Marlins Lose to Twins Amidst Controversial Umpire Call

---

MIAMI, FL – The Miami Marlins entered today’s contest looking to tie their franchise record of nine consecutive wins. On the other hand, the Minnesota Twins had a different plan after dropping yesterday’s game 2-0. The Twins freeloaded on base hits and took advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position. Janson Junk bounced back from his last outing, where he allowed five earned runs, but the Marlins couldn’t give him enough run support. The Marlins lost to the Twins tonight amidst a controversial umpire call in the middle of the game.

Kyle Stowers extends hitting streak

Kyle Stowers has continued to excel at putting the ball in play and getting on base over the past week and a half. He extended his hitting streak to nine games and his on-base streak to 11 games.

His home run today was his second in consecutive games.

Kyle Stowers homers for the second consecutive game, his 15th of the season to put the #Marlins on the board pic.twitter.com/yV4hwsVL9e

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 2, 2025

There’s no doubt he’s making a resurgence in his case to make the All-Star Game roster in Atlanta. Since his hitting streak started on June 22nd, Stowers has been on a tear.

Kyle Stowers is now on a nine-game hitting streak

Since June 22:
.414 (12-for-29), 8 R, 4 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 1.069 SLG#Marlins

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 2, 2025

Junk rebounds from previous start

After having his shortest outing of the season in San Francisco last week, Janson Junk was poised to follow up with a candid start. Junk responded with his best outing in a Marlins uniform.

Janson Junk struck out a career-high of seven batters. He displayed a good pitch arsenal, striking out four on the four-seamer, two on the slider, and one on the curveball.

Even when the Twins were able to get hits, Junk always found a way to get out of a jam.

After issuing singles to Byron Buxton and Willi Castro at the beginning of the game, he surrendered a sacrifice fly to Brooks Lee. He was able to get Carlos Correa out via the strikeout on off-speed pitches.

In the fourth inning, Castro doubled, and then Lee and Correa each hit singles. Janson Junk was then able to fool Matt Wallner on the heater and then get Ryan Jeffers to ground out into a double play.

Today was a terrific rebound for Janson Junk to say the least

6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K#Marlins pic.twitter.com/qz2WgMqiD4

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 3, 2025

Overall, this is a positive sign to see Janson Junk pitch the way he did tonight. Despite him still getting the loss, expect Clayton McCullough to confidently keep him in the starting rotation.

Bad news bears

The Marlins found themselves as victims of the bad news bears in the bottom of the sixth inning, quite literally. With Jesus Sanchez on second and two outs, Kyle Stowers ripped through a single that would’ve been an easy RBI for him. Unfortunately, the ball ended up hitting the umpire in the infield and was ruled as interference. As a result, Stowers was awarded the hit, but Sanchez was to remain at second base. The crowd at Loan Depot Park reacted negatively with boos.

Kyle Stowers continues to be red hot

However, what could've been the tying run for the #Marlins, gets sent back to third on a questionable umpire interference call pic.twitter.com/woQcp9n42I

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 3, 2025

If that wasn’t enough, there was another play that didn’t go the Marlins’ way.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Xavier Edwards got a base hit. Connor Norby, who was running from second base, got the green light to score the tying run. However, the throw from left field arrived at home plate first, and he was tagged out. Norby never touched home plate, but the Marlins challenged the play due to interference. The Replay Command Center in New York upheld the call.

Another sequence of a play not going the #Marlins way

Xavier Edwards hit a single while Connor Norby got the green light to home. He was ruled out. Miami challenged for interference but lost. pic.twitter.com/vDcvDAf0Kj

— Ricardo Urrusuno (@RickScores) July 3, 2025

The Marlins finished the game, leaving too many runners on base. They did go 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position but left eight runners on the basepaths.

Series finale

Tomorrow’s afternoon game at 12:10 pm will feature two struggling starters looking to get back in form. For the Twins, it’s David Festa (2-2, 5.40 ERA, 38 K), and for the Marlins, Eury Perez (0-2, 6.19 ERA, 14 K) will take the mound.

About Post Author