The Marlins’ most reliable starter eventually ran out of gas, while Miami’s offense mustered only two runs despite frequent scoring opportunities.
In back-to-back games leading up to Friday night’s first of three against the lowly White Sox, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough was scrutinized for taking out his starting pitcher too early.
On Tuesday, McCullough pulled Cal Quantrill in the middle of his best start of the season. A day later, Valente Bellozo was taken out amidst a one-hitter. The concern? Both Quantrill and Bellozo had historically seen the offensive numbers against them spike when facing a lineup for the third time. With Dodgers’ superstar Shohei Ohtani coming to the plate, his former coach would rather a lefty arm out of his bullpen.
Both times, the three-time MVP made him pay with extra-base hits. Major rallies for Los Angeles ensued, setting McCullough up for criticism from media and fans alike.
Fast forward to Friday, where Max Meyer became the first Marlins starter to complete six innings since Sandy Alcantara on April 23, doing so on just 72 pitches. This time, McCullough rolled with Meyer into the seventh inning with the game tied and a weak Chicago lineup coming up for, you guessed it, a third time.
What followed was the exact situation the first-year manager dreaded. The Southsiders rattled off three runs charged on three hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly. Meyer was chased from the contest before he could even record a second out. With the big inning, Chicago grabbed a 5-2 lead before adding another in the eighth. Miami’s offense continued to sputter after an impressive first two innings, leading to their ninth defeat in their past eleven games. With the loss, the Marlins dropped to a season-worst nine games under .500.
Looking away from his tumultuous final inning, Meyer delivered a solid bounce-back start, allowing just two runs all night—both in an up-and-down second frame—displaying better swing-and-miss stuff than his prior start. The 26-year-old was also extremely efficient, averaging 12 pitches an inning between the first and sixth.
Meyer relied on his signature slider more than any other pitch, throwing it 33% of the time, as expected. Surprisingly, though, Meyer threw his new sweeper and changeup second-most and third-most, respectively. He mixed in only 14 fastballs. Whether that usage decision was due to it missing down the plate in the aforementioned second inning is unknown.
With his eighth start of 2025 in the books, Meyer’s ERA now sits at 4.37, still good enough for the lowest in Miami’s rotation among pitchers who have made five starts or more.
As previously noted, Miami’s bats came out of the gates hot.
Xavier Edwards walked and stole a base before Jesús Sánchez drove him in on a single to open things up. An inning later, Connor Norby roped a double to left-center. What followed was radio silence for the next four innings until Liam Hicks pulled his second homer in as many starts to knot the game at two.
The Fish got runners on in both the eighth and ninth, but couldn’t chain anything together. Overall in this contest, they went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
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Of Note
– Home plate umpire Austin Jones had a rough night, missing plenty of calls on both sides. AgustÃn RamÃrez got visibly worked up in the seventh inning, leading to McCullough having to diffuse the situation between the two. Additionally, Max Meyer was seen saying choice words to Jones as he walked off the mound following his departure.
– While three of them didn’t fall, RamÃrez belted four balls over 100 mph in play, including a new personal-best 115 mph double in his third at-bat.
РChristina De Nicola of MLB.com reported pregame that Eury P̩rez will make his fourth rehab start in Jupiter on Sunday afternoon.
– It has, simply put, been a tough time for Marlins starters thus far.
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Up Next
Edward Cabrera, off the back of an encouraging 5Â â…” innings last Sunday against the Athletics, takes the ball in Saturday’s middle game at 7:10. Opposite of Cabrera is Shane Smith, far and away Chicago’s best arm in the young season. Through seven starts, Smith has maintained a 2.41 ERA with opponents hitting a measly .207. Most impressive of all, Smith has allowed just a single home run in 37 â…“Â innings pitched.