ATLANTA -- The Marlins got off to a decent start this season.
Miami went 8-5 over its first 13 games and, prior to the team’s second road trip of 2026, hadn’t lost more than two games in a row.
That all changed after the Marlins scored just three runs as they were swept by the Tigers over the weekend. Then, Miami was troubled with a set at Truist Park -- a historic house of horrors for a Marlins club that hasn’t won a series in Atlanta since 2022.
Miami once again dropped a series in Atlanta after it blew a late lead in Tuesday’s 6-5 loss, and was defeated 6-3 in Wednesday’s rubber match.
The Marlins went 1-5 on the road trip and are 2-6 on the road this year. Miami’s lone road wins this year were a 7-6 win against the Yankees on April 5 and a 10-4 win over the Braves on Monday.
Despite the troubling road trip, manager Clayton McCullough was encouraged by what he’s seen from his squad over the first few weeks of the season. The Marlins have an off-day Thursday and then a six-game homestand to look forward to starting with the Brewers on Friday.
“For me, we’re doing a lot of really nice things,” McCullough said. “We love our club. We have so many games ahead of us. I’m certainly disappointed with the wins and losses with how this road trip went, but I think we’ll take away a lot of positives that came from this knowing that we have a long way to go.”
Another encouraging sign was starting pitcher Chris Paddack's performance. Paddack, who opened his 2026 campaign by giving up eight earned runs over four innings in a 9-4 loss to the White Sox on March 30, hasn’t allowed more than two runs in his next three outings.
On Wednesday, Paddack allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks over 4 2/3 innings.
“I thought [Paddack] did a nice job there finishing his outing the way he did,” McCullough said. “He retired nine out of 10 [batters] or so [to finish his start].
"I think he’s thrown the ball well, especially [on Wednesday]. The pitch count got elevated some, mostly in that third inning. He had two strikes on a lot of guys tonight. There were some deeper at-bats [with some] foul balls, and the Braves did a good job of hanging in those at-bats and making him work. I think what we’ve seen from Chris really from the last three [outings], we knew he was [going to] fill up the strike zone and compete.”
Paddack echoed McCullough’s sentiment despite giving up two second-inning runs, including a solo home run off Ozzie Albies’ bat.
“I thought I threw the ball fairly well,” Paddack said. “Albies got the head [of the bat] out there to put them up early, then a couple of singles cost me the two spot in the second. But I feel like [I] started the game out hot. I got a couple of strikeouts from some of their good guys. I got some weak contact. We were filling up the zone. I feel like, if you look at that outing, they did a really good job as a team of fouling off some pitches that were out of the zone.”
Liam Hicks has also been a bright spot for Miami. Hicks has a .900 OPS and the catcher tallied five hits in Atlanta. Hicks’ 18 RBIs are tied for fourth in MLB.
“Liam continues to [hit],” McCullough said. “The at-bat quality has been on display since he debuted here. Seeing him [have] the ability to impact the ball like he has, especially this year, has been very encouraging.”
Some reinforcements could be on the way for Miami sooner rather than later. Esteury Ruiz and Maximo Acosta both began rehabilitation assignments in Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday.
Ruiz, whom the Marlins acquired from the Dodgers via trade in December and was battling for a bench spot, was placed on the IL during Spring Training due to a high-grade left oblique strain.
Acosta was placed on the IL on March 25 due to a Grade 1 left oblique strain.
Ruiz, who led off for the Jumbo Shrimp and played center field, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, while Acosta went 1-for-3 with a strikeout batting second and playing shortstop.
2025 All-Star Kyle Stowers is set to begin his rehab stint in Jacksonville on Thursday and Friday, though his return to the Marlins is to be determined.