Mashin' Marlins! 5 HRs power Fish past A's

WEST SACRAMENTO – The Marlins didn’t need an otherworldly Kyle Stowers to compose their best June in franchise history.

However, if Stowers just so happens to rekindle his 2025 All-Star form, which he appears to be trending toward, this Miami club could be even more dangerous.

The Marlins slugged a season-high-tying five homers, including two by Stowers, to snap a two-game skid in Friday night’s 12-5 victory over the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.

“Certainly having a middle-of-the-order presence like Kyle that the other team has to prepare for and plan for, and his ability to walk, but also to drive in runs, hit home runs, slug, it's a big boost,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “And then you're also getting so many contributions from others within our lineup now, and starting to see more days like this, like we're having, where we're able to put up some crooked numbers in innings, and we're able to extend leads. Kyle’s usually in the middle of a lot of good things that we're doing on big offensive days.”

After missing opportunities to break the game open early in Thursday’s loss in Colorado, Miami didn’t let that carry over into its series opener against the A’s.

Heriberto Hernández and Jakob Marsee went deep in a six-run first that saw all nine batters come to the plate.

The first three hitters singled to load the bases for Xavier Edwards, who walked in a run. Following a run-scoring passed ball, Hernández deposited righty Jack Perkins’ center-cut, two-strike four-seamer over the center-field wall for a three-run homer.

Since June 24, Hernández had been hitting 2-for-21 (.095) with two doubles and no RBIs in seven games. His ninth homer of the season ranks fourth on the team.

“It’s very exciting to see the way he’s performing,” Hernández said of Stowers via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “We know what he can do. We saw that last year. We think he’s the guy. When he’s swinging the bat that way, the energy is something that is very contagious. It really helps the whole team.”

Miami became the third Major League club this season to score five runs with nobody out in the first, matching Toronto (April 19) and Colorado (May 1). The last time the Marlins did that was on March 31, 2024.

With two outs, Marsee pulled Perkins’ 3-1 four-seamer into a tree well over the right-field wall for a solo shot. Since his last homer on June 17, Marsee had been 5-for-46 (.109) with two doubles.

After the A’s cut the Marlins’ lead from 7-0 to 7-5, Stowers crushed a leadoff home run in the sixth. He pulled righty Justin Sterner’s four-seamer to right with a 45-degree launch angle – the highest on an over-the-fence homer by a Marlin since Jazz Chisholm Jr. (45 degrees) on April 12, 2022.

Stowers struck again with a two-run laser in the eighth to give Miami a 10-5 cushion. His 10th home run of the season cemented his third multihomer performance of 2026.

“I feel good,” said Stowers, who was later taken out as a precaution due to light cramping in his quad. “I feel like I have a chance to put together a good game every day right now."

Rookie Owen Caissie hammered a two-run opposite-field homer in the ninth on a hanging curveball from righty Mason Barnett to cap the scoring.

Following a historic 20-6 June, the Marlins opened July with consecutive losses and seven total runs. They reversed their fortune by notching double-digit runs for the third time in their last five games, and did so in atypical fashion.

Miami, which has knocked the sixth-fewest homers in the Majors, improved to 17-4 when hitting two or more homers by taking advantage of the Athletics’ hitter-friendly temporary home.

Leading the charge was Stowers, who is hitting .345 with five doubles, two triples, five homers and 15 RBIs over his last 15 games. This stretch began with a four-hit performance on June 17 in Philadelphia and includes Friday’s latest four-hit contest.

And Stowers, a 2025 NL Gold Glove finalist in left field, has done this while looking comfortable at a new position (first base), which had been a carousel of names until now.

“As long as we're winning, that's the No. 1 priority,” Stowers said. “I always want to play well, and I take a lot of pride in the way I prepare, and [I] hold myself to a high standard. But this team's really good, and we've had amazing performances all year from so many guys.

“I'm really curious to see what happens with how things shape up with the All-Star Game, but I know that Liam [Hicks], Otto [Lopez], Xavier, Max [Meyer], [Anthony] Bender – there's so many guys that are just so, so deserving. I like to be a contributor, but I think we’ve got a lot of good players.”