MIAMI, FL—Just as Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers seemed to be on the verge of completing his rehab from a left oblique strain, he’s been diagnosed with a right oblique strain, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough announced on Tuesday. McCullough acknowledged the possibility that Stowers’ 2025 season could be coming to a close due to this setback.

“Not sure exactly how long that’s going to be,” said McCullough pregame. “We know where we’re at in the calendar. So halting the rehab right now and I think it’ll take a couple of days to see what that downtime potentially looks like moving forward.”

Following Tuesday’s loss to the Washington Nationals, the Marlins have only 17 regular season games remaining.

Stowers told the media following the game that he hurt himself in his first at-bat of Friday’s rehab game with Triple-A Jacksonville when fouling off a changeup low and away. He felt “pretty sore all over” on Saturday, which is why he was scratched from that day’s game.

“As the rest of my body began to calm down, I just noticed some tightness in my rib area and was a little bit in disbelief, to be honest with you,” said Stowers. “That was when we ultimately decided to get things looked at little more.” He rejoined the Marlins in Miami on Sunday.

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Going into the season, Stowers’ lone goal was to be on the Marlins major league roster throughout the entirety of the season. He easily surpassed expectations by becoming the team’s All-Star representative and emerging as the biggest offensive threat in their lineup. In 117 games, he has slashed .288/.368/.544/.912 with 25 home runs and 73 RBI. Prior to the oblique strain, he was on pace for one of the best individual seasons by a left-handed hitter in franchise history.

“I don’t really want to quite put a full recap on the year yet because I don’t know what the next few weeks look like, but I’m very grateful for what’s happened thus far,” Stowers said.

 

Rookie right-hander Adam Mazur once again struggled on Tuesday, allowing six runs (four earned) to Washington. In what was his second straight against the Nationals, he went 4 ⅓ innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits, three walks and struck out one.

Hitters were smashing Mazur’s breaking balls especially hard. The biggest mistake was a slider to Josh Bell that spun over the middle of the plate, resulting in a three-run home run, which was Bell’s 20th homer of the year. The Nats held the lead for the rest of the night.

Mazur has a 6.30 ERA through four MLB starts this season. He could potentially make three more starts if the Marlins keep him in their rotation down the stretch.

Joey Wiemer, who the Marlins claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals, got called up last month when Stowers went down with his initial oblique injury. Wiemer’s playing time has been limited, but through 12 games, he’s slashed .278/.289/.500/.789 with two home runs and seven RBI. On Tuesday, he homered in the bottom of the second inning off Nationals starter Mitchell Parker and later recorded his first walk.

“The one thing that really stands out with Joey is how well he’s played defensively—he’s made some really terrific plays,” said McCullough. “He brings some edge and some energy to to our club, and offensively, he’s gotten some regular playing time. We’ve seen him put together really good at-bats and has put a charge in a few balls. Joey is always ready and nice to see that he’s got into a little bit of rhythm here now as he’s gotten some more regular opportunity.”

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Marlins made it interesting, tagging the Nationals bullpen for three runs. Representing the winning run, Agustín Ramírez grounded out to end the game.

Eury Pérez will look to bounce back on Wednesday after a rough start against this same Nationals team. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.