Kyle Stowers Hits Walk-Off Homer in Marlins Win

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MIAMI, FL – Fresh off four days of rest, the Marlins‘ objective for their next batch of games is simple. Just keep playing baseball the way they’ve been doing so, and the rest will pan out. Today, they quickly jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the 3rd inning. The Royals did have their moment of fortune in the 4th, scoring four runs. Both teams had a similar type of game, and it went into extras. Once again, it was Kyle Stowers who came through for the Marlins, hitting a walk-off homer in an 8-7 win in the 10th.

Jesus Sanchez

Sanchez has quietly been racking up the hits throughout July. Coming into tonight’s game, the 27-year-old was hitting .341 during the month. After seeing two sinkers well outside of the plate, Jesus Sanchez smacked the next one he saw for a solo shot in the 1st inning. He knew what he wanted and delivered a 431-foot home run with an exit velocity of 110.2 mph.

Jesus Sanchez's eighth home run of the season went quite the distance, traveling 431 feet#Marlins pic.twitter.com/7INysWijeO

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 18, 2025

Fresh Off the All-Star Game

Kyle Stowers wasted no time in his first game back from the All-Star game.

The lefty connected on a two-run home run in the first inning. Down in a 3-1 count against Seth Lugo, Stowers found the pitch he was looking for. A changeup thrown in the lower part of the strike zone ended up traveling to the seats in right center field.

With his two-run home run, Kyle Stowers is now hitting .295 with 20 home runs and 56 RBI#Marlins pic.twitter.com/SNsrulYKk4

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 18, 2025

Stowers didn’t finish there. He hit a blooper into left field, which appeared to get the best of three Royals defenders. No one seemed to call for the ball, resulting in Otto Lopez scoring.

Kyle Stowers singles for his third RBI of the game#Marlins lead 5-0 pic.twitter.com/WpFB1ShNO3

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 19, 2025

Otto Lopez Nearly Goes Yard

Lopez’s double in the bottom of the 3rd inning was just short of being a home run itself. With Xavier Edwards at third base, Otto Lopez aggressively swung at an 83-mph slider high in the zone, and it paid dividends.

Otto Lopez came close to homering in his at-bat, getting a double instead. Xavier Edwards scores.#Marlins pic.twitter.com/E7ZGKjdF9S

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 19, 2025

Following his hot streak of hitting in June, Lopez had cooled off tremendously in July. Hitting just .186 in the month, the Dominican Canadian did look to be more patient in his next couple of at-bats.

Sandy Alcantara Settles For No Decision

Alcantara, who’s been having an up-and-down season, had a decent outing for the most part.

His previous starts weren’t as productive, but he had success getting opponents to ground out. Sandy Alcantara got the Royals to ground out ten times when he was on the mound.

Alcantara relied on the four-seamer, with it accounting for 31% of his pitches. He recorded both of his strikeouts via the slider and sinker. These pitches were also heavily utilized, 26% and 23% respectively.

For the eighth consecutive start, he held his opponents to two walks or fewer. This start was one of Alcantara’s more accurate starts. He threw strikes on 68% of his pitches (66 strikes on 97 pitches).

His 4th inning started to turn into rock bottom quickly. Having already given up three singles and a run, things took a turn for the worse when John Rave went yard for a three-run home run. It was the first of his MLB career.

Regardless, Sandy Alcantara shook that inning off and was able to deliver two scoreless innings.

Sandy Alcantara held his opponents to ten groundouts in tonight's outing

6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 97 NR#Marlins pic.twitter.com/lSElwmm2LY

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 19, 2025

Friday Night Lights

The Royals got their first crack in the 10th inning. They were already threatening to score once they had Jonathan India at 3rd and Bobby Witt Jr. at 2nd. Lake Bachar appeared to have things under control once he got Vinnie Pasquantino to pop up and Maikel Garcia to strike out. Well, Adam Frazier stepped up to the plate and said “not so fast.” He hit a towering double to right field, driving in both India and Witt Jr.

Just like that, the Marlins found themselves down in a 7-5 hole. Would their magic come through once again in the 10th inning?

Derek Hill was their automatic runner at second. With his speed, he was able to score on Agustin Ramirez’s line drive. It was now a 7-6 ballgame.

Then came Kyle Stowers. It’s moments like these when you feel something positive is bound to happen. In just one-half of a season, Stowers has become that guy you can count on to impact the game. First pitch, a 96 mph four-seam fastball was just short of the strike zone for ball one. Second pitch, he fouled off a 96.7 four-seamer. Third pitch, he hit a high drive in the air to deep right field for the walk-off winner. Pure cinema.

he’s done miracles on me pic.twitter.com/6nBiv59lNK

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) July 19, 2025

This was his second walk-off home run and third walk-off hit of the season. Also, he tied two club records with having a hit in his last eight at-bats (4 1B and 4 HR) and reaching base safely in 10-straight plate appearances (4 1B, 4 HR, 1 BB, 1 HBP)

Stowers made Marlins history, becoming the first player to hit five home runs in a span of two games. The Marlins are now 30-20 in their last 50 games.

The entire post-game press conference for Kyle Stowers @LemonCityLive #Marlins pic.twitter.com/5YQ83o31WJ

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 19, 2025

On deck

Tomorrow’s game between the Marlins and the Kansas City Royals will feature two starters looking to get back in form. Michael Wacha (4-9, 3.74 ERA, 84 K) takes the hill for the Royals while Cal Quantrill (3-8, 5.62 ERA, 67K) will be on the mound for Miami. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

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