Junior Caminero homers for 10th time in 10 games

Sanoja’s fourth homer was hit 377 feet off Zac Thornton in the second. He’s batting .267/.306/.401 in 295 plate appearances in his utility role. It’d be better for the Marlins if he wasn’t starting quite this much versus righties — he’s come in at .242/.283/.344 against them — but at least he does add value with the glove wherever he’s playing. He started in right and later moved to third today.

Both runs came on Tyrone Taylor’s homer in the second. Phillips went out to start the sixth, but he was pulled after Bo Bichette’s leadoff single. John King replaced him and got a popup and a double play to end the inning. The win was just Phillips’ third in 12 starts and 16 relief appearances, though he has a nice 3.53 ERA. He would have been a candidate to return to the pen soon if the Marlins were buying at the deadline, but since that seems off the table, he’ll probably remain a starter and face the Angels next weekend.

There aren’t many three-inning saves in four-run games, and it was particularly surprising to see Bachar left in that long on one day of rest after pitching Thursday, but he had an easy time in retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced. It’s his second save this year and fifth since he debuted in 2024. He has a 3.84 ERA in 58 2/3 innings this season.

Thornton didn’t give up much hard contact today, but he did allow a two-run homer to Javier Sanoja in the second. The other runs came following an error from Francisco Lindor to start the first and a HBP to open the fourth. Thornton dropped to 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA through six starts. He’ll pitch in Pittsburgh next weekend.

Both Thomas and Falter will return to the NL East, with Falter previously pitching for the Phillies and Thomas spending time with the Nationals. Thomas is a lefty-killer who should see the bulk of his time against southpaws, but he could get some playing time against same-sided hurlers as well. Falter gives Atlanta an arm capable of going multiple innings, but hasn’t had much success in his previous two campaigns due to injuries and ineffectiveness when healthy enough to pitch.

Since giving up 13 earned runs over 12 1/3 innings in his first three starts of July, Rasmussen has rebounded in a big way, throwing 13 scoreless innings with 19 strikeouts in his last two starts. Both of those turned into 1-0 wins for the Rays. This makes him 10-5 with a 2.91 ERA through 21 starts. He’ll need Cam Schlittler and Dylan Cease to falter some, but he’s still very much in the AL Cy Young mix at this point. A date with the Mariners in Seattle is in store next.

Baker’s velocity was off significantly for a second straight appearance — both his three fastballs and three changeups were down 2.5 mph from his season average — but then, it was only six pitches and he was working for the third time in four days. It was his 12th straight scoreless appearance. He’s allowed one run and seven hits in 19 innings since the beginning of June.

Schultz came into a scoreless game after Jordan Hicks pitched the first and gave up a lone run on a single, a steal and another single in the fifth. It was one of his best outings to date, but it didn’t stop him from dropping to 3-8 in 14 outings. Still, it’s really encouraging that he went without a walk for the third time in four starts. He’s walked just two in his last four appearances after issuing 29 free passes over 48 innings in his first 10. He’ll likely face the Guardians on Friday.