Eury Pérez took center stage Tuesday night, and the Marlins gave him just enough offense to back up the performance.
Miami beat the Pirates, 2-0, at loanDepot park behind Pérez’s seven scoreless innings and a solo homer from Esteury Ruiz. The win was Miami’s third straight, and with the result the Marlins moved to 61-59, sitting 3 1/2 games behind the D-backs and Phillies in the Wild Card race.
Pérez was in complete control for most of the night. He matched a career high by working seven innings, and he did it while allowing only three hits, all of them singles.
He walked two and struck out seven, and he never let Pittsburgh put a runner in scoring position. The closest the Pirates came was in the seventh, when Heriberto Hernández threw out former teammate Ronny Simon trying to stretch a single into a double to end the inning.
The outing continued a strong run for the 23-year-old right-hander. Over his last 11 starts, Pérez has put together a 1.82 ERA, which ranks fourth in the Majors among pitchers with at least 60 innings since May 22, when that stretch began. Tuesday also marked a pair of personal milestones: his 21st start of the season, which is a career high, and his 116 2/3 innings, another career best.
Miami’s offense did its part against Paul Skenes, even if only in small doses. The reigning NL Cy Young winner was chased after just 65 pitches.
With Kyle Stowers on the 10-day injured list because of a left hamstring strain, Griffin Conine shifted from right field to first base and Esteury Ruiz moved into the lineup. Batting ninth, Ruiz jumped on Skenes’ 95.5 mph four-seamer in the third inning and drove it out for a solo shot with one out. It was his sixth homer of the season, setting a new single-season career high.
Ruiz came through again in the fifth, this time with his speed. He was hit by a pitch, stole second on a delayed steal, and then scored when Xavier Edwards hit a grounder up the middle. Jacob Gonzalez’s short-hopped throw got past first baseman Spencer Horwitz and into the dugout, allowing Ruiz to come home on the play.
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