanted to stay out there,” Cabrera said via team interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “But you know, the manager makes the decision. He’s the boss. So, you have to respect that.”

McCullough said before the game there would be no restrictions on Cabrera on Thursday, and his pitch count (82) was relatively low. So why replace him with reliever Cade Gibson at that point?

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“Cade’s been great for us, and at that particular time in the game, [Max] Kepler’s third time up, I just liked that matchup there,” McCullough said. “I’m just going to keep going with what I think is best in that moment for us to win the game. I thought Eddie had done fantastically to get us into the seventh inning, had thrown great, and felt good with Cade and what we had behind him the rest of the game.”

Gibson surrendered a single to Kepler, threw a wild pitch, plunked Otto Kemp with a pitch and then Alec Bohm, who had reached on an infield single off Cabrera, scored on a fielder’s choice groundout. In the eighth, Kyle Schwarber, who was 0 for 2 with a walk against Cabrera, hammered a 428-foot home run off Anthony Bender.

Cabrera’s 6 1/3 innings Thursday matched the longest outing by a Marlins starter this season — a mark Max Meyer also hit on April 9 and May 9.

“It was a good outing. Thank God. I’m starting to see the results of the hard work we’re putting into the plan, which is to go deeper into the game,” said Cabrera, who allowed one run and fanned five in his longest outing of the season — topping his previous mark of 5 2/3 innings.

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“When he’s got his stuff like [Thursday], it’s really hard to beat him,” Fortes said. “He’s really simplified it for himself, tried not to think too much and be perfect. I think he’s starting to realize how good he is and not overthinking it.”

Cabrera has now allowed three or fewer earned runs in eight consecutive starts after allowing five earned runs twice in his first four starts of the season.

“Just another really encouraging step — the consistency’s been there,” McCullough said. “Certainly, this was his best one, to go toe-to-toe with [Phillies starter Cristopher] Sánchez tonight. It was a really good pitcher’s duel.”

Sanchez went eight innings, allowing one run on five hits. The Marlins scored in the fifth when Dane Myers led off with a double and came home with two outs as Fortes reached on an infield single, beating out the throw to first.

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▪ Robinson Piña was added to the 40-man roster from Triple A Jacksonville, giving the Marlins another arm in the bullpen, McCullough said. In a corresponding move Thursday, fellow right-hander Adam Mazur was optioned to the Jumbo Shrimp. Also, right-hander Connor Gillispie was designated for assignment.

▪ Reliever Janson Junk will make his first start for the Marlins on Friday against the Braves. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 2.78 ERA in five appearances, allowing seven runs in 22 2/3 innings with 20 strikeouts and two walks. He has seven career starts, none since 2023.

“He certainly has pitched very well,” McCullough said of starting Junk. “Now we expect Janson to be in line with our starters. Whether that be starting the game or coming into that day in line for the majority of [the innings], that will [depend] on who we’re playing.”

▪ Piña, who has chased his MLB debut in the minors since 2017, said his promotion was unexpected and an “incredible” feeling.

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“This is a moment you have dreamed of for many, many years,” Piña said via Dorante Jr.

In Jacksonville, “Being able to read the hitters put me ahead each at-bat,” Piña said. “I was able to understand each hitter and pitch each one of my pitches [four-seam and two-seam fastballs, splitter, slider, and curveball] and use my arsenal to get as many outs as I can.”

▪ McCullough described Mazur’s Marlins debut Wednesday — four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings — as “very encouraging” and noted, “The quality of stuff he showed was there.”

Also, Mazur’s start “afforded every [starter] an extra day going into their next start before we have the off day coming up on Monday.”

▪ Miami rapper Trick Daddy threw out the ceremonial first pitch Thursday.