MIAMI – The Marlins’ dominating 12-3 win over the Angels at loanDepot park on Sunday afternoon was dampened by Kyle Stowers’ injury in the middle of a six-run fifth inning that fueled the offensive outburst.
Stowers exited immediately after stroking a two-run single to center field in the fifth because of what the Marlins described as “left hamstring discomfort.” Leo Jiménez pinch-ran for Stowers and took over at first base defensively for the remainder of the game.
“No real update,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said after the game. “We’ll send him for some further examination to try to get a better handle on the potential severity of that. But anytime you have to leave the game [limping] on your own power like that, not great. I think we’ll hold out a little bit and see what more information we can get.”
Stowers was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, racing home on a wild pitch in the first inning after a stand-up triple. He made just his fourth start of the season in the leadoff spot Sunday.
Stowers, who had an .856 OPS and 39 RBIs in 56 games since June 1 entering play, started this season on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain. Initially expected to miss three to four weeks, he made his season debut on April 19 after a five-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville.
Sunday’s game was otherwise stellar for the Marlins, who improved to 36-24 at loanDepot park this season. They’re 21-9 at home since May 22 and have won eight of 10 series, taking this one against the Angels by outscoring them 19-3 in the final two games. The Marlins remained three games back of an NL Wild Card spot.
“A nice couple of days – yesterday to be able to break out, and then be able to follow it up again today and do that,” McCullough said. “Good to come back and win a series at home, which is important.”
In the rubber game, six players had two hits apiece and five players had at least one RBI, including Griffin Conine, who hit two home runs for the first multi-homer game of his MLB career.
“He had a real confident look to him in the box,” McCullough said.
In the fifth inning, Conine blasted a two-run homer to right-center off reliever Shaun Anderson that traveled a Statcast-projected 434 feet with an exit velocity of 115 mph – the hardest-hit homer by a Marlin since Jesús Sánchez vs. the Reds on Aug. 5, 2024. In the eighth, he belted catcher Tyler Heineman’s 39.6 mph fastball to right.
“Pretty cool,” Conine said of hitting two home runs. “Thank God for position players. Those count, too. That’s what everyone says. Those at-bats, you don’t want to give those away. … I think the second one was a more impressive swing for me personally. It was above my head, almost. You never train for that. You train for the first [home run].”
Of his first homer, he said, “That was the best one of my career, I think. It was the first pull-side barrel I’ve had in a while.”
Later in the fifth inning, Javier Sanoja smacked a two-run single, giving him 14 RBIs with the bases loaded this season, the most by a Marlins hitter in that situation since Brian Anderson had 15 RBIs in 2019.
“When we’re at our best, we’ve got guys that can move the ball around the field and put the ball in play,” McCullough said. “We had a lean stretch where we were uncharacteristically striking out a ton. I just don’t think we can survive over stretches where we’re punching out double-digit times in games. So to see us get back to moving balls forward, getting into at-bats, making pitchers grind, taking what they’re giving you, that’s when our lineup is at its best.”
The Marlins seized a 3-1 lead Sunday with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. After Stowers scored on a wild pitch, Xavier Edwards, celebrating his 27th birthday, came home with the second run when Otto Lopez’s infield single was followed by an errant throw across the diamond to third. Owen Caissie then smacked an RBI single to left.
Marlins starter Ryan Gusto pitched four innings, allowing two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
The Marlins will start a three-game series against the Pirates at home on Tuesday with uncertainty at first base due to Stowers’ injury. They traded their top option there, Liam Hicks, before the Deadline. Conine is among the possibilities.
“I don’t know what the move will be – obviously that’s a huge blow for us,” Conine said. “I’ve played there a little bit, so I think that’s an option for sure, and I’ll be ready to get out there and fill in if I need to be while we wait for him to get back.”