MIAMI -- So much has to go right for a win streak to reach eight games. Only one thing needs to go wrong for it to end.
In the case of the Marlins’ 2-1 loss to the Twins on Wednesday night at loanDepot park, a bad break and perfect execution from Minnesota’s defense prevented Miami from matching the franchise record for wins in a row (nine).
“Disappointing the way that it finished and to come up on the losing end,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “We continue to play very well. Between Janson [Junk] and Josh [Simpson], Valente [Bellozo], they pitched outstanding. We played very good defense. Nice to see [Agustín Ramírez] with a really strong throw there late in the game. Caught stealing was a big play.
“And offensively, we built some innings and we just came up short. So it goes that way sometimes, but I think another really crisp ballgame by us, and hopefully we continue to play that way. We'll win more times than not.”
The first of two game-changing moments occurred in the sixth inning, when Jesús Sánchez led off the frame with a double and Otto Lopez lined out to right. Kyle Stowers, who had gone deep four innings earlier, then appeared to knock the game-tying RBI single.
But Stowers’ fourth-hardest-hit ball of the season (111.5 mph exit velocity) clipped second-base umpire Emil Jimenez, who was standing on the infield grass in between the bag and where second baseman Willi Castro was positioned on the dirt, before trickling into center field.
A dead ball was ruled in accordance with MLB Rule 5.06(c)(6)., which states: "The ball becomes dead and runners advance one base, or return to their bases, without liability to be put out, when: ... A fair ball touches a runner or an umpire on fair territory before it touches an infielder including the pitcher, or touches an umpire before it has passed an infielder other than the pitcher; runners advance, if forced."
As a result, Stowers was awarded first base and Sánchez returned to second despite crossing home on the play.
McCullough went onto the field to briefly speak with home-plate umpire and crew chief James Hoye. Postgame, Hoye told pool reporter Daniel Álvarez-Montes that’s a play he hadn’t seen in 15 years. Even if the play seemed unfair, the rule left no room for discretion.
“Right, there's nothing we can do,” Hoye said. “We can’t move the runner from second because the rule says he returns unless forced. So that’s it -- there’s no room for interpretation. Clayton came out and said, ‘It’s kind of a crappy play,’ and I said, ‘I agree.’ But that’s the rule, and we have to enforce it. Big situation, for sure. But the last thing the umpire wants is to get hit by a ball coming off the bat at over 100 mph. That’s the absolute last thing he wants.”
Eric Wagaman wound up striking out to thwart the rally.
The other pivotal sequence happened in the seventh. With one out, Connor Norby and Dane Myers singled against righty Louis Varland. Xavier Edwards followed with a single to left field, where Harrison Bader fired off a 94 mph throw -- his fastest of the season.
Even though Norby had a sprint speed of 29.1 feet per second (30 is considered elite), the throw beat him to the plate for the second out of the inning. A replay review upheld the original out call. Pinch-hitter Heriberto Hernandez would walk to load the bases, but Lopez flied out to left to end the threat.
“Love the aggressiveness by [third-base coach] Blake [Lalli],” McCullough said. “We've seen that all season long. Blake has been very aggressive, and it has led to a lot of runs on our end. Bader, moving toward the line, was able to make a strong throw to the plate, and just barely got us. So good aggressive send by Blake there, and Bader just made a good play.”
Despite the tough loss, Miami has a chance to capture four series in a row for the first time since May 13-26, 2024, in Thursday’s matinee. The Marlins have won 14 of their last 20 games since June 10, and nine of their previous 11 contests. Entering Wednesday, the club's 14 victories since June 10 were tied with the Dodgers for most in the National League and the second most in MLB (Astros, 15).
“My head coach in college had a saying, for example, ‘You don't have to win nine games in a row. You've just got to win one game in a row nine times,’” Stowers said. “To be honest, I don't think we necessarily thought about the streak too much. I felt like we had a chance to win tonight. It is what it is. We'll get back to it tomorrow, do everything we can to prepare to win.”