MIAMI — Kyle Stowers exited the Marlins’ 12-3 rout of the Angels at loanDepot park with left hamstring discomfort after stroking a two-run single in a six-run fifth inning, injecting uncertainty into a lineup chasing a National League Wild Card spot.
“No real update,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “We’ll send him for some further examination to try to get a better handle on the potential severity of that. But anytime you have to leave the game [limping] on your own power like that, not great. I think we’ll hold out a little bit and see what more information we can get.”
Stowers finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, racing home on a wild pitch in the first inning after a stand-up triple. He had posted an .856 OPS with 39 RBIs in 56 games since June 1 entering play. The left hamstring is the opposite side from the Grade 1 right hamstring strain that landed him on the 10-day injured list to start the season; he initially was expected to miss three to four weeks before making his season debut on April 19 after a five-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville. Leo Jiménez pinch-ran for Stowers and took over at first base.
The win itself was emphatic. Griffin Conine hit two home runs for the first multi-homer game of his MLB career, including a 434-foot blast off reliever Shaun Anderson with an exit velocity of 115 mph — the hardest-hit homer by a Marlin since Jesús Sánchez against the Reds on Aug. 5, 2024. His second homer came off catcher Tyler Heineman’s 39.6 mph fastball in the eighth. “That was the best one of my career, I think,” Conine said of the first. “It was the first pull-side barrel I’ve had in a while.”
Javier Sanoja added a two-run single in the fifth, giving him 14 RBIs with the bases loaded this season — the most by a Marlins hitter in that situation since Brian Anderson had 15 RBIs in 2019. Six players had two hits apiece and five had at least one RBI. Xavier Edwards, celebrating his 27th birthday, scored in the first inning on an errant throw following Otto Lopez’s infield single, and Owen Caissie added an RBI single to left.
“When we’re at our best, we’ve got guys that can move the ball around the field and put the ball in play,” McCullough said. “We had a lean stretch where we were uncharacteristically striking out a ton. I just don’t think we can survive over stretches where we’re punching out double-digit times in games.”
The Marlins improved to 36-24 at loanDepot park and 21-9 at home since May 22, winning eight of 10 series. They outscored the Angels 19-3 in the final two games of the set and remained three games back of an NL Wild Card spot. Starter Ryan Gusto pitched four innings, allowing two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
Miami opens a three-game series against the Pirates at home Tuesday with the first-base picture unclear. The Marlins traded their top option there, Liam Hicks, before the trade deadline. Conine is among the candidates. “I don’t know what the move will be — obviously that’s a huge blow for us,” Conine said. “I’ve played there a little bit, so I think that’s an option for sure, and I’ll be ready to get out there and fill in if I need to be while we wait for him to get back.”