Latest news with #ClaytonMcCullough
Reuters
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Behind loaded bullpen, Padres seek series win in Miami
July 22 - If the San Diego Padres make the playoffs this year, their bullpen will likely count as a primary factor. The Padres, who lead the majors in bullpen ERA (3.15) and saves (35), are set to face the host Miami Marlins on Tuesday night in the second game of a three-game series. In the opener on Monday, San Diego won 2-1 as its bullpen pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Following the game, Marlins rookie manager Clayton McCullough heaped praise on the Padres' relief corps. This month, San Diego became the first team in major league history to have three relievers selected for the All-Star Game -- Robert Suarez, Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam -- and all three of them pitched on Monday. "Those are high-end bullpen arms," McCullough said. The Padres also have a good arm set to start on Tuesday -- right-hander Dylan Cease, who is closing in on the one-year anniversary of his July 25 no-hitter against the Washington Nationals. Crease, though, is struggling this year with a 3-9 record and a 4.64 ERA. The Padres are 10-10 in his 20 starts this year, but Cease has lost his past three decisions. In two career starts against the Marlins, Cease is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA. He will hope to get more backing from a San Diego offense that managed only five hits on Monday and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Jake Cronenworth and Jose Iglesias each had five hits over the weekend as the Padres took two of three at Washington, but they went a combined 0-for-7 on Monday. "Cronenworth has been a good staple at the bottom (of the lineup)," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. "He has hit higher in the lineup for us historically. "(Iglesias), over the past six weeks or so, has put together a consistent stretch. Him being able to perform on both sides of the ball is very valuable." The two will look to bounce back against a Miami team that has 21 wins over the past 33 games. The Marlins, though, will need to win their next two games to clinch their third straight series. On Tuesday, the Marlins will start Sandy Alcantara, who is 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA in five career starts against the Padres. He took a no-decision at San Diego on May 28 after allowing six runs on seven hits in four innings. Alcantara, who won the 2022 National League Cy Young Award, missed last season following Tommy John surgery. He came back at the start of this season, but he hasn't been his old self, posting a 4-9 record and a 7.14 ERA. In his past four outings, Alcantara went 0-1 with a 8.61 ERA. On the plus side, he tossed at least six innings in three of those starts. Alcantara and the Marlins would love to see Kyle Stowers continue his hot streak. The team leader in home runs belted No. 22 on Monday, giving him six homers in his past five games. The Marlins are also bullish on rookie catcher Agustin Ramirez, who has 21 doubles, one triple, 14 homers, 44 RBIs and a .743 OPS through his first 75 major league games. Ramirez's defense, however, is a work in progress, though his framing on Monday resulted in a strikeout of Fernando Tatis Jr. on a pitch that was below the strike zone. "He continues to improve his receiving, especially at the bottom of the strike zone," McCullough said. "He's doing a good job of getting under those pitches and presenting them to the umpires. "There is more room for (Ramirez's) growth, but his handling of the pitchers and his in-game communication have been lights out." --Field Level Media
Reuters
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Marlins 3B Connor Norby (wrist surgery) out 6-8 weeks
July 19 - Miami Marlins third baseman Connor Norby underwent surgery on his broken left wrist during the All-Star break and will be sidelined six to eight weeks. Norby had his hamate bone repaired during the procedure performed in Phoenix. Norby, 25, felt soreness in the wrist during Friday's game against the Baltimore Orioles. He was placed on the injured list Sunday due to wrist inflammation. "I think he was just more disappointed that he was going to have to miss some time," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said before Friday's home game against the Kansas City Royals. "He felt like, right now, that he was trending (in the right direction), and he had some confidence in what he was doing. So for him to miss out on however much time it is for him, it's disappointing, and for us as well." Norby is batting .241 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 72 games. He also missed time early in the season due to a left oblique strain. Norby was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles at last season's trade deadline in a deal that also brought All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers to Miami. The Marlins gave up left-hander Trevor Rogers in the deal. Graham Pauley started at third base for Miami on Friday. --Field Level Media
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
How Marlins have shocked MLB, closed within half game of team with 3 times higher payroll
Something neat and thoroughly unexpected has happened smack in the middle of the Marlins' latest rebuild: They won every game of a six-game road trip for the first time in franchise history. And instead of being the laughingstock of baseball, they've become a competent, gritty team with a lineup far more productive than anyone could have imagined. Sunday's 6-4 win in Arizona gave the Marlins a sweep of the Diamondbacks, on the heels of a sweep in San Francisco, while pushing Miami's winning streak to seven overall and nine in a row on the road. 'How we played on this road trip, how we played in this recent stretch here, particularly the last couple weeks, for me, it's been outstanding,' manager Clayton McCullough told reporters in Phoenix on Sunday. 'We're getting so many contributions offensively. I think just our at-bat quality throughout games has continued to take steps forward. 'Our pitching as a whole has been terrific, and I think we're defensively playing just a much cleaner brand of baseball.' What was expected to be a lost season has turned into something far more uplifting: a scrappy team, filled with prospects with light resumes, exceeding any reasonable explanations. Miami stands at 37-45 entering a six-game homestand that begins Tuesday against Minnesota (6:40 p.m., FanDuel Sports Florida). An eighth consecutive win would be the team's longest since Miami moved to loanDepot Park in 2012. They've won seven in a row on four occasions since; until Sunday, the most recent seven-game streak happened in April 2022. The Marlins are averaging 7.4 runs during this winning streak, best in baseball over that time. Their pitchers are allowing opposing batters to hit .226 during that stretch, which is eighth-best. Despite fielding a roster with by far the lowest payroll in baseball ($67.8 million in spotrac), the Marlins don't have one of the six worst records in baseball and entered Monday only one-half back of 38-45 Atlanta, whose $209.9 payroll is the eighth highest. At the epicenter of this eight-game streak has been several players motivated to prove they can be quality big-league starters, a group including outfielder Kyle Stowers, shortstop Otto Lopez, second baseman Xavier Edwards and catcher/designated hitter Agustin Ramirez, the top prospect acquired in last July's Jazz Chisholm trade with the Yankees. Stowers – who has emerged as the Marlins' likely representative in the All Star Game July 15 in Atlanta – had two homers and eight RBI in the six wins against the Giants and Diamondbacks and is hitting .279 (.357 on base) with 13 homers and 43 RBI in 78 games. Stowers' emergence has been heartening and something of a relief to the Marlins after he hit just .186 in 172 plate appearances following his acquisition from Baltimore last summer. Lopez also is making a case to be a longterm piece of the rebuild. He has 15 RBI in his past seven games – the most for a Marlins hitter in any seven-game span since Hanley Ramírez did it in 2009. Lopez, who began the season at second base before moving to shortstop, delivered clutch hit after clutch hit on the road trip, including a two-run single to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead in the eighth inning of Sunday's win in Arizona. He stands at .260 (.331 on base) with eight homers and 40 RBI in 67 games. Edwards and Lopez flipping positions has augmented Miami defensively, and Edwards has continued to hit (.283, .358 on base). Even after losing Griffin Conine in April to a season-ending shoulder injury, the outfield has been far better than expected, with Stowers flourishing, Dane Myers hitting .298 (.355 on base) and Jesus Sanchez delivering some timely hits and power (seven homers, 28 RBI in 62 games). And then there's the curious case of outfielder Heriberto Hernandez, who signed with the Marlins as a minor league free agent in December, hit just .220 in 41 games for Triple A Jacksonville and has been unstoppable since his promotion to the majors (.333, .371 on base, two homers, 9 RBI in 20 games). Ramirez, the rookie catcher, broke out of a slump with 11 hits during the six-game road trip and has 15 doubles, 12 homers and 33 RBI in 58 games, to go with a .255 average and .305 on base average. Other players who were hardly household names also have contributed: Eric Wagaman entered last weekend leading all National League rookies in RBI (33) and all rookies with 19 doubles. Catcher Liam Hicks, a Rule 5 draft pickup last December, has flashed intriguing offensive skills (.277, .364 on base, 27 RBI in 141 at bats). Connor Norby (.243/.294) isn't getting on base enough but has 23 RBI in 61 games and the Marlins' love his upside. Aside from a strong recent stretch from Edward Cabrera; the starting pitching has remained uneven. Sandy Alcantara allowed seven runs in six innings against Arizona after four consecutive good starts. Cal Quantrill (5.42 ERA) has been middling, Eury Perez (6.19 ERA) needs more time to round into form after Tommy John surgery, and Janson Junk has had one good start and one subpar one. Max Meyer (hip) and Braxton Garrett (elbow) will miss the remainder of the season and Ryan Weathers (left lat strain) is weeks away from an earliest potential return. But the bullpen has been a positive, including good work from Anthony Bender (2.27 ERA), Ronny Henriquez (2.93, three saves), Calvin Faucher (4.31, eight saves) and Cade Gibson (.210 ERA). And the big picture is this: The Marlins have been far more competitive during the early stages of another rebuild than most expected. 'It's exciting to see what we're doing,' Lopez told MLB. com on Sunday. 'I've been saying since earlier [that] we've got to put ourselves on the map, and right now, that's the way we feel. We feel very up, and we've just got to keep going.'
Fox News
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Tensions boil over in Marlins-Giants game as benches clear in heated moment
Tensions boiled over during the seventh inning of the Miami Marlins' 12-5 win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Thursday. Giants first baseman Wilmer Flores struck out in the bottom of the seventh inning and was frustrated with the first base umpire for calling him out on the check swing. As Flores expressed his frustration with the first-base umpire, Marlins pitcher Cade Gibson started towards Flores and started yelling at him before being pushed away by the team's coaching staff. While Gibson was being pushed away, Flores tried to go towards him but was held back by teammate Jung Hoo Lee. The benches and bullpens emptied, but there was never a scrum as the umpires and coaches kept their respective teams on their sides of the field. Order was quickly restored and play resumed. The Marlins, invigorated by the benches clearing, scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning to make it 12-5 and put the game out of reach. The benches clearing was not the only contentious moment in Thursday's game. In the Marlins' 8-5 win over the Giants on Wednesday, the three Giants batters were hit by pitches. The Giants retaliated in the first inning of Thursday's game when starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong drilled Marlins No. 3 hitter Otto Lopez with the first pitch of the at-bat. Both teams were warned following the hit-by-pitch, which Marlins manager Clayton McCullough took issue with. He argued the warning with home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez and was ejected for it. Despite not having their manager for essentially the entirety of the game, the Marlins went on to win and complete the three-game sweep over the Giants. The Marlins (34-45) will look to maintain their winning ways when they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks (41-39) on Friday at 9:40 p.m. ET. The Giants (44-37), who have lost eight of their last 11 games, will look to turn things around when they take on the lowly Chicago White Sox (26-55) on Friday at 7:40 p.m. ET. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
New York Times
26-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Giants' Hayden Birdsong plunks Otto Lopez in finale of combative series against Marlins
SAN FRANCISCO — Right-hander Logan Webb hinted Wednesday night that Giants pitchers were prepared to enforce frontier justice after watching their teammates get hit by a spate of inside pitches. It didn't take long for Hayden Birdsong to sound a gavel. Birdsong threw a first-pitch fastball that hit Miami Marlins No. 3 batter Otto Lopez with two outs in the first inning Thursday afternoon. Umpires converged and issued warnings to both benches. That apparently wasn't good enough for Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, who argued until he was ejected by plate umpire Alfonso Márquez. The Marlins did not retaliate in the bottom of the first inning; they'd already gotten the sweetest revenge against Birdsong. Agustín Ramírez followed Lopez's plunking with a double and Kyle Stowers hit a home run to give the Marlins a quick 3-0 lead. It would be difficult for the Giants to argue that Birdsong's pitch lacked intent. A night earlier, several Giants players expressed frustration with what's become a concentration of hit batters on this nine-game homestand. Hot-hitting third baseman Casey Schmitt, who was struck on the left hand by Marlins closer Calvin Faucher in the ninth inning Wednesday night, was not in the lineup Thursday. Although initial X-rays did not conclusively show a fracture, the Giants sent Schmitt for a CT scan and will reevaluate him. Advertisement Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos, who was hit twice in 600 major league plate appearances entering this year, has been struck by pitches three times on this homestand and 10 times this season. 'I feel like the game finds a way to even itself out. And it will,' Webb said after Wednesday's game. 'It's starting to get frustrating (with) how many guys are getting hit. As pitchers, we've got to do a better job protecting those guys.' How would the pitchers respond? 'Baseball finds a way of working something out,' Webb said. 'Hopefully there's a little bit of edge tomorrow because of some of the stuff that happened today. Hope we come out with a lot of energy.' If the umpiring crew was aware of Webb's comments, they weren't proactive about Thursday. No warnings were issued prior to the game when Webb represented the Giants by taking out the lineup card.
