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Miami Marlins

Marlins’ Gusto Downs the Red Sox

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MIAMI – (Wire Service Report) – Single runs in the first two innings and Ryan Gusto’s 5 2/3 shutout frames propelled the Miami Marlins to a 4-0 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.

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The Marlins tagged Boston starter Sonny Gray (16-4) for two hits in each of the first two frames, but four Red Sox errors had a major impact on all of the scoring.

Javier Sanoja went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three stolen bases, while Otto Lopez (2-for-4, two stolen bases, two runs scored) and Heriberto Hernandez (2-for-4, RBI) also had multi-hit games to help the Marlins salvage the three-game series.

Gusto (1-3) struck out two while working around four hits and three walks en route to his first victory of the season. Victor Vodnik, Janson Junk and Dax Fulton all worked in relief to preserve the shutout.

The Red Sox managed only five hits. Caleb Durbin was 2-for-4.

Three batters in, Hernandez’s RBI single past diving shortstop Andruw Monasterio brought Kyle Stowers home. Stowers lined a leadoff single to right before advancing to third on Boston first baseman Nick Sogard’s throwing error while attempting to turn a 3-6 double play.

After Gusto stranded the bases loaded on only one Anthony Seigler hit in the top of the second, Lopez generated Miami’s second run after starting the inning with a knock to left. Following Boston center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela’s diving catch on an Owen Caissie liner into the gap, Lopez stole second and scored on catcher Connor Wong’s off-targer throw.

Gray did his part to keep the Red Sox in the game, stranding two runners in scoring position in back-to-back frames. The righty capped the second with two strikeouts before left fielder Jarren Duran’s sliding catch near the foul line robbed Caissie in the third.

Meanwhile, Gusto turned aside the Red Sox in 1-2-3 fashion in both the fourth and fifth innings before Vodnik helped him through a two-on, two-out jam by catching Seigler looking to end the sixth.

The Marlins tacked on crucial insurance runs in the eighth. Lopez’s single, stolen base and advancement on another Wong misfire set up Caissie, who brought the run home on a hard grounder that Sogard misplayed. Two batters later, Sanoja lined an RBI single up the middle.

–Field Level Media

 

Duran’s Slam Beats Marlins in 10

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MIAMI – (Wire Service Report) – Jarren Duran slugged a grand slam in the 11th inning as the Boston Red Sox defeated the host Miami Marlins 7-3 on Tuesday night.

Mickey Gasper homered twice for the Red Sox, who have won five straight games.

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Gasper, waived by the Nationals in January and demoted by the Red Sox to the minors in late May, has five homers in his past eight games. Prior to that, he had no homers in 109 at-bats in the majors this season.

Boston, leading 3-2, nearly won the game in the 10th inning. Rookie reliever Wyatt Olds, pitching with two outs and runners on second and third, struck out Javier Sanoja. However, catcher Connor Wong couldn’t corral the wild pitch, and Brian Navaretto scored from third.

Boston scored in the top of the 10th inning on a cross-up passed ball.

The Marlins, who have lost two straight, were led by Heriberto Hernandez, who slugged a solo home run. It was his team-high 20th homer of the season.

Neither starter earned a decision. Boston’s Payton Tolle struck out seven and allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Miami’s Tyler Phillips lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run and tying his career high with seven strikeouts.

In fact, Phillips struck out the side in the first inning before allowing Gasper’s first homer in the second inning. Phillips didn’t throw a bad pitch — 96 mph at the bottom of the zone — but Gasper slugged it 394 feet to center.

Miami loaded the bases with one out in the fifth as Xavier Edwards doubled, Griffin Conine singled and Esteury Ruiz walked. Navarreto, Miami’s third-string catcher, then fouled off six pitches before lofting a sacrifice fly to cap a 10-pitch plate appearance, tying the score 1-1.

Both teams scored a run in the sixth as Gasper homered on a 418-foot bomb off reliever Tyler Zuber and Hernandez went deep on a 3-2 cutter from Tolle. That blast was measured at 403 feet.

Miami nearly went ahead in the seventh as pinch hitter Jakob Marsee singled and advanced on Navarreto’s sacrifice bunt, but was thrown out at home by first baseman Willson Contreras on Otto Lopez’s infield single.

–Field Level Media

Playoffs On Line for Sox and Marlins

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – With the regular season winding down, the Miami Marlins’ road to a playoff spot already looked to be a perilous one.

Now they may be without their closer.

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After starting the ninth inning of Monday night’s eventual 4-2 loss to the visiting Boston Red Sox, Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks threw only five pitches before leaving the game with an injury. He walked the one batter he faced and ultimately took the loss.

“He has some nerve irritation,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said of Fairbanks, who leads the team with 18 saves. “There’s some concern. We will get it looked at, and we’ll wait to see the results.”

The Marlins are not currently in playoff position but still have a shot at a wild-card berth. They sit four games behind San Diego for the final playoff spot in the National League. Miami also saw its three-game winning streak end. The Marlins did get first baseman Kyle Stowers off the injured list on Monday but now have to deal with the Fairbanks situation.

“We’ve had a number of individuals go down for periods of time this year,” McCullough said. “We’ll go with what we have available. A number of our (relievers) have experience pitching in different spots, and we will lean on that.”

Stowers, an All-Star last year, went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts on Monday. He also failed to get to a ball that ended up being an RBI single in the ninth inning, perhaps due to his hamstring injury.

McCullough, though, said he was pleased with Stowers.

“The swing he had on the double — staying on a breaking ball like that from Ranger Suarez — was very impressive. (Stowers) seemed confident in the box. It was nice to have him in there.”

Meanwhile, the Red Sox are rolling. They had a brief slump following their historic 27-3 run, but they have now recovered, winning four straight games.

Chad Tracy, Boston’s interim manager, said he’s happy with his offense, and it showed on Monday as the Red Sox rallied after trailing 1-0 and 2-1.

“We’re able to fight back,” Tracy said, “and then our pitchers put up zeroes.”

Red Sox shortstop Nick Sogard, who hit leadoff on Monday and went 1-for-5 with a ninth-inning RBI, also earned praise from Tracy.

“The cool thing is that Nick has shown the ability, for an extended time, to drive the ball for extra-base hits,” Tracy said. “You’re seeing some big-time production, power side.”

Indeed, Sogard has 12 extra-base hits in 36 games this season, posting an .812 OPS.

“His game is that he doesn’t swing at balls,” Tracy said. “He drags out at-bats, and he finds his way to first base. Regardless of where he’s hitting in the lineup, he’s giving us good at-bats.”

As for Tuesday’s pitching matchup, Boston is starting lefty Payton Tolle (8-6, 3.08 ERA), who is nearing the one-year anniversary of his major league debut (Aug. 29, 2025). He has yet to face the Marlins.

Tolle has won four straight decisions and is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in four starts this month.

The Marlins will hand the ball to Tyler Phillips (3-6, 3.67), who has made 31 appearances this season, 14 as a starter. He made 12 straight starts from June 11-Aug. 13 (4.88 ERA in 55 1/3 innings) but worked out of the bullpen his last time out on Aug. 18, when he pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Phillips has faced the Red Sox once in his career, serving as a reliever and getting credited for the win with one hitless, scoreless inning in August 2025.

–Field Level Media

Seigler Powers Sox to Win Over Miami

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MIAMI – (Wire Service Report) – Anthony Seigler hit a go-ahead RBI triple in the top of the ninth inning as the Boston Red Sox rallied to defeat the Marlins 4-2 on Monday night in Miami.

In a game where “Let’s Go Red Sox” chants could be heard into the ninth inning, Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 30th save.

It was the fourth straight win for the Red Sox, who threw out two Marlins runners at the plate — by first baseman Willson Contreras in the seventh and by reliever Erik Miller in the eighth. Miller (3-0) earned the win.

Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks (4-5) left the game in the ninth inning after just five pitches due to an unspecified injury. The only batter he faced, Mickey Gasper, walked. After Eli White replaced Gasper as a pinch runner, White scored on Seigler’s triple off Tyler Zuber.

Neither Miami’s Sandy Alcantara nor Boston’s Ranger Suarez earned a decision, each allowing one run while working around frequent trouble.

Alcantara, who threw 102 pitches, achieved his sixth straight quality start, going seven innings and allowing just six hits and two walks.

Suarez went five innings and needed 93 pitches after allowing four hits, four walks and two hit batters. He allowed a baserunner in every inning and at least two baserunners in four of his five frames.

In the second, the Marlins loaded the bases with no outs on a walk and two hit batters. But Suarez minimized the damage, allowing only Otto Lopez’s sacrifice fly.

Boston finally got to Alcantara in the fifth as Gasper slugged a 394-foot RBI double off the center field fence, scoring Jarren Duran from first. Miami’s Jakob Marsee almost caught the drive, but the ball ticked off his glove as he crashed into the wall.

The Red Sox loaded the bases with one out in the seventh as Duran hit a hustle double and Alcantara walked a pair. But Alcantara struck out Nick Sogard and got Ceddanne Rafaela on a fly out to end his night on a high note.

Miami took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh, scoring off reliever Brayan Bello. Miami loaded the bases with one out on Lopez’s double and two walks. Xavier Edwards cashed in with an RBI single past a drawn-in infield.

But Boston got that run back in the eighth as Wilyer Abreu lined a leadoff double off the right field wall before eventually scoring on a wild pitch by reliever Josh Ekness.

In the ninth, Seigler’s line drive down the line in right made it 3-2, and Sogard added an RBI single.

–Field Level Media

Something’s Fishy at Fenway

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – There’s something fishy at Fenway and it’s not the old story about a ballpark under sea level, three rainy days and fish floating upstream and into the outfield drains and the visitor’s dugout. (It really happened, according to former Boston Globe baseball writer, Peter Gammons).

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Today’s fish story really happened, too.

The Boston Red Sox were winning 3-1, after scoring an Arbella in the 7th inning when corner infielder Abraham Toro hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Wilyer Abreu from third base after Abreu and Romy Gonzalez hit consecutive singles.

After pitching seven innings of one run, three hit baseball, Sox starter Garrett Crochet gave way to reliever Garrett Whitlock in the 8th. It was one too many Garretts for the day, as the latter gave up a pair of singles and hit a batter to allow the Florida Marlins … aka, the fish … to swim upstream and make it 3-2, Boston.

Boston Manager Alex Cora was navigating around the fact his club gave up late innings runs just yesterday and the Sox skipper was forced to play closer Aroldis Chapman to secure a 7-5 victory. Cora had to improvise or risk burning his elite closer out before the home stretch for contenders comes in September.

Cora tapped reliever Greg Weissert for the top of the 9th and – TIE GAME – as Marlins CF Dane Myers blasted a solo home run 385 feet to right center, prompting Cora to change gears and pitchers after Miami first baseman Eric Wagaman singled to put the go-ahead run on base.

Lefty Steven Matz entered the game mid-inning and pinch hitter Jacob Marsee laced a 394-foot, two-run homer to provide the Marlins with a 5-3, come-from-behind victory – at the cost of a shakey bullpen, sans Chapman.

Boston had two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but backstop Carlos Narvaez flied out to right against Miami reliever Anthony Bender to end the game.

Tyler Phillips (2-1) collected the win for pitching a scoreless eighth. Bender picked up his fourth save.

Despite the loss, Boston is 16-3 in their last 19 home games and 57-2 when leading after eight innings, but they’ve dropped six of their last 10 games, since August 6. That was following a seven-game winning streak.

Crochet, the Boston ace, is 13-5 on the season and lost the chance for his 14th victory.

Story Book Start; Shakey Ending

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BOSTON – (Staff and wire Service Report) – Boston’s Trevor Story had two hits, including a three-run home run, to lead the hometown Red Sox to a 7-5 victory over the visiting Miami Marlins on Saturday. The Red Sox are 16-2 in their last 18 games at Fenway Park.

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Story’s home run came against Miami starter Cal Quantrill and was part of a four-run third inning. After Jarren Duran hit an RBI double that allowed Roman Anthony to score, Story hit his 19th home run of the season to give Boston a 6-0 lead. Duran and Alex Bregman also scored on the home run.

Anthony and Bregman both added two hits for the Red Sox, who received 6 1/3 innings from starter Brayan Bello (9-6). Bello allowed two runs on four hits and struck out two.

Troy Johnston and Agustin Ramirez each hit a solo home run for Miami. Johnston’s homer was the first of his major league career. Both home runs came against Bello.

The Marlins have lost three games in a row, and seven of their last eight.

Quantrill (4-10) was pulled with two outs in the fourth. He allowed seven runs on eight hits, struck out two and walked one.

The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead on Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single in the first inning. After the four-run third extended Boston’s lead to 6-0, Bregman drove in Ceddanne Rafaela with a single to give the Red Sox a 7-0 advantage.

Johnston’s home run made it 7-1 in the fifth, and Ramirez hit his 18th home run of the season in the seventh. Johnston and Ramirez each collected two of Miami’s eight hits.

Miami made things interesting by scoring three runs against Sox reliever Isaiah Campbell in the ninth. Ramirez scored on an Heriberto Hernandez single, Hernandez scored on Eric Wagaman’s triple and Derek Hill’s single drove in Wagaman to cap the scoring.

Aroldis Chapman recorded the final out to earn his 22nd save.

The Marlins played without left fielder Kyle Stowers, who was given the day off after feeling tightness in his left side during Friday night’s 2-1 loss to Boston.

-Field Level Media

Masataka Yoshida Heating Up In Miami

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Three weeks since returning from injury, Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida is starting to get back into a groove.

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Yoshida is 5-for-9 with three RBIs through the first two games of Boston’s series against the Miami Marlins. On Wednesday, his groundout drove in the eventual winning run in a 7-2 victory.

Boston eyes the sweep in the finale today, on a 4th of July soiree.

“Overall, I’ve been able to see the ball well and identify (location) and swing at pitches I can hit,” Yoshida said via a translator. “Obviously take one game at a time. I want to be part of a team that keeps winning. It’s all about keeping it simple. If it’s an outside pitch, go the opposite way, just stay with it. That’s the approach.”

The 30-year-old is 11-for-25 since June 24, which has boosted his OPS from .617 to .691. Though he’s hit only seven home runs since the 2023 All-Star break, the Red Sox are pleased with the progress.

“We like the hitter; we like the at-bat,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “I think people get caught up in the (slugging percentage) and not hitting the ball in the air. But this guy is a quote-unquote professional hitter, right? We know that he can hit. I think he’s getting his rhythm back and that’s very important.”

Boston has received quality starts in the first two games of the series and will be hoping for more when righty Nick Pivetta (4-5, 4.52 ERA) takes to the mound Thursday. Pivetta is 2-5 with a 5.23 ERA in 13 career appearances (nine starts) against the Marlins.

The Marlins, meanwhile, will be looking to snap a three-game slide in which they’ve been outscored 22-11. They’ve allowed 434 runs, third most in the majors. Only the Colorado Rockies (506) and Chicago White Sox (438) have given up more.

Jesus Sanchez has been Miami’s most effective hitter through the two games, going 4-for-8 while driving in two of the team’s five runs.

After turning to the bullpen only twice in the series opener, the Marlins used five relievers on Wednesday after starter Trevor Rogers went only three innings. Despite a short effort, manager Skip Schumaker wasn’t putting the loss on Rogers.

“I actually thought it was maybe his best stuff of the year,” Schumaker said. “Unfortunately, the line definitely doesn’t show that. But there’s a lot to like about what’s been going on with Trevor the last few weeks.”

Miami will turn to righty Kyle Tyler (0-1, 3.38 ERA) as they try to salvage the series finale. With an injury-depleted rotation, Tyler, who will be facing the Red Sox for the first time in his career, moved into a starting role late last month. He’s tossed 146 pitches over 8 2/3 innings in two outings as a starter, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking five and striking out six.

Tyler knows he needs to tighten up on the mound.

“Just being more efficient, limiting the long at-bats,” he said last weekend. “If I can limit that, it’ll give me a much better opportunity to go deeper.”

–Field Level Media

MLB Postseason: Marlins at Phillies

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PHILADELPHIA – (Staff and Wire Service Report by Field Level Media) – If last year’s success was any indication of what the Philadelphia Phillies can do with a wild-card berth, the Miami Marlins could be in some serious trouble.

Philadelphia will look to replicate its playoff run from a season ago, and it will begin its journey on Tuesday when it hosts Miami in Game 1 of a best-of-three National League wild-card series.

The Phillies are coming off a 90-72 finish in the regular season that allowed them to lock down the NL’s top wild-card position after grabbing the third and final spot in 2022.

While it might not have been presented with the most favorable draw last year, Philadelphia thrived, going all the way to the World Series and coming within two wins of its first championship since 2008.

But what’s in the past is in the past, and the Phillies know they have to prove themselves once again.

“Nothing is going to be easy,” Philadelphia designated hitter Kyle Schwarber said. “They’re all really good teams in the postseason. Miami is a really good team. We’ve got to do what we do.”

Right-hander Zack Wheeler (13-6, 3.61 ERA) will look to help the Phillies get off to a fast start when he takes the mound for Game 1.

Wheeler made his final start of the regular season on Thursday, allowing one run on four hits in four innings to take a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 22 career starts against the Marlins, Wheeler is 10-4 with a 2.48 ERA. He has never faced Miami in the postseason, where he has gone 1-3 with 2.78 ERA in six starts overall.

Left-hander Jesus Luzardo (10-9, 3.63) will get the start for the Marlins, who went 84-77 to grab the NL’s second wild card.

In his last outing of the regular season, Luzardo gave up one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings against the New York Mets on Thursday. He didn’t earn a decision, though, as the game was suspended in the ninth and never made up.

Luzardo is 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA in five career starts against the Phillies. He hasn’t faced Philadelphia in the playoffs, where he has struggled, going 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA in three appearances (two starts).

Miami finds itself in unfamiliar territory, as it heads to the playoffs in a regulation-length season for the first time since 2003 when they won the World Series as the Florida Marlins. The team didn’t return to the postseason until the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

Although Miami will be thrown into a hostile environment right out of the gate, manager Skip Schumaker believes his team is ready for the challenge.

“This is one of the better places to play, just because the fans are so passionate,” Schumaker said of Philadelphia, where he faced the Phillies in the NL Division Series in 2011 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. “It’s a special place.

“If you don’t have a little bit of nerves, that means you don’t care. … I know that these guys are really excited, they’ll probably be a little bit nervous, and that’s OK, but I think there’s more excitement than nerves.”

Schumaker said second baseman Luis Arraez, the NL batting champion, should be good to go for Game 1 after being hampered by an ankle injury.

Arraez hit .354 during the regular season.

–Field Level Media

Bello Shines But Marlins Sweep Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Despite Boston Red Sox starter Brayan Bello flirting with a no-hitter, the visiting Miami Marlins rallied late and completed a three-game series sweep with Thursday night’s 2-0 win.

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The Marlins ended Bello’s no-hit bid and later took the lead — thanks to Jon Berti’s RBI single to center — during an eighth-inning rally.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled the Miami lead with his second home run in as many games to straightaway center in the ninth. He has nine blasts.

Joey Wendle went 2-for-4 and starter Jesus Luzardo allowed just three hits and struck out nine over 6 1/3 scoreless innings.

Tanner Scott and A.J. Puk pitched two combined innings of one-hit ball following winning reliever Andrew Nardi (6-1). Puk logged his 13th save.

Jean Segura led off the eighth with Miami’s first hit — an single up the middle that diving Red Sox shortstop Enrique Hernandez knocked down behind second base.

After Wendle’s single to right moved Segura to third, Berti knocked an RBI single to center against reliever Chris Martin. A 5-2-3 double play ball and a strikeout of Jorge Soler ended the inning without any further damage.

Bello (5-5) struck out five and was charged with one run on two hits and one walk over seven-plus innings.

Marlins Go for 3-Game Sweep Over Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After winning the first two games by a combined 16-3 score, the Miami Marlins aim for a road series sweep of the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night.

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Miami has won four straight and 10 of its past 13 games, including a 6-2 win on Wednesday to set up the opportunity for the sweep.

“This is my fourth year here and I’m not gonna lie, this is probably the most fun I’ve ever had in the big leagues playing baseball,” Miami center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “I always try to have as much fun as I can, but this is a different level of fun with these guys in there.”

The Marlins are also 11-3 in their past 14 road games, having won six straight outside of Miami, and they sit 13 games over .500 for the first time since 2009.

Reinforcements have helped the team’s recent success in Boston, as Chisholm and third baseman Jean Segura have just returned from injuries.

Chisholm, out since May 14 due to turf toe, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in Tuesday’s series opener in his first game back, then hit an eighth-inning home run on Wednesday.

Segura, sidelined for nearly two weeks because of a hamstring strain, homered on Tuesday in his return. He added a two-run single on Wednesday.

“They’ve had a lot of time off and probably watching the team doing really well without them and wanting to be part of this thing,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said on Tuesday. “I think the pressure (was) a little bit off of them, too, because they don’t have to come back feeling like they have to be the hero. Just (being) who they are is good enough for us.”

The Marlins will finish the series with a second straight left-hander on the mound. Jesus Luzardo (6-5, 3.77 ERA) is set to oppose Boston for the first time.

Luzardo, 25, leads the Miami staff with 103 strikeouts through 16 starts. He fanned nine batters — his second-highest total of the season — across seven shutout, two-hit innings on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, his eighth quality start.

The Red Sox, who are on a four-game skid and have a 2-12 home record against National League teams this season, will attempt to salvage the series finale.

Alex Verdugo had a 13-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday.

The emergence of Brayan Bello (5-4, 3.27 ERA) as a consistent starter has been a major bright spot of Boston’s season to this point. The 24-year-old right-hander will attempt to continue his success on Thursday.

Bello has worked at least six innings in each of his past four starts and five of his past six, which includes back-to-back, seven-inning outings against the New York Yankees earlier this month.

In his most recent start, Bello worked 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball to beat the host Chicago White Sox on Friday.

“My goal is always (to) try to go deep into the game so I can help the bullpen, and that has been my mentality since I came up here,” Bello said. “I’m trying to get quick outs. I’m not trying to strike out anybody, and that’s been the key to go deep into the game.”

Prior to Bello, the most recent Red Sox pitchers to post a sub-2.50 ERA in a 10-start span before turning 25 years old were Jon Lester, Aaron Sele, Roger Clemens and Dennis Eckersley.

Bello’s work ethic has been impressive.

“He’s very hungry,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He understands that he’s good, but obviously there’s a lot of work that we have to do for him to get to where we want to.”

Bello will be making his first career appearance against Miami.

–Field Level Media