MILWAUKEE -- Eury Pérez reared back and unleashed a 98.7 mph four-seamer at Brewers designated hitter William Contreras.
It wasn’t the fastest pitch the 22-year-old Marlins right-hander threw Sunday afternoon. He hit 99-plus mph six times, and that offering finished just outside of Pérez’s top-10 fastest of the day. But it was good enough to get Contreras to swing through the pitch -- despite it ending up well above the strike zone -- completing the strikeout and ending the bottom of the fifth.
“It felt great,” Pérez said of that punchout, through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “That trust that you're able to throw that pitch right in that position with that velocity. Really good to be able to get that out and just get out of that inning.”
That was the 92nd and final pitch of Pérez’s day, as he exited after five innings of one-run ball that helped put his team in position to complete the sweep. Kyle Stowers’ first-inning RBI single and Heriberto Hernández’s fourth-inning solo homer had Miami in front, but the bullpen couldn’t hang on in the 3-2 loss to Milwaukee at American Family Field.
“It was a really fun three games against what we know is a really high-caliber opponent,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “I'm proud of how we came out today with a chance to do something special and sweep a road series, and we just came up short. But still, a lot of great takeaways from these three days here.”
Upon his return from Tommy John surgery last month, Pérez didn’t look his sharpest. In four June starts, he posted a 6.19 ERA with a 19.4 percent strikeout rate and a 13.9 percent walk rate. He didn’t complete five innings once.
“I think it was a matter of, it was [just] the beginning,” Pérez said. “It was the start of me coming back to the mound. I didn't have that trust with the breaking ball pitches.”
But things have turned for Pérez since the calendar flipped to July.
He said he’s found that trust in his breaking balls, which helped in his five starts this month. He went 3-1 and posted a 1.29 ERA -- the lowest in any month for a Marlins starter (with at least 2 starts) since Pérez’s 0.32 in June 2023, which has brought this season’s ERA down to 3.07 -- along with strikeout and walk rates of 31.1 and 4.9 percent, respectively.
“He's been on a nice run, especially this last month, as he got a few outings under his belt,” McCullough said. “We continue to see the stuff is elite, especially the fastball, and I think he's growing more and more confidence in his secondary stuff and how his breaking stuff is coming along and how well that just complements his heater.
“Another terrific outing for Eury to hold an opponent down to a run through five. He was outstanding again. He just continues to get better and better as he logs more innings.”
In 2023, Pérez was ranked No. 1 in Miami’s system and No. 13 in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. He then bypassed Triple-A to make his MLB debut on May 12, 2023. In 19 starts that year, he recorded a 3.15 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and struck out 108 in 91 1/3 innings.
Of course, Tommy John surgery wiped out all of last season and the first two-plus months of 2025, before he returned June 9. It took a few outings, but in July, he got on a roll and displayed a confidence not always seen in pitchers so young.
“I go out there to have fun, to do what I like to do,” Pérez said. “I go out there to compete all the time on the mound, just help the team win games and help my teammates with anything I can do. And just having fun. That's why I feel so confident.”
The loss halted the Miami hot streak, leaving the team four games under .500 (50-54) with three left to play before Thursday’s Trade Deadline. Regardless of which direction the front office goes, Sunday was at least a reminder that the Marlins have a blossoming starter on their hands.
“We think Eury is so far from his ceiling, which is a great thing for us, that he still has a lot of room to continue to grow,” McCullough said. “He puts in the right type of work between starts, he's very intelligent, he's competitive, a great teammate. Another good step for Eury as he gets further and further away from the time off.”