Immaculate Quantrill, Marlins clinch first series win vs. Rays since 2018 – Miami Marlins Talk

Otto Lopez and Liam Hicks homered, while Quantrill became just the second pitcher in Marlins history to author an immaculate inning.

MIAMI—The universe had aligned on Sunday for Cal Quantrill to get his 2025 season on track.

The veteran right-hander was facing the Tampa Bay Rays, who he has held to a .475 OPS in his previous career matchups. With the return of the sure-handed Otto Lopez, Quantrill rode the momentum to five innings of one-run ball in the Marlins’ 5-1 victory.

The highlight of the afternoon was what Quantrill did in the top of the fourth when he struck out Jonathan Aranda, Christopher Morel, and Kameron Misner on nine pitches. He joined Jesús Sánchez (9/13/98) as the only other pitchers in franchise history to throw an immaculate inning.

“Pretty cool,” said Quantrill when reflecting on his fourth-inning performance. “As a guy who doesn’t strike out the most people in the world, it’s a pretty cool little collectible to put on the wall.”

Quantrill’s modesty was apt. He entered Sunday with the third-lowest K/9 (6.5) among the 78 MLB pitchers to throw at least 175 innings since the start of 2024. 

“It kind of goes back to Seattle a few starts ago. I think he just made a decision to be more aggressive and be more on the attack,” noted manager Clayton McCullough.

That “Seattle” start back on April 25 saw Quantrill tagged for four runs, three of which game in his sixth and final inning of work. In the ensuing four starts and 18 innings pitched since then, the seven-year veteran has pitched to a more respectable 4.50 ERA, seeing his ERA fall from 8.10 to 6.37 in the process.

Shane Baz, all the while, didn’t fare so well, coughing up five runs on nine hits in his six innings of work that included a pair of home runs. After starting the year 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA through April, the former top prospect has fallen victim to a 9.61 ERA in the month of May. 

Lopez put Miami ahead with a three-run blast in his first game off the injured list. Quantrill’s battery mate, Liam Hicks, took him deep three innings later.

Lopez’s reinstatement coincides with Xavier Edwards being placed on the 10-day IL. The Marlins have grown accustomed to using Lopez regularly at second base, but he could slide over to shortstop occasionally during Edwards’ absence, McCullough said.

The Marlins bullpen continued their upward trend, throwing four scoreless innings in relief of Quantrill. Despite entering Sunday with a collective 4.69 ERA, the ‘pen has fared much better in the month of May, owning a 3.36 ERA in 56 ⅓ innings pitched. 

With the win, Miami secured their first series victory since April 21-23, when they took two of three from the Cincinnati Reds. The win also marks their first series victory against the Rays since July 20-22, 2018. 

Looking Ahead

Miami’s homestand continues Monday against a familiar foe as they’ll welcome the Chicago Cubs for the first of a three-game series. Chicago took two of three from Miami this past week.

Edward Cabrera (0-1, 5.52 ERA) will make his first start since May 10 when he worked five innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 win over the White Sox. Ben Brown (3-3, 4.75 ERA) will oppose him for the North Siders. 

First pitch from loanDepot park is slated for 6:40 EST. 

View full article