DENVER—In a cold, wet, delay-filled night, Eury Pérez’s masterful outing nearly went to waste as the Colorado Rockies rallied late. With the tying run on third and the winning run on first in the bottom of the ninth, Rockies star and Marlin killer Hunter Goodman stepped in in the pouring rain. On a 2-1 slider, Goodman lined out sharply to third baseman Connor Norby to end the game, sealing a 6-5 Miami win. Ronny Henriquez recorded the final four outs for the save, earning Perez the win.

Miami carried a 6-0 lead into a one-hour, one-minute rain delay in the sixth, only to watch Colorado claw back and threaten in the late innings.

The Marlins’ bullpen entered the night riding a streak of 20 ⅓ consecutive innings without an earned run allowed, dating back to September 9 against Washington. Tyler Phillips extended it to 22 ⅓ with two scoreless frames after the delay. But right-hander Michael Petersen surrendered a three-run homer to Mickey Moniak, snapping the streak and cutting the lead in half.

That set the stage for Henriquez, who was able to come through with his seventh save of the season.

“In this ballpark, no lead is safe,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “All it takes is a couple of baserunners and a decent swing.”

 

Dominant Eury

Making his 18th start, Pérez came in searching for consistency. After a stellar first 10 outings—50 innings with just 15 earned runs allowed (2.70 ERA)—the 21-year-old right-hander had struggled, giving up 27 runs across his last 31 frames.

“I think it all comes from the command,” McCullough said pregame. “He’s gotten in bad counts, become too predictable, left pitches in bad spots, and let hitters box him in.”

Pérez flipped the script in Denver, navigating one of baseball’s toughest pitching environments with ease. He fired five scoreless innings, facing just one over the minimum before the delay cut short his night. His final line: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K on 71 pitches (46 strikes).

“Eury was fantastic,” McCullough said afterward. “The quality of his breaking stuff, in this environment where spin usually doesn’t play as well, was great. His ability to miss bats goes back to the strike-throwing and command, something he hadn’t been doing these past few outings.”

While Pérez’s fastball has graded out as one of Miami’s best weapons per Baseball Savant, it was his slider that shined Tuesday. He threw it 23 times (32%), collecting four of his six strikeouts with the pitch.

Having undergone Tommy John surgery in April 2024, the Marlins remain focused on keeping their young ace healthy.

“It’s going to be a good feeling for him to finish these last few starts on a high note,” McCullough added. “From a health standpoint, he’s recovered well, and the stuff has been fantastic.”

 

Offensive Support

Miami’s bats gave Pérez plenty of cushion. Jakob Marsee opened the scoring with a two-run double in the third inning, and Dane Myers—activated from the injured list earlier in the day along with infielders Connor Norby and Graham Pauley—added a two-run double in the sixth to make it 5-0. Myers later scored on a Javier Sanoja double.

With the win, Miami improved to 71-80, taking four of its last five. The Rockies, meanwhile, dropped to a major league-worst 41-110.