Kyle Stowers went 4-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored Friday night, and the Miami Marlins beat the Athletics 12-5 in Sacramento behind five home runs and a six-run first inning. The Athletics chipped the lead down to 7-5 by the fourth before Miami pulled away with four runs over the final two innings.
Stowers came into the night hitting .243, a quieter follow-up to his All-Star 2025 than Miami hoped for. Games like this one are the reminder of what the ceiling looks like: two homers, a season total now at 10, and his second four-hit game of the year. The power has never been the question with Stowers — consistency has — and a night this loud tends to precede a warm stretch.
The rest of the lineup did plenty. Heriberto Hernández hit a three-run homer among his two hits, and Jakob Marsee and Owen Caissie both went deep as well. That is three homers from hitters 26 or younger, which is the detail worth keeping. Miami’s offense is not built on veterans having career years; it is young hitters arriving on schedule, more or less together.
The pitching was messier. Starter Tyler Phillips lasted just 3.1 innings and gave up five runs, but Lake Bachar earned the win with two hitless innings, and the bullpen kept the Athletics off the board over the final 5.2 frames.
The bigger picture keeps improving. The Marlins are 47-42 after a 20-6 June, and they sit one game back of the National League’s final wild-card spot. A franchise that spent recent deadlines as a seller now has a July decision worth taking seriously — the roster is young, the rotation gets Eury Pérez back soon, and nights like Friday suggest the lineup is closer than the batting averages say.
The series in Sacramento continues Saturday.
