Marlins cap historic 20-win June with drubbing in Denver

DENVER -- That’s life, that’s what all the people say

You’re ridin’ high in April, shot down in May

But I know I’m gonna change that tune

When I’m back on top, back on top in June …

Sixty years have passed since Frank Sinatra sang these iconic lyrics, but they perfectly speak to the 2026 Marlins.

Upstart Miami rode momentum from the final three months of its 2025 campaign into this season, then crashed hard. On May 31, the Marlins had fallen to a season-high eight games below .500 (26-34, National League’s third-worst record) after being swept by the Mets in Queens.

Anything that could go wrong did.

Robby Snelling, Eury Pérez and Janson Junk sustained injuries, forcing Miami to send out a makeshift rotation. The bullpen often incurred self-inflicted wounds, walking batters that would’ve otherwise been retired by nasty stuff. Outside of All-Star hopefuls Otto Lopez, Xavier Edwards and Liam Hicks, the lineup lacked consistent production and became a hot topic of social media debate among fans.

“Maybe it took us getting our butts kicked three days in a row in Citi Field to send shockwaves through [us] a little bit, that we can decide how we want our season to go,” manager Clayton McCullough said after Miami's 14-3 win over the Rockies on Tuesday at Coors Field. “It's one thing to play well, and for someone to beat you, it's another to just not perform up to your capabilities, and [up to] a standard that we're trying to set here for ourselves. And so after some point, you just have to get fed up with it, and have to go play better.”

Each time I find myself

Flat on my face

I pick myself up and get

Back in the race

The calendar turned to June -- and just like that, the narrative changed.

By routing the Rockies on Tuesday night, the Marlins finished the month with 20 wins -- just the second time in franchise history they've won that many games in a single month (also May 2012, 21 games). Their +53 run differential was the best in club history.

Miami (46-40) is six games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2023 season, when the club claimed a National League Wild Card spot. The Marlins became the first team to enter a calendar month eight-plus games under .500 and end said month six-plus games over .500, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Winning 20 games a month is a hard thing to do, and so [it’s a] great way to finish out the month,” McCullough said. “We certainly have a lot of work ahead of us, but again, to continue to play well in a lot of facets is what's led to this.”

On Tuesday, Pérez allowed just one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings in his second start back from the injured list.

His performance capped a stellar June for the pitching staff, which finished with MLB bests for ERA (3.01), opponents' batting average (.220) and OPS (.639). Despite the blows to the rotation, the starters still managed to rank second in ERA (3.18), sixth in opponents' batting average (.227) and fourth in OPS (.657).

“Once I got to the IL I told them, ‘It's not going to be for long,’” Pérez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “‘I want to be back.’ You can see when there's a run, a base hit, the way we cheer and enjoy the game is actually contagious. … It’s an incredible group we have. Hopefully it stays the same group we have, and we go to the playoffs with the same group.”

The Marlins set season highs for runs and hits (21) as six Marlins finished with multiple hits and seven drove in at least one run for a lineup that rested Lopez.

Owen Caissie, Joe Mack and Javier Sanoja, who finished a home run shy of the cycle in the series opener, went deep. Rookies Caissie (453 feet) and Mack (450 feet) became the second Marlins duo to crush homers of at least 450 feet in the same game, joining Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton (May 6, 2016).

“Not to say we're getting comfortable, because that's a bad thing, but we're settling in, we're hitting our stride, and really showing what the Marlins can do,” said Caissie, who has a combined .850 OPS in May and June after a .469 OPS in April.

Mack’s presence behind the dish has made a difference from the get-go (he threw out his MLB-high 15th baserunner since his Major League debut on May 4). His bat has caught up. After treading water in May (.500 OPS), Mack posted a .904 OPS in June.

But if there's nothing shaking, come this here July

I'm gonna roll myself up

In a big ball and die

Not these Marlins.

“Calendar is going to change, and it's nothing different,” Mack said. “‘You're at where you're at, you're at where your feet are.’ Taking that into next month is going to be very important. Obviously, we had a great June, but the month's over, so we’ve just got to go into next month and just go dominate there.”