The Miami Marlins have turned June into a full-blown launch point.
They opened the month eight games below .500, buried 14 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and six games out of a wild-card position. Since then, the season has flipped.
Miami is now nine games over .500, owns an MLB-best 25-8 record since June 1 and sits just 2.5 games behind Atlanta. The Marlins are also two games ahead of the St.
Louis Cardinals for the final wild-card spot.
The surge has been built at home, where the Marlins have won five straight games and six straight home series. They’re 30-17 at LoanDepot Park and have gone 15-2 over their last 17 home games. Miami has also taken nine of its last 11 series.
That latest win came July 8, when the Marlins beat the Seattle Mariners 2-0 to wrap up another series victory. Pete Fairbanks earned his 13th save of the season in the shutout.
The numbers around the turnaround are eye-catching enough on their own. Miami is 51-42, a better record than the New York Yankees’ 50-42 mark, despite carrying a payroll of $78 million compared with the Yankees’ $292 million. The 51 wins are the second-most in Marlins history before the All-Star break.
A lot of the offense is coming from unexpected places, starting with the catching tandem of Liam Hicks and rookie Joe Mack. Hicks has put together a breakout season, hitting .288/.361/.460 with 13 homers and 56 RBI. Mack, who debuted May 4, has added seven home runs and 23 RBI while also giving Miami steady run prevention behind the plate.
The lineup has more depth beyond that. Three Marlins infielders are hitting .278 or better, and two are above .300. Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez have been central to the surge, with Lopez swiping 17 bases and Edwards 13.
Lopez leads the team in batting average at .345, has 126 hits and owns a .518 slugging percentage. Edwards has the team’s best on-base percentage at .386, along with a .303 average and 102 hits.
Lopez has also become a history note in his own right. He is the first player in MLB with 40 multi-hit games and is tied for the franchise record for hits before the All-Star break with 126. That performance earned him his first All-Star selection, along with right-handed starter Max Meyer.
Meyer has been just as important to the run, going 9-1 with a 2.58 ERA and 116 strikeouts.
There’s also been a boost from outfielder Owen Caissie, who has hit 12 home runs and played a major role during the recent hot stretch. Caissie has now landed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf injury, and the Marlins have recalled Rece Hinds from Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami put Caissie on the IL as a precaution while it continues to evaluate the injury, and the issue is described as mild.
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