MIAMI – Right-hander Eury Pérez matched a career high with seven innings, and Owen Caissie drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth in Saturday’s 4-3 comeback victory over the Rockies at loanDepot park.
After Otto Lopez led off the eighth with a single and stole second, Caissie (MLB Pipeline’s No. 41 overall prospect) lined a full-count 98 mph sinker up the middle for an RBI single.
Pérez’s mentor, Sandy Alcantara, also tossed seven frames on Opening Day. This marks the fourth time in franchise history, and the first occasion since 2004, that the Marlins have gotten at least seven innings from their starters in back-to-back games to begin a season (Josh Beckett: 7 IP, April 6 vs. Expos; Brad Penny: 7 IP, April 7 vs. Expos).
Pérez, who turns 23 on April 15, is widely considered a potential breakout candidate around the Majors. He recorded a quality start in his season debut by limiting Colorado to three runs on a pair of homers while striking out eight batters and walking just one in a 93-pitch outing. Saturday was just the third time in 40 career starts that Pérez pitched into the seventh, also doing so on July 13 and Aug. 24, 2025.
When former teammate Troy Johnston led off the top of the seventh with a single, manager Clayton McCullough allowed Pérez to work out of the jam. He retired the next three batters in order, stranding a baserunner in scoring position with an inning-ending strikeout of Edouard Julien on a 99.1 mph four-seamer.
Batterymate Liam Hicks, who got his first start of the season, tallied a game-high three RBIs. He tied the score at 1 with a sacrifice fly in the third, then evened things again at 3 in the fifth with a two-run homer to right field to chase veteran righty Michael Lorenzen.