Miami, FL – Since 2009 the then-Florida now Miami Marlins have not been 11 games over .500. That all changed Monday night in front of an impressive crowd of over 12,000 fans as the Marlins defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 11-0 to kick off a three-game series. Miami entered this home stand winners of their last four games and their 41-31 record was the best start for the franchise since 1997.
Tonight’s victory extended Miami’s win streak to five games and from start to finish was one of the more “all-around” games as a team this season. Miami collected its fifth shutout of the year and recorded a season-high 19 hits. They accomplished all that without one of their primary starting pitchers, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and others sidelined with injuries. It is hard to pinpoint one factor that has led to this team’s recent success, but one thing is certain, Skip Schumaker has been pushing all the right buttons.
Skip Schumaker postgame talking about Hoeing’s start, Arraez’s five hit performance, and the team’s overall offensive output @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/MxK6MvExBI
— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) June 20, 2023
A New “Winning Culture”
The Marlins came off a winning road trip going 6-3 against the White Sox, Mariners, and Nationals. With no off day in between, Miami decided to go with spot starter/ long reliever Bryan Hoeing. The Blue Jays had Jose Berrios on the mound and on paper, it seemed like a mismatch.
Both teams exchanged zeroes through the first two innings with Hoeing retiring the first six Blue Jays he faced. Miami struck first in the third inning thanks to Jorge Soler‘s two-run home run and is up to 21 this season. After Jesus Sanchez doubled with one out, Garrett Cooper singled to bring him in to take a 3-0 lead.
Jorge Soler blasts No. 21! pic.twitter.com/lNkBKTIiqp
— MLB (@MLB) June 19, 2023
The Marlins tacked on two more runs in the fourth on a sacrifice fly and RBI groundout. It might not mean much in the long baseball season but productive outs like the Marlins had in the fourth inning add up. Moving runners over or bringing them in with less than two outs has been a glaring weakness for Miami in recent seasons.
It is not a surprise that the bullpen has been performing better as well since they have some margin of error thanks to the improved offense. Pitchers are not throwing in constant high-leverage moments and starters can actually work with a lead. They say offense can be contagious and if that’s true, then the culprit of the virus is batting at the top of Miami’s lineup.
Miami’s starter for tonight’s game, Bryan Hoeing, talks about his solid outing and the “winning culture” growing in Miami’s clubhouse @LemonCityLive
I can’t remember when’s the last time a Marlins player used that phrase and you can definitely feel that “culture” slowly growing pic.twitter.com/8BOHDGnSjV— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) June 20, 2023
Luis *Bleepin* Arraez
The 2023 MLB season is nearing the end of the month of June and Luis Arraez is still hitting .400 after collecting five hits Monday night against the Blue Jays. His name is being mentioned with Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Dave Winfield, and Ty Cobb. He joins them as the only player to record five or more hits in a game at least three times in a month. That record dates back to the year 1900!
Arraez is placing his name in Marlins history and we have not even reached the midway point of the season. In his third at-bat of today’s game, he recorded his 100th hit of the season in just 67 games. He became the second-fastest player in franchise history to reach the 100-hit mark in a season (Dee Gordon, 2015 in 65 games).
Luis Arráez has three 5-hit games since June 3.
The Oakland A's have two since late July of 2012. pic.twitter.com/ibl194FeR7— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 20, 2023
Arraez surpassed former Marlin Juan Pierre, who was coincidentally in attendance today, to set a new club record with his third five-hit game of the season. Pierre accomplished that twice in 2005. With plenty of games left in the regular season, Arraez has a chance to break the club’s record of hits in a single season (221- Juan Pierre 2004).
He currently leads all of Major League Baseball with 102 and if healthy, can easily crack 200. On any given night fans have the chance to see history when Arraez steps on the field. It seems like every game he is breaking a record. In an era of home runs and strikeouts, seeing Arraez’s brand of “old-school baseball” is definitely a breath of fresh air.
The man of the hour. Luis Arraez talks about his five hit performance and how everything is clicking for the Marlins while praising Skip for his leadership @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/71CTlG2eHp
— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) June 20, 2023
The Other Guys vs Blue Jays
After Hoeing’s four shutout innings, Miami’s bullpen was tasked with holding a then 5-0 lead. First out of the pen was Huascar Brazoban and he delivered two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts. The next arm Miami used was J.T. Chargois and kept the Blue Jays off the board in the seventh inning on just 14 pitches.
Soler brought in three runs and Arraez collected five hits but other players stepped up on offense for Miami. The Marlins broke the game wide open in the seventh inning scoring five runs. The inning started with Miami stringing together four straight hits highlighted by Joey Wendle and Jon Berti collecting RBI singles.
The bottom of the order started and continued the rally as Jacob Stallings drew a walk. The bases loaded were loaded and up came Arraez who collected his fifth hit of the night while bringing in Wendle and Berti to give Miami a 9-0 lead.
YOU JUST WITNESSED HISTORY.
LUIS ARRAEZ'S THIRD 5-HIT GAME IN A SEASON. #MakeItMiami pic.twitter.com/RdfeSpm2N0
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) June 20, 2023
Bryan De La Cruz gave Miami a 10-0 lead in the seventh with an RBI single to cap off the rally. After that inning, Skip made some substitutions and brought in Jacob Amaya in place of Arraez. The rookie collected an RBI single in the 8th inning to put a bow on top of Miami’s offensive onslaught. New Marlins reliever and nine-year veteran Archie Bradley pitched the final two innings in a scoreless relief outing, his best of the season.
From the first pitch to the last out, every player that stepped on the field today made an impact and they look to ride that momentum to another series win.
Ballgame! Miami wins the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays 11-0
– Arraez goes 5-5
– 18 hits as a team (season high)
– Five straight victories
– 11 games over .500Let the good times roll for the Marlins! @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/0JjYS6YaBG
— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) June 20, 2023
More Stories
Jesse Winker hits first grand slam for Nationals in win over Marlins
Louisville Cardinals leave fans howling as Hurricanes fade in extras
Tanner Scott chokes as Marcell Ozuna mashes game winning HR