MIAMI—Succeeding weeks of digging and assiduous effort, Eury Pérez finally uncovered his sought-after gem.

Six innings of one-hit, seven-strikeout ball from the 6’8″ right-hander in front of his family along with a towering 425 foot two-run long ball from fellow youngster Agustín Ramírez propelled the club to their fourth consecutive series victory with a 4-1 win in Thursday’s rubber match against the visiting Twins.

“That’s what we’ve been working for, and I can see the results,” Pérez told reporters through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “I feel very happy, I feel healthy, and we will continue to keep working for more outings like that.”

Pérez’s success could be found in swing-and-miss and inducing weak contact, as the 22-year-old prodigy recorded an absurd twenty whiffs on eighty pitches (25%). Minnesota bats produced a measly four hard-hit balls in 21 plate appearances, three of which were flyouts. When Pérez is at his best—as seen in 2023—these two statistics tend to be mightily impressive.

Unusual, though, was the unorthodox usage of Pérez’s arsenal.

89% of the pitches thrown from the future ace of Miami’s rotation were either fastballs or sliders, leaving the curveball and changeup to be thrown a combined six times. The approach derives from Pérez’s supreme confidence in his two premier offerings.

“I think that’s my number one pitch of my arsenal,” said Pérez regarding his four-seamer. “I trust this pitch a lot, and I think it is one of the best in the league because it has a really high spin rate. I like being able to throw it in different locations of the plate and also get some strikeouts.” He entered Thursday with an average four-seamer spin rate of 2,655 rpm, which ranks fourth in MLB—the only pitchers ahead of him are relievers.

Speaking of the slider, Pérez receives positive reinforcement from pitching coach Daniel Moskos.

“That boost of confidence is something that we’ve been working with in the bullpens and throwing programs,” Pérez said. “Between innings, (Moskos) kept telling me to keep trusting the slider. This slider is something a pitch is going to help me, and it’s going to help me to finish those batters.”

The Marlins pitching staff compiled quality starts in each game of a series for the first time since August 18-19, 2023 (Pérez was involved in that series as well). Between Pérez, Edward Cabrera and Janson Junk, Miami starters were outstanding against a Twins offense with plenty of well-regarded bats, pitching a total of nineteen innings, allowing nine hits and two earned runs. A three-game run with such dominance earned heavy praise from skipper Clayton McCullough.

“Daniel (Moskos) and Brandon (Mann) deserve a lot of credit. The players go out there and do it, and they have continued to take strides and get better,” said McCullough. “As the season has gone on, our pitching staff has stayed committed to hammering and doubling down on the importance of throwing strikes—the importance of getting ahead. We know how talented our group is and the type of stuff that they bring to the table, and when we’re in the strike zone with the type of frequency that we have been recently, the type of outings and performances we’ve seen, we believe become regular.”

Possessing an ERA now comfortably in the fours, Pérez believes this is just the tip of the iceberg for not just himself, but his club as well.

“I think the results have been good,” Pérez said in response to how he evaluates his return thus far. “The confidence is coming back. I think what we want is actually to win as many games as we can and get this team to the playoffs.”

While the end of Pérez’s remark might have come across as asinine just two weeks ago, the Fish sit just 6.5 games back of a wild-card spot with their ninth victory in ten games, courtesy of an full-team effort and mechanically sound play.

“Where we are right now, record-wise, who’s in front, behind, less concerned with that, and just very pleased and proud of how we’ve played baseball,” said McCullough. “If we continue to play baseball, and contemplate this brand, this style, clean baseball, then we’re going to continue to win games.

Miami returns to action on Friday night, kicking off a three-game set against the 48-38 Brewers on the Fourth of July. It’s the third consecutive season loanDepot park has played site to patriotic baseball. Looking to extend their run of quality starts, Sandy Alcantara takes the ball for McCullough, coming off a rocky start in the desert. Hoping to contain the Fish is ex-top prospect Quinn Priester, sporting a 3.35 ERA in fifteen total games.

First pitch from what should be a sea of red, white and blue in South Florida is slated for 7:10, with a postgame fireworks show in the wings.