TAMPA—Anthony Veneziano trail-blazed an unfamiliar bullpen game for the Marlins in Sunday afternoon’s matinee from George M. Steinbrenner Field with a spectacularly commanded two-inning scoreless performance in his first start as a big leaguer. Ronny Henriquez and Cade Gibson followed with shutout innings of their own, before bulk man Valente Bellozo took the hill in the fifth. While the steady second-year righty allowed just two hits—both to veteran first baseman Yandy Díaz—they were crucial.
Díaz reset the game in his third at-bat with a game-tying, opposite-field homer. In the ensuing at-bat in a still-tied contest, the Cuban first baseman crushed a 107.3 mph double to left before being pinch-run for by José Caballero. Kevin Cash’s judgment proved to be the correct move, as the eventual game-tying run in the form of the speedster came two batters later on a Josh Lowe sacrifice fly. Closer Pete Fairbanks got the day off, yet Edwin Uceta had no issues in the final frame, securing a 3-2 win and series victory for the home team.
Courtesy of the loss, Miami falls to a cruel 1-6 in June and back to 15 games under .500. The 2025 Citrus Series officially ends in a 3-3 tie, marking the first time the Fish have not lost a full-season series to Tampa Bay since 2018.
Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough had high praise for his ‘pen when addressing reporters postgame. “Veneziano, starting off, did a great job,” said McCullough. “With those kinds of games, things have to go your way. And guys have to go out there and get outs to make that work. Between what Veneziano did starting off, Ronny and Cade, coming back on back-to-back days…and then what Bellozo was able to do, going three-plus innings in that part of the game. They all did what we were hoping for—to be able to give us a chance there at the end”.
Much like the 101-degree feel-like temperature outside, Miami’s bats came out of the gates still scorching from a day ago, as Otto Lopez drove in his fifth run of June three batters into the contest.
The Fish tacked on an additional run in the fifth, courtesy of Jesús Sánchez’s sixth RBI in a little under 24 hours. Unlike Saturday, though, the Rays were able to contain the Marlins’ offense, thanks to great efforts from starter Drew Rasmussen (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 74 NP) and a trifecta of relievers.
Apart from Díaz, it was Heriberto Hernández, still just a week into his MLB career, who enjoyed the biggest day at the plate.
Hernández became one of three players since the start of 2024 to record a 3-for-3 or better game in his first seven games, joining ex-Marlin farmhand and current Ray Jake Mangum and teammate Agustín Ramírez.
“Bert’s taking some really aggressive swings,” raved McCullough. “(He’s) someone that performed very well in the minor leagues in the past. Good hitter. I think it’s good you’re seeing him being aggressive on good pitches to hit”.
After taking three games to adjust to pitching at the highest level, Hernández has been one of Miami’s most consistent bats. Dating back to the start of the month, the 25-year-old’s OPS sits at an even 1.000.
Miami’s second stop in their three-city road trip is the site for potentially the most anticipated game all season. Monday night’s 6:40 bout from Pittsburgh sees the long-awaited return of phenom Eury Pérez to a big league mound, 14 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
At the tail end of his press conference, McCullough praised Pérez’s for completing the challenging rehab, as well as singing the praises of the medical professionals who were vital in his star’s return.
“Eury has put in a lot of hard work to get himself back to this point—medical team, the strength and conditioning team. Whenever someone’s coming back from a long-term injury like this, it takes a lot of hands that are a part of that process to get back”.
Across eight rehab appearances between Jupiter and Jacksonville, Pérez was masterful, sporting a sub-two ERA in 22 ⅔ innings. In his rookie year of 2023, the youngest player in the sport at the time finished his season with a 3.15 ERA in 19 outings. Opposite Pérez is right-hander Mike Burrows, making his fourth start. Burrows’ second year as a Pirate has been subpar through his first three outings, forfeiting eight earned runs.