Marlins Fall Short in Comeback, Fail to Sweep Royals

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MIAMI, FL – Looking for their first sweep at home all season, the Marlins had high hopes to continue their push towards .500 baseball. Seeking vengeance, the Royals loaded up on plate discipline, putting the Fish in disarray. Janson Junk had seen better days, and the hitters at the plate were quiet all game long until the 9th inning. Things got interesting then, leaving the crowd energized and fired up. However, the Marlins fell short in their bid for a comeback as they failed to sweep the Royals, 7-4.

Tough Day at the Office

For Janson Junk, today was anything but a good day, pitching-wise. Coming into today’s ballgame, Junk had a 0.95 ERA in July. He only allowed one baserunner in the first three innings, a hit by pitch to Jonathan India to start the game. Once the Royals hitters got their second merry-go-round at the plate, they seemed to have solved his formula.

Junk was heavily dependent on his fastball, accounting for 41% of his pitches thrown. His opponents had a 100% contact percentage on four-seam fastballs thrown inside and outside the plate. The Royals swung at 63% of Junk’s fastballs thrown inside the strike zone, and nine balls were put into play on that pitch.

The sweeper and curveball also seemed to be easy targets for the Kansas City offense. Junk threw 15 sweepers. Just six curveballs were thrown by Janson Junk, and 67% of them were swung at, with contact being made on all of them.

His slider was his second most utilized pitch, and that’s the only one he had success with. It was the only one that he didn’t allow a run.

Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, Jac Caglianone, and India each had themselves some huge doubles.

Janson Junk's command was all over the plate. His stats for today:

5.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR, 69 NP#Marlins pic.twitter.com/uERNlppEh1

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 20, 2025

Down But Not Out

Time and time again, the Marlins have shown this season that they’re more than capable of making things happen deep into games. It was a lopsided contest until they were down to their final out.

With Heriberto Hernandez and Jesus Sanchez on the basepaths, Javier Sanoja hit a grounder to Jonathan India at second base. What should’ve been a simple play to conclude the game ended with India getting a fielding error. Just like that, the bases were loaded and the crowd was making noise.

Xavier Edwards made contact with a changeup that was considerably outside the plate. The ball ended up in center field, and all of a sudden, it was a 7-2 game.

With the bases loaded, the #Marlins are bringing the magic. Xavier Edwards with the two-run single. pic.twitter.com/mf79xN2KBu

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 20, 2025

With runners at the corners, Agustin Ramirez was counted on to do something big. After fouling off a slider inside, he made contact with the same pitch down the middle. Ramirez hit his 21st double and two more runs scored for the Fish. The scoreboard showed 7-4, and the Royals elected to make a pitching change.

Just when everyone thought this game was in the can, Agustin Ramirez hits a two-run double. The #Marlins trail 7-4 with two outs. pic.twitter.com/gfndl75wWQ

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 20, 2025

Otto Lopez came up and continued to fuel their fire with a base hit. With Ramirez at 3rd and Lopez at 1st, the tying run came up to the plate. The Fightin’ Fish weren’t done, and Liam Hicks got the call to pinch hit for Eric Wagaman, who was 0-for-4.

Hicks connected on a fastball, but it resulted in a flyout in foul territory. Still, the Marlins had changed the scope of this game within a matter of minutes. Until the 27th out gets recorded, anything can happen with this club.

Observations

The Marlins amounted to seven hits. Javier Sanoja and Agustin Ramirez each had a pair. They found no success with runners on base until that 9th inning bid for a comeback. Nine Marlins were left on the basepaths, and they finished 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

A notable observation regarding their hitting performance, Kris Bupic had considerable success on the mound, inducing the Marlins to make soft contact. The southpaw got the Marlins to either ground out or hit into a force-out nine different times. Not only that, all three hits he allowed were on the ground as well. He did a great job of getting them to extend their hands and reach for pitches.

Next Up

The Marlins continue their homestand against the San Diego Padres. The Padres still haven’t announced their starter, but for the Marlins, it’ll be Eury Perez (3-2, 3.18 ERA, 35 K). Perez is currently on a three-game winning streak.

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