KANSAS CITY -- Marlins infielder Graham Pauley has come to accept it’s just one of those years.
Alerted about his sixth and final callup to the big league club on Monday night, Pauley hopped on a flight to Chicago that circled the area for an hour due to weather. His connection to Kansas City, naturally, got delayed several hours and didn’t leave until well after midnight. By the time Pauley laid his head on the hotel pillow, it was the middle of the morning.
Running mostly on adrenaline, Pauley drove in a career-high four runs in his return to the Majors, while right-hander Tyler Phillips tossed five scoreless innings in the Marlins’ 6-3 victory over the Royals on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
“I think it kind of clears your mind in a way,” Pauley said. “You don't really think at all. Thinking about getting back in bed. But I just wanted to go have fun, and even on little sleep, [it was] still fun.”
Pauley, who was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville as part of September roster expansion, has had a disappointing 2026 after a promising end to ‘25.
Injured for most of Spring Training while competing with Connor Norby (now with the Rockies) for the starting third-base job, Pauley has spent most of the year shuttling back and forth between the Majors and Minors. As a result, he is out of single-season Minor League options.
The amount of movement also has prevented Pauley from getting consistent reps. He entered the series opener batting just .194/.228/.306 with nine doubles and one homer in 115 plate appearances across five Major League stints, with another 193 plate appearances at Jacksonville.
“I just kind of want to stay in the moment,” Pauley said. “It's been a tough year of ups and downs and mental struggles, but I think that any opportunity is a great opportunity, and I just kind of want to come up here and do whatever I can to help the team with whatever. I don't know what that role is, but just give it my all.”
Pauley wasted no time making an impact, slugging a two-run homer in the second inning to give Miami a 2-0 lead.
Kyle Stowers added a solo shot in the fifth, extending the lead to 3-0. After striking out in his first two at-bats, he crushed Royals right-hander Randy Dobnak’s sweeper a Statcast-projected 412 feet to right field for his first homer since July 31.
In a three-run seventh, Pauley’s second career triple went to the right-center gap, scoring Otto Lopez and Joe Mack and chasing Dobnak. Javier Sanoja, starting at second base for injured Xavier Edwards, tacked on an RBI single.
“This final month, and we've seen it this entire season, that's what it takes to win a lot of games,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “You need people to step up on both sides at various times. Tonight was Graham with four RBIs for us, which was huge, and we're going to need everybody on the roster to be ready to contribute for us to make a push.”
Phillips also did his part, allowing just one hit -- a leadoff single to Carter Jensen in the first -- with two walks and four strikeouts. He faced just one batter over the minimum in a 69-pitch start for his first scoreless outing since July 8.
Right-hander Calvin Faucher pitched a scoreless sixth, while righty Victor Vodnik allowed two runs in the eighth after a perfect seventh. Righty Tyler Zuber surrendered a two-out solo shot to Nick Loftin in the ninth to finish the game.
“Anytime you can give your team a chance to win, that's obviously the goal,” Phillips said. “I try to keep personal statistics out of it. I just want to put up zeros so the guys can go out there and just have more time in the batter's box.”
With the win, Miami (70-69) moved within three games of San Diego (73-66) for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.
“It's always great to get the win on top as well,” Pauley said. “I've been up some. I haven't been up the whole year, but these guys have been battling all year to reach the ultimate goal of that playoff spot, and I know where we stand. Every win at this moment of the year just gets bigger and bigger.”