MILWAUKEE -- The Marlins have been on such a strong run over the last month-plus, not even the team that entered this weekend series with the best record in the Major Leagues has slowed them down.
Miami finished June 21 at 15 games under .500. It seemed the story of their season had already been written. But since then, the script has flipped. With Saturday night’s 7-4 victory over the Brewers at American Family Field, the Marlins have posted a 20-8 record -- the best record in the National League in that stretch -- as they’ve clawed back to three games below .500 (50-53).
“For our group, their belief that you have to play well every night to beat a Major League team,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “Certainly, Milwaukee is having a terrific season. I think our guys have just moved past who we're playing and have just tried to focus on what it's going to take for us that day to go out and win a game.
“I think it's less [worrying] about who's on the other side as much as just trying to keep yourself buttoned up and expect to go out there and compete and win.”
Plenty of players have played a part in that turnaround. On Saturday, a trio of hitters provided the spark.
With the score tied at 1 entering the top of the fourth, Agustín Ramírez led off with a home run to right field -- his 15th of the season, which leads NL rookies -- giving Miami an early lead. Janson Junk allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to put Milwaukee ahead, but that deficit didn’t last long.
With two outs and two on in the top of the fifth, Heriberto Hernandez took a 3-1 changeup from Brewers starter José Quintana for a ride, depositing it over the wall in left-center to put the Marlins back ahead. That continued an eye-opening start to his big league career, in which he’s hitting .326 with a 148 wRC+ since debuting May 30.
“Bert has historically hit, and we believed in the potential of the bat,” McCullough said. “He came up here and got off to a really nice start. I think, sometimes, then you get some wind at your sails. You show yourself that you know you can perform at this level, and I think Bert has shown that.”
Dane Myers followed Hernández by drilling a two-run shot a Statcast-projected 428 feet the next inning. That was enough run support for Miami’s pitching staff, as Junk completed five innings of three-run ball and Tyler Phillips allowed just one run over four innings to finish off the victory (and earn his first MLB save).
The Marlins’ run has been impressive, and every area of the team has pitched in.
Through June 21, the position-player group ranked 23rd in baseball with a 93 wRC+ and 22nd with 5.7 fWAR. In that same timeframe, the bullpen posted a 4.54 ERA (24rd in MLB), while the rotation recorded a 5.28 ERA (28th).
But from June 22 through Friday, Miami’s position players tied for the 10th-highest wRC+ (105) and were ninth in fWAR (4.1).
“It seems like new day, new person that's coming up big, and just consistent at-bats across the board,” said Xavier Edwards, who singled three times and scored a run Saturday. “I think [we have] a lot of tough outs in our lineup, and we're just grinding the pitchers down, getting the pitch count up and getting guys on base and scoring them.”
Not to be outdone, the starters posted the eighth-lowest ERA during that stretch (3.80), while the relievers’ 2.02 ERA led the Majors.
“The biggest overall thing, pitching specific, we're just filling up the zone, attacking guys,” Junk said. “We're not scared of putting the ball in play. ... As a collective group, we're just behind each other, and everybody's so good. It's fun to watch guys go every single day and just dominate guys.”
So, it’s been a total team effort to get the Marlins’ record to where it is after Saturday. Whether that has altered the team’s Trade Deadline plans remains to be seen, but certainly, Miami’s confidence continues to grow as its hot streak rolls on.
“It's a belief they have in each other, and whenever they're utilized, whether that's starting, whether that's coming off the bench, guys are ready,” McCullough said. “They're prepared. They believe in each other. We're showing that there's not a single individual that is completely carrying the load.”