Marlins Punch First: Miami Tops Braves 10-4 as NL East’s Two Most International Rosters Collide

The Miami Marlins didn’t ease into their biggest series of the young season. They made a statement.

Behind a three-run home run from Agustín Ramírez and a three-hit, three-RBI night from Liam Hicks, Miami beat the Atlanta Braves 10-4 on Monday night at Truist Park in front of 22,912 fans. The win pulled the Marlins to 9-8 and within a single game of first place in the NL East. It also drew a line under something that had been building all season: the two best teams in the division are also the two most internationally diverse rosters in the National League.

They just happen to be the Marlins and the Braves.

Ramírez Breaks It Open

The game turned in the top of the fifth. Miami had built a 3-0 lead in the fourth — a Hicks sacrifice fly, an Otto Lopez RBI single, a Connor Norby RBI knock — only to watch Atlanta answer with three in the bottom half, capped by a Dominic Smith sacrifice fly that tied it at 3.

Grant Holmes came out for the fifth and was pulled after five pitches. Aaron Bummer entered. Graham Pauley singled. Xavier Edwards singled. And Agustín Ramírez turned on a 1-2 fastball and drove it 418 feet to left-center field.

It was Ramírez’s first home run of 2026. It was the loudest swing of his young career. Three runs scored. The Braves never led again.

Connor Norby added a solo home run off Rolddy Muñoz to lead off the sixth. By the time Miami’s dugout had settled back down, it was 7-4, and the series opener against the division leader was effectively over.

The Quiet MVP: Liam Hicks

While Ramírez delivered the headline swing, Hicks controlled the game.

The 27-year-old Canadian catcher finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs — a sacrifice fly in the fourth, an RBI single in the sixth, and another RBI single in the eighth. He also stole a base in the fifth inning, his first steal of the season. In a lineup that had leaned on Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez through the first three weeks, Hicks was the stabilizing force Monday night. He kept innings alive. He turned over the lineup. He took the pressure off the hitters behind him.

Hicks now has 16 RBI on the season. He is quietly hitting .319 with a .902 OPS. If Caissie is the story of Canada’s impact on the 2026 Marlins, Hicks is the engine.

Eury Pérez Grinds Through

Eury Pérez did not dominate Monday. He gave Miami four innings, seven hits, four runs (three earned), two walks, two strikeouts. His fastball touched 99 mph. He struck out Ronald Acuña Jr. swinging in the first. He also loaded the bases, gave up three runs in the bottom of the fourth, and watched his pitch count climb into the 70s before he could escape the inning.

But he gave his team a chance. By the time he exited after four, the game was 3-3 — not 7-0 the other way. That’s the 2026 Eury Pérez story so far: stuff for days, command still catching up, outings that look worse on paper than they played on the field. Andrew Nardi earned the win out of the bullpen with a scoreless fifth. Lake Bachar threw two scoreless with four strikeouts to lock it down.

Defense Sets the Tone

One play, third inning, bottom of the inning, no outs. Dominic Smith doubled. Michael Harris II walked. First and second, nobody out, Braves down 0-0 but with the middle of their order coming up.

Mauricio Dubón popped out in foul territory. Then Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a fly ball to center field. Jakob Marsee caught it. And threw a strike to Otto Lopez, who relayed to Graham Pauley at third base in time to double off Smith.

Inning over. Rally killed. The Braves’ best chance of the early innings, gone in one sequence of execution from three Marlins defenders — Marsee, Lopez, Pauley — who had combined, entering the game, for one highlight-reel defensive play in 16 games.

The Marlins also turned a 6-4-3 double play in the second, caught Hicks stealing, and committed zero errors. For a team that entered the game with 15 errors in 16 games — the most in MLB — Monday was a clean night.

The International Frame

Miami’s 10 runs broke down by country of origin like this:

• Agustín Ramírez 🇩🇴 — 4 RBI
• Liam Hicks 🇨🇦 — 3 RBI
• Connor Norby 🇺🇸 — 2 RBI (solo HR, RBI single)
• Otto Lopez 🇩🇴 — 1 RBI

Eight of 10 runs driven in by international players. Xavier Edwards (Mexico, dual) scored twice. Heriberto Hernández (Dominican Republic) stole his third base of the season. Eury Pérez (Dominican Republic) kept Miami in the game until the bats took it over.

On the Braves’ side, the international contingent Miami faced was substantial in its own right: Ozzie Albies (Curaçao) at second base. Mauricio Dubón (Honduras) — the only Honduran currently on an MLB 40-man — at shortstop and left field. Ronald Acuña Jr. (Venezuela) in right. Rolddy Muñoz (Dominican Republic) and José Suarez (Venezuela) out of the bullpen.

Ten international players touched the field at Truist Park on Monday night. Two Canadians, six Dominicans, two Venezuelans, one Curaçaoan, one Honduran, one dual-citizen Mexican. This is what NL East baseball looks like in 2026. This is the frame WBN has been covering since spring training. Monday night was what it looks like when both teams show up at full volume.

What It Means

The Marlins have taken the first game of a two-game set against the division leader, on the road, with their No. 2 starter grinding through four innings and their offense accounting for 16 hits. They’ve flipped the series before it was really a series. They’ve closed the gap in the NL East from two games to one.

For Atlanta, the loss reinforces an early-season pattern of extremes — blowout wins sandwiched between flat nights. For Miami, it reinforces something else entirely: this team belongs in the race.

Tuesday night, Max Meyer faces Reynaldo López — the Dominican right-hander whose 1.15 ERA has him at the front of every early Cy Young conversation in the National League. The series isn’t over. The message, after Monday, is clear.

International Player of the Game

🇩🇴 Agustín Ramírez — 3-for-4, HR, 4 RBI. The 24-year-old Dominican catcher’s first home run of 2026 broke the game open. The swing of the night, against an Atlanta bullpen that had stabilized the game. First breakout moment of a young career.

Up Next

Max Meyer (1-0, 3.68) vs. Reynaldo López (1-0, 1.15) · Tuesday, April 14, 7:15 PM ET · Truist Park, Atlanta. TV: Marlins.TV, BravesVision, Gray TV. Radio: WQAM 560, WAQI 710 (Spanish).

Miami Files #019 · World Baseball Network · Baseball Without Borders