MIAMI — The biggest game of the Miami Marlins 2026 season starts at 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday at loanDepot park. Robby Snelling, the No. 26 prospect in baseball per Baseball America, makes his Major League debut. Joe Mack, the rookie catcher who scored the winning run on a Coby Mayo throwing error in the bottom of the ninth Thursday night, will be the one calling the pitches. The lineup behind them — Otto Lopez (.340, 10-game hit streak), Liam Hicks (the new MLB RBI leader at 34), Xavier Edwards (.328) — has not stopped producing. The team is 17-21, four games out of the third Wild Card spot, on a one-game winning streak after a four-game losing streak that included three losses to a Phillies team they have to bury before the trade deadline and two losses to a Baltimore Orioles club that walked into Miami losing five in a row. The Marlins are tinkering, not surrendering. Tonight is the proof.
Miami Marlins’ Joe Mack (80) and Otto Lopez (6) celebrate after defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the ninth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
The Series, At A Glance
Three games. Three pitching matchups. Three story angles.
- Friday May 8 · 7:10 PM ET · Robby Snelling (MLB debut) vs. Foster Griffin (3-1, 2.27 ERA). Nurse Appreciation Night.
- Saturday May 9 · 4:10 PM ET · Janson Junk (2-3, 2.82 ERA) vs. Cade Cavalli (1-2, 4.15 ERA). Barbie Night and Breast Cancer Awareness Night.
- Sunday May 10 · 12:15 PM ET · Sandy Alcántara (3-2, 4.01 ERA) vs. starter TBD. Mother’s Day Clutch giveaway, first 5,000 moms.
Mother’s Day Sunday with Sandy on the mound is its own column. We will get to that.
Tonight: Robby Snelling’s MLB Debut
Snelling is a 22-year-old left-hander, 6-foot-3, drafted by the San Diego Padres with the 39th overall pick in 2022 out of McQueen High School in Reno, Nevada. He came to Miami in last July’s Tanner Scott trade — the four-player package that sent Miami’s closer to the Padres in exchange for prospect depth that the Marlins have been letting cook in Triple-A Jacksonville ever since. The 2026 line at AAA is the line that earned the call: six starts, a 1.86 ERA, a 40 percent strikeout rate, a 13.6 percent walk rate, and 57 percent of batted balls kept on the ground. Baseball America’s just-released top-100 prospects update has him at No. 26 overall, his highest ranking since being drafted.
The 40-man roster spot opened Wednesday morning when the Marlins designated right-hander Chris Paddack for assignment, eating the remainder of his $4 million one-year contract. The active-roster move follows Friday before first pitch.
This is a 2025 photo of Robby Snelling of the Miami Marlins baseball team. This image reflects the Marlins active roster as of Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Joe Mack, the No. 4 prospect in the Marlins’ organization and one of the top catching prospects in baseball, will catch him. Mack debuted Monday, recorded his first MLB hit and first MLB RBI on Tuesday, scored the winning run on Coby Mayo’s throwing error Thursday, and now adds the first Major League pitch of Robby Snelling’s career to a four-day résumé. The first time in Marlins history that a top-organizational catching prospect has caught a top-organizational pitching prospect in his MLB debut is going to happen in front of what is likely to be the biggest gate of the homestand. Friday night plus Snelling debut plus a one-game winning streak should comfortably push attendance past 15,000 — roughly triple the 6,600 and 6,607 announced gates for Sandy Alcántara and Eury Pérez earlier this week.
The opposing pitcher is Foster Griffin, a 30-year-old left-hander who has quietly put together one of the best starts to a season in the National League. Griffin is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA across seven starts. He has never faced the Marlins as a starter. The lineup walks in cold against him.
The Marsee Catch That Saved The Win
The 4-3 win Thursday night does not happen without Jakob Marsee. With the Orioles threatening in the top of the sixth and the score tied 3-3, Samuel Basallo drove a ball deep to left-center field. Marsee covered the ground at full sprint, timed the leap at the warning track, and crashed into the wall to bring the ball back. It was an inning-saving catch and likely a series-saving one. The game would have looked very different had Basallo’s drive landed.
Miami Marlins center fielder Jakob Marsee (87) catches a hit by Baltimore Orioles’ Samuel Basallo during the sixth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
This is the brand. The 2026 Marlins are going to win games this way or they are not going to win them at all. Marsee’s catch, Mack scoring on a Mayo error, Hicks’s first-inning home run that gave Miami the lead, Faucher pitching a clean ninth — this is what a $73 million payroll wins with. Spectacular defense. Pipeline catchers. International bats hitting at the top of the league leaderboard. Reliable bullpen arms making league-minimum money.
Liam Hicks Just Took The MLB RBI Lead
Liam Hicks’s first-inning home run off Cade Povich on Thursday — a 386-foot drive against a left-handed starter, his ninth of the year — moved his RBI total to 34, passing Atlanta’s Matt Olson for the Major League lead. The Marlins now have three of the top five hitters in MLB across three different offensive categories. Hicks first in RBI. Otto Lopez tied for first in hits with Ozzie Albies (47). Xavier Edwards fifth in batting average (.328) and the only National League hitter in the top five.
None of these three players makes more than the league-minimum salary of $800,000.
The Roster Moves Tell The Story
The Marlins made four roster moves Thursday. Infielder Graham Pauley was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville, hitting .173 with 19 strikeouts and hitless in his last 17 at-bats. Outfielder Heriberto Hernández was recalled — a slow start of his own (.149 in 63 ABs before his April 27 demotion), but a player who hit .266 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs in 2025. Left-hander Dax Fulton, the 6-foot-7 reliever recalled Wednesday for his MLB debut, was optioned back to Jacksonville after one game (4 IP, 2 ER, three K’s, his first big-league strikeout). Right-hander Stephen Jones got his first MLB callup.
[IN-BODY PHOTO 4: AP26127067682050 — Dax Fulton pitching his MLB debut Wednesday. Caption: “Miami Marlins pitcher Dax Fulton pitches during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)”]
The pattern is the pipeline running its course in real time. Fulton came up to give the bullpen length while Snelling’s call-up was finalized. He pitched four innings in his debut, started a heads-up double play, and got optioned a day later because the team needed the active roster spot for Hernández’s bat. Manager Clayton McCullough on Pauley: “Offensively, he just hasn’t performed as well as either side has hoped coming into this year. Certainly we still believe in Graham as a player. Felt like it was the best thing for him to go down to Jacksonville and try to get himself going a little bit.” McCullough also signaled Leo Jiménez — the 25-year-old infielder acquired from Toronto in March who has only 21 plate appearances — will get more regular looks at third base alongside Connor Norby and Javier Sanoja.
Saturday: Junk vs. Cavalli, The Swing Game
Janson Junk has been one of the Marlins’ best stories of the early season. The 30-year-old right-hander, a minor league free agent pickup in the 2024-25 offseason, is 2-3 with a 2.82 ERA across seven starts. The strikeout rate is below average (17.4 percent) and the swinging-strike rate is well below league average (8.4 percent), but the surface results have held up. Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors floated him this week as a possible deadline piece, with the caveat that any return would be considered “found money” given his minor-league origin.
Cade Cavalli is the matchup problem. The 27-year-old former first-round pick is only 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA on the season, but he is 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA across five career starts against Miami, and his last two starts vs. the Marlins (in September 2025) produced a combined 10 IP, 4 ER. Saturday is the swing game in the series. The Marlins lineup needs to hit a guy who has historically owned them.
Sunday: Sandy On Mother’s Day
Sandy Alcántara starts the series finale on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. ET. It is Mother’s Day. The Mother’s Day Clutch giveaway — first 5,000 moms — is the day’s promotion.
Sandy lost his mother, Francisca Montero, in July 2021 to lung cancer. She raised him in Azua, Dominican Republic. He has called her his “captain.” He took bereavement leave during the 2021 season after she passed. He honored her after winning the 2022 NL Cy Young Award. He writes “RIP Mom” on his gear. He is also, as it happens, the godfather of Eury Pérez’s son — a generational handoff coded into the same Marlins rotation.
[IN-BODY PHOTO 5: AP23196025248619 — Sandy Alcántara walking off the mound at Camden Yards under a rainbow, July 2023. Caption suggested: “Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcántara on the mound at Oriole Park. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)”]
Sunday is the start. Sandy has owned the Washington Nationals across his career — 4-0, 36 IP, 3.25 ERA, 23 strikeouts in five career starts. The 4.01 ERA on the season hides a 3.04 ERA before Tuesday’s seven-run blowup against Baltimore. The 97.3 mph average four-seamer is still there. The whiffs have not yet caught up to the velocity. Sunday is a chance for Sandy to give Miami a series win on Mother’s Day, in front of the biggest weekend gate of the homestand, on the day the front office published as a giveaway date because they knew families would come and the math finally agreed.
Two International Projects, Two Different Stages
This is a baseball-without-borders series on both sides of the diamond. The Marlins and Nationals walk into loanDepot park with rosters built across borders and Team USA appearances — two front offices that have spent years scouting international talent, drafting it, trading for it, and developing it. Here are the players walking onto the field this weekend.
The Nationals — Two WBC Names And A Manager Who Coached Italy
The Washington Nationals sent only two players to the 2026 World Baseball Classic — the smallest contingent of any franchise in the sport. The roster has international depth in the bullpen and the bench, but the WBC headlines come from a top prospect and a returning veteran, plus a manager whose own international résumé runs through Rome.
?? Harry Ford — Great Britain. The 23-year-old catcher from Lawrenceville, Georgia, traded to Washington from the Seattle Mariners in the offseason after being blocked by Cal Raleigh, is the No. 3 prospect in the Nationals organization. Ford represented Great Britain at the 2026 WBC for the second consecutive cycle. In 2023, at 19 years old, he led Team GB in hits, home runs, and RBI. Currently working at Triple-A Rochester and projected as the catcher of the Nationals’ future. The British baseball federation is partner with this network. We are paying attention.
Britain’s Harry Ford celebrates after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic game against Mexico, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
?? Matt Mervis — Israel. The 28-year-old left-handed-hitting first baseman, in his first season with Washington after spending part of 2025 with the Miami Marlins, made his second WBC appearance for Israel in 2026. He recorded one hit for Israel in the 2023 tournament. In 42 games for Miami last year, he hit .254 with 7 home runs and 14 RBIs. Now he plays the Marlins from the visiting clubhouse for the first time.
Israel first baseman Matt Mervis, right, is congratulated by third base coach Mark Loretta, left, after hitting a RBI double to score two runs during the sixth inning of a World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
?? Blake Butera — Italy WBC bench coach, 2023. Washington’s interim manager, the 33-year-old Butera, was the bench coach for Team Italy’s 2023 World Baseball Classic squad before taking over the Nationals job earlier this season. Italy reached the quarterfinals in 2023. Butera’s own international fingerprint is on this dugout.
Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera, left, reacts as he pulls Miles Mikolas, center, from a baseball game in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
The Nationals — Non-WBC International Depth
Beyond the two WBC participants, the Nationals’ active and 40-man rosters carry the Caribbean and Latin American depth typical of a National League team:
?? Keibert Ruiz — Venezuela. The 27-year-old switch-hitting catcher from Valencia, Carabobo, longest-tenured Nationals position player, here since the 2021 Trea Turner / Max Scherzer trade. Career .633 OPS in 21 plate appearances against Sandy Alcántara — the matchup data Sunday’s start will turn on.
Washington Nationals’ José Tena, left, lifts the bucket over Keibert Ruiz, center, after a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
?? Jorbit Vivas — Venezuela. The 25-year-old infielder from Valencia, originally signed by the Dodgers as an international amateur in 2018, came to Washington as a 40-man depth piece. Left-handed bat with positional flexibility.
Washington Nationals’ Jorbit Vivas in action during a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
?? Andrés Chaparro — Venezuela. The 27-year-old infielder/first baseman from Caracas, signed originally as an international free agent by the Yankees in 2016. Right-handed power bat.
Washington Nationals’ Andrés Chaparro reacts after hitting a two-run home run against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tanner Banks during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Clearwater. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
?? Luis Perales — Venezuela. The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher from Anaco, in his first full year on the 40-man. (Baseball Reference)
?? José Tena — Dominican Republic. The 25-year-old left-handed-hitting infielder from Sabana Iglesia, hitting .280 across 29 games this year, primarily at third base.
Washington Nationals’ José Tena celebrates his home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
?? Julian Fernández — Dominican Republic. The 30-year-old right-handed reliever from Santo Domingo, listed at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds.
Washington Nationals pitcher Julian Fernandez (65) throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
?? Orlando Ribalta — Cuba. The 28-year-old right-handed reliever from Havana, listed at 6-foot-7.
Washington Nationals pitcher Orlando Ribalta throws to the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
?? Abimelec Ortiz — Puerto Rico. The 24-year-old left-handed-hitting first baseman/outfielder from Bayamón, currently working at Triple-A Rochester.
This is a 2026 photo of Abimelec Ortiz of the Washington Nationals baseball team. This image reflects the Nationals’ active roster as of Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
?? James Wood. The 23-year-old outfielder from Olney, Maryland, was not selected for Team USA’s 2026 WBC roster but is the headline young bat in the Washington system. He has 38 games on the active roster, .261 with three home runs, bats left-handed, stands 6-foot-6. He is the player the Nationals’ next half-decade turns on.
Washington Nationals’ James Wood (29) catches a ball hit by New York Mets’ Juan Soto during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Now on the Mets
?? Cionel Pérez — Cuba. The 30-year-old left-handed reliever from Camagüey, in his ninth Major League season, who just singed a minor league deal with the struggling New York Mets.
The Marlins — Eleven Players From The 2026 World Baseball Classic
The Marlins sent eleven players to the 2026 World Baseball Classic — one of the deeper contingents in the sport and the largest in the National League East. The team that walks out of the dugout Friday night is built across borders.
?? Sandy Alcántara — Dominican Republic. The 30-year-old right-hander from Azua takes the ball Sunday. The 2022 NL Cy Young winner, the franchise’s longest-tenured pitcher, the godfather to Eury Pérez’s son, the player who carries his late mother Francisca’s memory on his gear every start. 4-0, 3.25 ERA across his career against Washington.
?? Eury Pérez — Dominican Republic. The 23-year-old right-hander from Santiago, listed at 6-foot-8, the post-Tommy John return-year project who started Wednesday and gave up the three-run Pete Alonso home run in the first inning. Did not represent the Dominican Republic at the 2026 WBC due to his return-year workload management, but his presence in the rotation is the system’s biggest international asset.
?? Otto Lopez — Panama (born), Canada (WBC). The 27-year-old shortstop from Aguadulce is tied for first in MLB in hits with 47, alongside Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies. Lopez is Panamanian-born but represented Team Canada at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, qualifying through residency. Carries a 10-game hit streak into Friday and has hit safely in 32 of Miami’s first 38 games. Batting .340.
?? Liam Hicks — Canada. The 27-year-old catcher/first baseman from Vaughan, Ontario, played for Team Canada at the 2026 WBC. He took the Major League RBI lead Thursday night with his ninth home run of the season — a 386-foot drive against Cade Povich. He is now at 34 RBI, ahead of Atlanta’s Matt Olson. Earning the league minimum of $800,000.
?? Xavier Edwards — Trinidad and Tobago. The 26-year-old infielder is fifth in MLB in batting average at .328 — the only National League hitter in the top five. Edwards has played second base, shortstop, and across the infield. Switch-hitter. Did not participate in the 2026 WBC.
?? Owen Caissie — Canada. The 24-year-old outfielder, acquired from the Chicago Cubs in the offseason for Edward Cabrera, played for Team Canada at the 2026 WBC. Just Baseball had him at No. 48 on its top prospects list. Hitting .202 across 30 games this season, but the long-term piece in the deal.
?? Yiddi Cappe — Cuba. The 22-year-old infielder, signed by the Marlins as an international amateur, represented Team Cuba at the 2026 WBC. Currently working at Triple-A Jacksonville.
?? Agustín Ramírez — Dominican Republic. The 24-year-old catcher, who played for the Dominican Republic at the 2026 WBC, was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on May 5 after a slow start to the season. The catcher carousel that brought Joe Mack up.
?? Javier Sanoja — Venezuela. The 23-year-old infielder from La Guaira, Venezuelan WBC bullpen depth in 2026, is hitting .301 across 30 games and has filled in across the infield as Miami works through the post-Pauley reshuffle.
?? Jared Serna — Mexico. The 23-year-old infielder, on the 40-man roster, played for Team Mexico at the 2026 WBC.
?? Ian Lewis — Great Britain. The 22-year-old infielder, on the 40-man roster, played for Team Great Britain at the 2026 WBC.
?? Michael Petersen — Great Britain. The 32-year-old right-handed reliever, born in the United Kingdom, played for Team GB at the 2026 WBC. Currently on the active roster.
?? Jakob Marsee — Italy. The 24-year-old center fielder, who made the spectacular leaping catch off Samuel Basallo Thursday night, played for Team Italy at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. The Marlins’ Italian flag-bearer is hitting .180 on the season but his glove is currently the only thing standing between the Marlins and a four-game losing streak. The catch was the play that saved the win.
The Marlins’ coaching staff also includes Pedro Guerrero (Dominican Republic, hitting coach), Carson Vitale (Canada, bench coach), and Tanner Garrison (Canada, bullpen catcher). The Marlins’ international identity is not aspirational. It is the active engine of the team’s offensive numbers in 2026.
One pitcher Miami unfortunately does not get to face this series: Miles Mikolas, the 37-year-old Washington veteran who has a 7.24 ERA across his last seven starts and has allowed 13 home runs in 32.1 innings. Mikolas pitched the day before the series opener, which means his next turn falls after Washington leaves Miami. The Marlins have shown the ability to hit fastball-mistake pitchers this year. They have a lineup with three top-five MLB hitters. They would have feasted. They will not get the chance this weekend.
One pitcher Miami unfortunately does not get to face this series: Miles Mikolas, the 37-year-old Washington veteran who has a 7.24 ERA across his last seven starts and has allowed 13 home runs in 32.1 innings. Mikolas pitched the day before the series opener, which means his next turn falls after Washington leaves Miami. The Marlins have shown the ability to hit fastball-mistake pitchers this year. They have a lineup with three top-five MLB hitters. They would have feasted. They will not get the chance this weekend.
What’s Actually At Stake
Miami is 17-21, four games out of the third Wild Card spot, nine games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. Atlanta is gone. The Wild Card is not. The Cincinnati Reds have lost six straight and are still only three games back of the Central Division lead at 20-17 — a measure of how loaded the Wild Card race is and how thin the gap is between the bottom of contention and the top of seller territory. The Nationals, also 4 GB of a Wild Card slot, are in exactly the same position the Marlins are. This is a four-day series between two clubs who both need to bank wins or start lining up the deadline.
The Marlins have lost 3 of 4 to the Phillies in their first head-to-head matchup of the 10 pre-deadline games against Philadelphia, the team Miami has to actually beat to climb the East. They are 12-11 at home and 8-8 against teams over .500. The on-field talent is there. The wins are not. Yet. The August 3 trade deadline is 87 days away.
How To Watch
- Friday May 8 · 7:10 PM ET · Snelling vs. Griffin · Nurse Appreciation Night
- Saturday May 9 · 4:10 PM ET · Junk vs. Cavalli · Barbie Night / Breast Cancer Awareness
- Sunday May 10 · 12:15 PM ET · Sandy vs. TBD · Mother’s Day Clutch giveaway
- TV: Marlins.TV (Miami) · Nationals.TV (Washington) · MLB.TV nationally
- Radio: WQAM 104.3 · WAQI 710 AM (Spanish) · WJFK 106.7 The Fan (Washington)
The Closing Note
This is the Miami Marlins season in three days. A pipeline arrival on Friday. A swing game on Saturday. A franchise icon on the mound on Mother’s Day on Sunday. The 73-million-dollar payroll. The international roster producing top-five offense in MLB. The pitching staff working its way through a parade of top-100 prospects. The empty seats Tuesday and Wednesday and the building that should fill up Friday and stay full through Sunday afternoon.
If the Marlins win two of three, they are right back in the conversation. If they win three of three, they are in the conversation in print. If they lose two of three, the trade deadline starts writing itself in black ink. Either way, scrappy play and guys punching above their weight is what Miami baseball is all about — and the most interesting weekend of the season is about to start at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Strap in.
— MT
