A crucial piece of Miami’s rotation, both now and for the future, returned to the mound Thursday night at loanDepot park. Left-hander Ryan Weathers made his first major league start since June 7 and earned the win as the Marlins shut out the Washington Nationals, 5-0.
It has been an injury-riddled season for the 25-year-old southpaw. After missing the first six weeks with a forearm strain suffered in spring training, Weathers made just five starts before returning to the IL with a lat strain. Following Thursday’s five scoreless innings, the former seventh overall pick lowered his season ERA to 2.73.
“Very good rhythm for him tonight, and he kept himself in a good pitch count, which was great for us. The fact we kept him healthy was a success,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said postgame.
Weathers allowed a leadoff single to CJ Abrams but quickly settled in, retiring seven straight—including four strikeouts. He leaned heavily on his changeup (38%) while mixing in his four-seam fastball (29%), which topped out at 99 mph. Overall, he threw 46 of his 68 pitches for strikes.
“The walk was something we really struggled with early in the season, and it felt like we started to turn things around as a team,” McCullough added. “We believe a lot of our pitchers have tremendous talent and high-quality stuff, but if you can’t get it in the zone, it’s no good.” At the time of Weathers’ most recent outing three-plus months ago, the Marlins pitching staff had MLB’s eighth-highest walk rate; since then, their walk rate has been third-lowest.
Weathers’ final line: 5 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO, facing only four batters over the minimum.
Pregame, McCullough said his pitch limit would be around 80–85. He was satisfied with the efficiency. “He could have reached that 80 mark, but it was either that or the five ups,” McCullough said. “Nineteen hitters on 68 pitches speaks to how efficient he was and sets him up well for his next start.”
The bullpen completed the shutout with scoreless outings from Tyler Phillips, Ronny Henriquez, and Michael Petersen. Henriquez, Miami’s top bullpen arm, became just the fourth reliever in franchise history to record 90 strikeouts in a season, joining Tanner Scott (2023), Kyle Barraclough (2016), and Robb Nen (1996).
Offensively, Miami struck early against Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore, who was also making his first start back from the IL. The Marlins plated two runs in the first inning, highlighted by an RBI single from Eric Wagaman. Gore held Miami scoreless over his remaining four innings.
Wagaman came through again in the eighth, delivering a two-run double to put the game out of reach. “Wagaman had a nice night. That was a really big hit in the eighth to extend the lead,” McCullough said.
With the win, the Marlins clinched the season series against Washington and improved to 68-79. They’ll turn to Sandy Alcantara on Friday night against the first-place Detroit Tigers, who will counter with ace Tarik Skubal.