Marlins Avoid Sweep with Gritty Win Over Astros Before Grueling Road Trip

After two frustrating losses to start the series, the Miami Marlins came out swinging on Wednesday — literally. Six of the first seven batters reached base with singles off Houston Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti, setting the tone for a much-needed 7–6 win at loanDepot park.

Trailing 2–0 before their first turn at the plate, the Marlins roared back with three runs in the opening frame — matching their entire offensive output from Tuesday’s loss — and never looked back. They tacked on insurance runs in the second and third innings and held off a late Astros push to close out their homestand with a 4–2 record.

Xavier Edwards was the spark plug at the top of the lineup, going 4-for-5 and scoring twice, while rookies Heriberto Hernández and Graham Pauley both went deep. Hernández’s 391-foot homer came in the third, while Pauley followed with a 394-foot shot in the fifth.

“It continues to speak to their resiliency,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “To go down as we did, Janson [Junk] buckled down and gave us five solid innings. Offensively, we were much better early on.”

Junk’s outing wasn’t perfect, but it was steady. The right-hander gave up three runs over five innings, including a 417-foot home run to Christian Walker in the first and back-to-back doubles to Mauricio Dubón and Carlos Correa in the fifth. Still, his effort stabilized the game and allowed Miami’s offense to build a lead.

The bullpen held on, and in the eighth inning, Calvin Faucher delivered the defensive gem of the night. With one out and the tying run barreling toward home, Faucher charged a grounder near the third-base line, gloved it on the run, leapt, and fired an off-balance strike to catcher Agustín Ramírez, who tagged out Walker to preserve the lead.

“Calvin tells us all the time how phenomenal of an athlete he is,” McCullough joked. “And he got to put that on display tonight.”

Though the series didn’t go their way, the Marlins salvaged momentum heading into a demanding 11-game road trip against the Braves, Guardians, and Red Sox. The upcoming series in Atlanta includes a Saturday doubleheader, with projected starters Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera, Sandy Alcantara, and Cal Quantrill all lined up.

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