Pérez shines with quality start to snap rough stretch

MIAMI – Five days ago, we caught ourselves once again asking what had happened to “Baby Goat."

A rough start against the in-state rival Rays on Sunday had pushed Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez's season ERA to 5.33 – fourth-highest among qualifying Major League starters.

But then I remembered what president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said earlier this month.

“Eury is still one of the youngest pitchers in baseball, one of the youngest starters,” Bendix had said. “He's got as good stuff as anybody, and he's still learning how to utilize it, how to best deploy it. The path to being a superstar is not always linear, and so I think that's what we're seeing with Eury.”

Pérez proved Bendix’s point by going 6 1/3 strong innings in a 2-1 win over the Mets on Friday night at loanDepot park.

The 23-year-old Pérez allowed just one run on two hits – both by Juan Soto – with five strikeouts and no walks, marking the first time this season he hadn’t issued a free pass. He admitted to not trusting the delivery of his secondary pitches this season, so the Marlins set up an unusual in-between-start bullpen session: No catcher, just targets to hit.

It clearly paid off. Pérez’s lone blemish came on Soto’s two-out, first-inning homer on a center-cut 99.8 mph four-seamer, which became the fastest pitch taken deep in the Majors in 2026.

“The difference was that I was throwing the ball in the strike zone,” Pérez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “Focus on that, just attacking, trying to forget about any negative things that happened before, and then just being out there and competing and having fun, which is the goal once you go out there.”

How Pérez responded to Soto’s long ball encouraged manager Clayton McCullough most. In previous starts, a big blow sent things off course.

“It's been an uneven start to his season, and [we] just kind of hung with it,” McCullough said. “That's why we do this, it’s talented players like Eury. You just hang in there and keep coaching.”

Following Soto’s blast, Pérez retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced. When Soto singled with one out in the fourth, Pérez turned to his newest pitch, the sinker, to induce a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.

Pérez also got help from his defense to remain in line for the victory. Center fielder Jakob Marsee robbed Carson Benge of an extra-base hit in the first and sixth.

“He was just filling up the zone,” Marsee said. “He has electric stuff, just looked like he was really trusting himself today, and just filling up the zone, and honestly, mixing pretty well today, too, and throwing everything for a strike, which was huge. It was just really cool to see, because I know how good he is and how hard he works.”

With Soto up for a third time and the bases loaded in a 2-1 ballgame, McCullough turned to southpaw Andrew Nardi to dispose of the left-handed batter on a groundout. Two other relievers would follow Nardi’s inning of work, including closer Pete Fairbanks for his first save in a month, to preserve the win.

Miami did just enough on offense thanks to batters six and seven in the order, Esteury Ruiz and Owen Caissie.

With one out in the second, Ruiz doubled, stole third and scored on Caissie’s game-tying groundout. In the fourth, Ruiz dropped southpaw Sean Manaea’s pitch just fair down the right-field corner for a two-out triple. The left-handed-hitting Caissie followed with a single.

That helped snap a five-game skid for Pérez, who had given up 19 earned runs and 41 baserunners in 26 1/3 innings for a 6.49 ERA during that span. Entering the series opener, Miami had dropped 12 of its last 18 games in large part due to its rotation (7.18 ERA – second highest in the Majors).

“I feel like he was executing pitches, mixing it up very well,” Soto said. “He keeps guys off-balance, you know? It’s kind of tough when he’s landing the offspeed, and then he combines that with 100 mph. It’s not easy to make the adjustment.”

Seems nasty enough. But before Friday, Pérez needed to hear from an “army” of people who support him. They were quick to remind him of something very important.

“Telling me that I'm better than what I'm doing right now, and I have to trust myself,” Pérez said. “I have to bring back that Eury that we know. I've been thinking a lot of negative thoughts. You cannot do that.”