Pérez's quality start in tune with advice from mentor Alcantara

MIAMI -- It’s easy to forget that Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez is still the second-youngest pitcher to start in the Majors this season, considering he debuted nearly three years ago.

With youth comes growing pains, something Pérez hasn’t been immune to so far in 2026.

Pérez righted the ship by outdueling Jacob Misiorowski in a matchup of young right-handed flamethrowers in the Marlins’ 5-3 victory over the Brewers on Sunday afternoon at loanDepot park.

With the win, Miami snapped a four-game skid.

“Some of the conversations I had with them, they kept telling me to trust my pitches,” Pérez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “They told me that I'm one of the best pitchers in the league, that I have to trust my stuff, and then just continue to develop those things and just trust myself and do a good job with that.”

The 6-foot-8 Pérez, who had scuffled over his last three starts (6.23 ERA), regrouped to record a quality start by allowing just one unearned run on three hits. He relied heavily on his four-seamer at a career rate (66.7%), tallying six of his seven strikeouts on the offering in an 84-pitch outing.

Entering Sunday’s series finale, only 23-year-old Pirates righty Bubba Chandler (98.9 mph) threw a faster four-seamer than the 24-year-old Misiorowski (98.5 mph) and the 23-year-old Pérez (98.2 mph) among starters (min. 50 thrown).

So Pérez used that velocity to his advantage and credited mentor Sandy Alcantara – whom he revealed postgame is the godfather to his first child – for in-between-start bullpen advice on locating his pitches.

An efficient Pérez required just nine pitches in a perfect first and retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced. After lacking command during that tough three-game stretch (10 walks in 13 frames; no more than five innings in each start), he improved his season in-zone rate from 46%) to 57%.

“I think he was disappointed in some of the other ones, with just the inability to fill up the zone like he knows he's capable of, and how some of those times kind of got away,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “He's a smart kid. He's incredibly hungry to continue to get better. All these guys, there's a lot of pride when you don't perform well to just keep getting back to work and trust that that work is going to pay off for you. And today was a really good start.”

It helped that Pérez pitched with an early lead when the lineup put up a three-spot in the first, forcing the 6-foot-7 Misiorowski to throw 30 pitches in the process. All-Star Kyle Stowers, who made his season debut in the series finale, was part of that rally.

Pérez cruised into the sixth, when he issued his only walk – to No. 9 hitter David Hamilton – who then stole and advanced to third on catcher Hicks’ throwing error. Hamilton would score on Garrett Mitchell’s RBI groundout to first.

“We know how important Eury is to our now and our future,” McCullough said. “It's a really talented arm. I think we also have to caution ourselves that this is still very much a maturing Major League pitcher, and that there is going to be [for] him [and] other guys speed bumps along the path.

“Sometimes that type of adversity is a good thing. It is. When you get into some moments as a starting pitcher, not today, but other times when things start to get going, it's your ability to make the most of that situation that day and continue to kind of push through. Every experience that Eury is coming across are all good for him moving forward.”

Pérez wasn’t alone in the recent struggles. Entering Sunday, when the Marlins had dropped seven of eight games, their starting pitchers had combined for a 5.93 ERA – sixth highest in the Majors.

That lack of production puts everyone on their toes, especially considering how the arms at Triple-A Jacksonville have been performing. Left-hander Braxton Garrett has a 0.59 ERA in three starts in his return from Tommy John surgery, while fellow southpaw Robby Snelling (Marlins No. 2 prospect, No. 34 overall) has a 1.89 ERA in four starts.

“He's unbelievable, someone that I don't quite like facing myself,” Stowers said of Pérez. “I think all these guys, the whole pitching staff, we have so much belief in them. We know that our guys are really good, so we feel really good when they're on the mound.”