Perez Dominates; Ruiz with Both Runs in Marlins Edge Over Mets

MIAMI, FL – Tonight it was a pitcher’s duel between both franchises. It Eury Perez for the Miami Marlins against the bullpen for the New York Mets. Perez dominated while Esteury Ruiz scored both runs for the Marlins in their 2-1 edge over the Mets.

Esteury Ruiz multi-run/Owen Caissie multi-RBI game

Barely hitting over .200 for most of the season, Caissie knew he had to turn the page on his prior at-bats and just be himself at the plate. In the second inning, he hit a productive groundout, which scored Esteury Ruiz, who reached third on a double and a stolen base.

Esteury Ruiz is now 2-2 on the day. First a double, now a triple.

29.1 feet per second there#Marlins pic.twitter.com/JlqATbdPog

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 23, 2026

Then in the fourth inning, Caissie drove in Ruiz again after he hit his first triple of the season. It was Caissie’s second run driven in off the sinker in the game, giving Miami a 2-1 advantage. Ruiz led the Marlins with a pair of runs and hits.

Bot 4th
Mets 1 | Marlins 2

Owen Caissie puts the #FightinFish on top with a single. He has two RBI in the game. #Marlins pic.twitter.com/Wwb3sO7CnT

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) May 23, 2026

This was just Caissie’s second game with multiple RBI during the month of May after having two in the first homestand of the season. Ruiz had his first multi-run and second multi-hit game of 2026.

Eury Perez Dials In

On the second pitch of the game, Carson Benge hit the ball into the depths of centerfield. Surely, the ball was out as Jakob Marsee went back into the warning track until he couldn’t go back any further. All of a sudden, he was able to make the catch with the glove as he crashed into the wall.

Two at-bats later, though, Eury Perez wasn’t able to escape from Juan Soto’s wrath as he crushed his fastball into the upper deck of Loan Depot Park. It was gone in a hurry, 107.7 MPH, traveling a total of 449 feet. Any Marlins fan at the ballpark would’ve thought, “Here we go again.”

Well, that was the only player in the game to get past first base with Perez on the hill. The 23-year-old tossed 6.1 innings of two-hit and one-run ball with no walks and five punchouts.

Perez’s fastball was up in velocity during tonight’s game. With a yearly average of 98.1 MPH, tonight it was 98.9. He hit triple digits three times during the game, maxing out at 100.4.

With Juan Soto coming to the plate, the show is over for Eury Perez. His final line:

6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 K, 86 NP (60 Strikes)

Perez showed much improvement with 14 swing and misses. His velocity was up, maxing out at 100.4 MPH. #Marlins #FightinFish pic.twitter.com/1cAz4JyEfm

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) May 23, 2026

He relied on the four-seam fastball the most, throwing it 33 times. Perez used it the most against righties (16) and lefties (17). The Mets hitters swung on the pitch 22 times, and five pitches were called strikes. Two players struck out on the pitch.

The sweeper was his second-most effective pitch. On 22 pitches, right-handed hitters saw the pitch 14 times, and left-handers got to see it eight times. New York swung 11 times, having three pitches called strikes and two strikeouts on the pitch.

60 of his 86 pitches were strikes, good enough for a 70% first-pitch strike rate. After four straight losses in May, Perez had his best start of the month, improving to 3-6.

Pete Fairbanks Locks in the Save

Andrew Nardi earned his seventh hold of the season, recording two strikeouts in one inning. Michael Petersen got his fifth hold after getting a strikeout in 0.2 innings of work.

In the ninth, it was up to Pete Fairbanks to take this game home. He quickly got Nick Morabito and MJ Melendez to strike out swinging. After issuing a walk to Benge, he gave Mets fans in the audience more life. However, he was able to silence it after Bo Bichette flew out to Marsee over in center field.

Ballgame#Marlins win 2-1

– Owen Caissie drove in both of Miami’s runs
– Eury Perez bounced back with his first win
in May
– Esteury Ruiz had two extra-base hits tonight
– Pete Fairbanks recorded his sixth save pic.twitter.com/h3avEBWgwr

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) May 23, 2026

For Fairbanks, this was his sixth overall save of 2026 and his first in the month of May. His ERA has decreased over his previous three outings to 8.25, as he seeks to move forward after an up-and-down start to the season.

Between the Mets and Marlins, this is a battle for fourth place. The Marlins hold an edge for now, with a 23-29 record over the Mets 22-29 mark. Both teams are back at it tomorrow at 4:10 in the Loan Dome. Freddy Peralta (3-3, 3.31 ERA, 54 K) takes the hill for the team out of Queens while Max Meyer (4-0, 2.85 ERA, 60K) gets the start for the Fish.

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About Post Author

Ricardo Urrusuno

He’s a diehard 305 native who roots for his hometown teams in the good, the bad, and the ugly. Recently, he graduated from FIU with an MBA, but now he’s a Lemonhead covering UM basketball. Known to be anywhere and everywhere, you may catch him at a Miami sporting event.

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Perez Dominates; Ruiz with Both Runs in Marlins Edge Over Mets