Meyer outduels Skenes, improves to 7-0 as Marlins stay hot

PITTSBURGH – When Max Meyer last pitched at PNC Park, the clean-shaven right-hander recorded just two outs in his second career start due to right elbow discomfort and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery.

Three years later, a bearded Meyer has put an injury-plagued career in the rear-view mirror and blossomed into the 2026 season’s breakout pitcher.

Meyer furthered his All-Star case by outdueling reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes in the Marlins’ 4-2 victory over the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

Miami (36-36) secured its fourth consecutive series win and returned to .500 by improving to 10-2 in June.

“I thought about it,” Meyer said. “It's kind of cool to be back on the mound, remember stuff. I remember walking down the tunnel, throwing my glove after my elbow exploded. It was cool being able to go out and think about how far I've come.”

The 27-year-old Meyer allowed one run on six hits – all singles – and three walks, lowering his ERA to 2.75. He struck out a season-high-tying nine batters in his fifth quality start of 2026.

Meyer (7-0) is the only pitcher in Marlins history to not be charged with a loss through 15 starts to begin a season, which also marks the longest such streak in the Majors since the Dodgers’ Tony Gonsolin (17 games from April 9-July 13, 2022).

Entering Sunday’s series finale, Meyer was tied for 11th among NL pitchers in fWAR (1.8) and ranked fourth among qualified NL pitchers for lowest average against (.196), slightly ahead of Skenes (.197). He already has surpassed his career win total (six) from 2022-25, as well as single-season marks for starts (15) and innings (85).

“It's never me versus the pitchers, it’s me versus the hitters, so all that stuff is for you guys,” said Meyer, who downplayed the pitching matchup. “That was a good lineup. I thought they had a decent approach. My stuff just felt really good today.”

Pittsburgh could only scratch one run across against Meyer, and it was courtesy of some fortuitous luck.

With Miami ahead 2-0 in the fourth, Nick Gonzales led off the inning with a bloop single to right. Tyler Callihan then shot a pitch to the left side of the infield between third baseman Connor Norby and shortstop Otto Lopez, who went to cover second with Xavier Edwards shifted further on the right side. Former Marlins farmhand Jake Mangum followed with an RBI single.

After a mound visit, Meyer struck out two of the next three batters to keep it a 2-1 ballgame.

The Pirates threatened again in the fifth, when Meyer loaded the bases with two outs. It looked as though Pittsburgh would take the lead on Mangum’s liner to the right-center gap, but Jakob Marsee made a diving catch to rob him of extra bases and keep Meyer in line for the win.

“It was really cool to come through right there,” Marsee said. “He was kind of getting unlucky a little bit with some of the hits he was giving up and everything. He's just been dominant up there all year. I just take a lot of pride out there and want to make a play anytime, and just happened to be in a big situation, which helps.”

To close out his start, Meyer got a strike-’em-out, throw-’em-out double play in the sixth. Since making his Major League debut on May 4, Joe Mack paces all MLB backstops with 11 caught stealings.

“His sweeper was really good today, slider was very good today, and made good pitches when he needed to,” Mack said. “As much as I can do that, I want to do that every single time. I enjoy that, and if I can help them out doing that, then all the more to it.”

Miami’s lineup did just enough against Skenes, slugging a pair of solo homers in the second.

Heriberto Hernández opened the frame by drilling Skenes’ inside four-seamer to left-center for his sixth home run of the season, and fourth of the month. With two outs, Mack deposited Skenes’ changeup on the outside corner to straightaway center for his second career tater.

The Marlins added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth against righty Brandan Bidois on RBI knocks from Kyle Stowers and Edwards.

“A couple All-Stars potentially going at it today,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “You go into it facing someone that's as tough as Paul Skenes is, [knowing] that runs are going to be at a premium, and it was nice for us to get a couple early. … It's showing that [Meyer] can go up against anyone, and in a game where it's probably going to be low scoring, [that he's going] to be able to go match zeros against a premium arm.”