MIAMI -- Marlins All-Star Kyle Stowers waited 247 days for his highly anticipated return to the Majors due to a pair of injuries.
When Stowers finally stood in the box for the first time on Sunday afternoon, the bases were loaded with no outs in the first inning. Staring back at him was flamethrowing Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski.
"You have no choice but to be present," said Stowers, who played in front of his newborn child. "Sometimes I feel like in the big leagues, these guys that we face are so good, there's just no choice but to lock into the moment. It's the only way that you're going to have a chance. And so I think it was kind of weirdly like the perfect situation. I was really proud of myself for how present I was, wasn't worried about what was going to happen after, what the at-bat entailed, other than just trying to see the ball as best I can and try to move it forward and get a run in. Anytime the thoughts are simple, regardless of performance, I'm happy."
A run scored on a wild pitch during the plate appearance, which ended on a 101.5 mph hit-by-pitch to Stowers' right hand. He would remain in the game, as the Marlins would go on to win, 5-3, at loanDepot park to snap a four-game skid. Stowers later struck out in the third, doubled in the fifth and singled in the seventh to finish 2-for-3.
"I don't think it's broken," Stowers said. "You do those couple tests, and then, one of those things, just pain tolerance thing. [I] went up to the cage the next inning, took a couple swings. I've missed quite a few games between last year and this year, and so I just figured, 'Let's just give it a roll. Might as well.' [I] feel pretty good."
Stowers, who began a rehab assignment with Jacksonville on April 10 for a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, collected 19 plate appearances across five games for the Jumbo Shrimp. He got a day of rest in between those initial contests before closing out with consecutive days of nine innings Thursday and Friday.
The 28-year-old Stowers started in left field three times, served as the designated hitter once and even debuted at first base to wrap up his assignment on Friday. He rejoined the big league club on Saturday in Miami.
Miami closely monitored Stowers, who had a disjointed Spring Training with just 17 total plate appearances in six Grapefruit League contests. He exited his March 20 split-squad game in West Palm Beach, Fla., with a tight right hamstring, the same one he strained earlier in camp and missed time for.
"The hamstring injury was new for me, something I never really experienced, so just going through the whole process I've never done before," Stowers said pregame. "I didn't really particularly know exactly what to look for, what not to look for. Just wanted to be comfortable playing."
Stowers' return came at the perfect time for the Marlins. During this recent rough patch of losing seven of eight entering Sunday, Miami had averaged 3.5 runs per game -- a number skewed by the 10 runs the club scored in its lone win in this stretch.
"We need [a spark] right now," Connor Norby said following Saturday's loss. "It feels like every bounce is not going our way. It's frustrating. Long innings, not great from at-bat to at-bat. It's not great baseball, and it's frustrating. But 20 however many games in, we've got plenty of time. No panic. Obviously, when you add [Stowers'] bat in it helps a ton, giving us that ability to hit the three-run homer, to hit the double when we need it. And just from a clubhouse standpoint, he's an unbelievable leader. I know I look up to him a lot, and I lean on him a lot. To say that we're happy to have him back is an understatement."
Prior to a season-ending left oblique strain last August, Stowers blossomed into one of the NL’s top hitters, ranking among its leaders in various offensive categories. In 117 games, he crushed a team-high 25 homers and tallied 73 RBIs (second most).
Stowers, who became a first-time All-Star and NL Gold Glove finalist during a breakout 2025, slots nicely into the middle of the order in a run-producing role. Miami entered Sunday tied for the third-fewest home runs in the Majors, though the lineup ranked 15th in wRC+ (101).
"For him to go out there and collect a couple hits was huge, I'm sure," manager Clayton McCullough said. "Great for him to come right in and contribute and get off to a nice start. The swings looked very aggressive. He looked balanced. Great to have Kyle back help lengthen out our lineup."