WASHINGTON — The Miami Marlins feel like they have something special brewing as they get close to the halfway mark of the 2023 season, their first under new manager Skip Schumaker.
Their record and their place in the standings is reflecting that.
After they beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 at Nationals Park on Sunday to secure a series sweep get their sixth and final win on this nine-game, three-city road trip that also went through the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners, the Marlins are 41-31 on the season. They are second in the National League East and have the third-best record in all of the National League.
It’s the first time the Marlins are 10 games over .500 since May 28, 2011, when they were 30-20. It’s also the second-best start ever in franchise history through 72 games, behind only the 1997 World Series-winning team that was 43-29 at this point in its season.
“We’re seeing a lot of their hard work,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng told the Miami Herald pregame Sunday. “We’re seeing the talent really start to show up in terms of the performance. [The talent] is there on an everyday basis, but now you’re actually seeing the outcomes. ... Seeing everything come together has been great. It’s every day. These guys are at it every day, whether it’s with meetings or out on the field or in the dugout and you’re seeing it pay off. Seeing all of that come together is a lot of fun.”
It’s the result of how this team was created. There’s a selfless approach. No one is looking to be the hero on any given night. They celebrate each other’s successes even if they are going through struggles themselves. The collective results, the collective success, supersedes the individual accomplishments.
And the accomplishments have been magnifying.
Miami is 16-5 over its last 21 games dating back to its series sweep against the Los Angeles Angels at the end of May. They are winning close games, going 18-5 in one-run games. They have 20 come-from-behind victories, including five wins when trailing after eight innings.
Most days, it’s the likes of their likely All-Stars in Luis Arraez (on a quest to finish the season with a .400 batting average) and Jorge Soler (team-leading 20 home runs) leading the way. Almost daily, the bullpen, much deeper than it was a year ago, is keeping the Marlins in a position to put together one of their penchant late rallies.
On Sunday, it was Jesus Luzardo shoving for six innings, giving up his only runs on a hanging slider in the third inning that Lane Thomas sent to left field for a two-run home run. Other than that, Luzardo held the Nationals (27-43) off the board while striking out five. He retired 10 of the final 13 batters he faced before turning it over to the bullpen, with Steven Okert, Dylan Floro and Andrew Nardi tossing three scoreless innings and Nardi picking up his second save of the season.
The offense piled up 12 hits, the 29th time this season they had double-digit hits. Every starter recorded at least one hit or one RBI. This included rookie shortstop Jacob Amaya, who had an RBI fielder’s choice and stolen base in the second inning as well as a hit and a run scored in the fourth inning of his MLB debut.
“We have a very special group of guys,” outfielder Bryan De La Cruz said. “Everybody that goes to the field puts in a little grain of sand. It’s just little by little. It’s just unbelievable. We keep playing hard and pushing each other, which is the most important part.”
They’re doing it right now without several key players. Starting center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. hasn’t played since May 13 while dealing with turf toe after running into the wall at loanDepot park trying to make an inning-ending play. Miami is 22-10 in the 32 games since Chisholm’s injury.
The starting rotation is being tested, too. Three of Miami’s starting pitchers from the Opening Day rotation are on the injured list in Trevor Rogers, Johnny Cueto and, as of Saturday, Edward Cabrera. That’s on top of reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara struggling to the tune of a 4.97 ERA through his first 14 starts.
Luzardo and fellow lefty Braxton Garrett have stepped up, as has 20-year-old rookie Eury Perez, who has been dominant over his past four starts (0.43 ERA over 21 innings) but is being monitored closely by the coaching staff and front office because as he nears a career-high in innings pitched early in his young professional career.
But through it all, the team’s overall goal has remain steadfast: Find a way to win, regardless of who’s available, regardless of how they get there, regardless of who comes up with the big moment.
There’s a lot of baseball left, but the Marlins are showing what they’re capable of almost three months into the season.
