Heriberto Hernández homers again as Marlins sweep Phillies

Hernández’ breakout season continues. He hit his 15th home run of the year, a solo shot off Zack Wheeler in the first inning. Then, in the ninth inning, he hit a game-tying two-run single of Jhoan Duran. Hernández has two home runs in his last four games. He’s hitting .245 with an .800 OPS and 41 RBI.

This man is on fire. Hernández launched his home run an estimated 423 feet with a 111 mph exit velocity and now has 14 home runs on the season. That’s tied for the team-lead and he only has a hair more than 250 plate appearances. Over his last 30 games, he has a .965 OPS and is top-five in the entire league in both barrel rate and hard-hit rate since June 1st. This strong play has forced the Marlins to push him up to the upper-third of their lineup in six straight games and he’s rewarded them with more strong play.

As the Marlins’ season falls apart, Hernández is making a name for himself. He scorched a 107 mph double in this one that nearly left the yard and chipped in another hard-hit single, but couldn’t save the Marlins from their ninth straight loss. He stole his seventh bag of the season too and is playing on a nearly 30 home run, 15 stolen pace in what’s mostly been a part-time role this season. At first he was only playing against left-handed pitchers, then began forcing his way into the lineup versus righties, and lately he’s started 11 consecutive games following an injury to Owen Caissie. In the last five, Hernández has hit in the top third of their order too.He is growing past being just a deep-league target.

Hernández got the Marlins’ first hit in the ballgame with his 380-foot (99.6-mph EV) solo shot off of Parker Messick in the sixth inning. The 26-year-old outfielder also drew a walk in the contest. He has provided solid power production for the Marlins this season, slashing .236/.318/.482 with 13 homers and 36 RBI in 220 plate appearances.

Hernández hit two home runs on Sunday and then was not in the lineup on Tuesday as the Marlins struggle to deal with their outfield surplus. Hernández has started mainly against lefties, with Griffin Conine and/or Owen Caissie heading to the bench, which makes sense because Hernández has been far better against lefties, with an .870 OPS compared to a .739 mark against righties. On Wednesday, it will be Conine on the bench despite the Marlins facing right-haner George Kirby.

Hernández gave the Marlins an early 1-0 lead with his solo shot, and then hit another one in the sixth. He also singled and drew a pair of walks, so a nifty overall day for the 26-year-old. He’s now homered 11 times in 2026, and he’s done so with a slash of .234/.314/.457. Those numbers show the flaws in Hernández’s game, but also why he has a chance to be a pretty good one over the coming campaigns.

Hernandez did his damage off of A’s right-hander Jack Perkins in the opening inning, with his 414-foot (102.0-mph EV) three-run shot giving the Marlins a 5-0 lead before an out had been recorded. The 26-year-old outfielder also singled in the ninth inning. With his two-hit attack, he’s now hitting .223/.296/.413 with nine long balls and 32 RBI on the season.

Ruiz has now been on the bench for two straight games as Heriberto Hernandez, Owen Caissie, and Jakob Marsee start in the outfield. This was always part of the risk when Griffin Conine came back from the injured list and filled the designated hitter spot. It seems like Ruiz will be limited to mostly starting against left-handed pitchers and pinch running for the time being.

It would be easy to say that it’s because the Rangers are starting a left-handed pitcher, but Tyler Alexander is just the opener for Kumar Rocker. Caissie has hit .171/.265/.439 in 15 games in Juene with three home runs and 11 RBI, but a 30.6 percent strikeout rate. With Griffin Conine returning on Sunday, the Marlins DH spot is full, so Caissie, Jakob Marsee, Heriberto Hernandez, and Esteury Ruiz will have to split time between the three outfield spots. Hernandez has a 160 wRC+ in June, and Ruiz has a 242 wRC+ in just 39 plate appearances, but has earned more time. That may mean more days off for Caissie.

Hernández drew a walk in the first inning, then highlighted a four-run fourth inning with a two-run homer off Matt Gage. The 26-year-old outfielder is hitting .233/.302/.404 with seven homers, 15 runs scored, and 28 RBI across 162 plate appearances. Hernández is getting more regular playing time, starting in seven of the team’s last eight games.