Stowers Goes Fireworks on the Fourth, Marlins Torch Athletics 12-5

Kyle Stowers went 4-for-5 with 2 home runs, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored as Miami dismantled the Athletics 12-5 on July 4th. The Marlins sent seven runs across in the first inning alone and never looked back, even when Oakland briefly made things interesting.

Miami wasted no time turning this into a blowout. The first inning was a disaster for the Athletics — a walk scored Hicks to make it 1-0, then a passed ball by Langeliers pushed it to 2-0. Before the inning was over, Hernández launched a 414-foot homer to center that scored two more, and Marsee added a 381-foot shot to right to cap a six-run frame. Edwards tacked on a sacrifice fly in the second to push it to 7-0, and it looked like the game was already over.

It wasn't — at least for a moment. Kurtz hit a 457-foot bomb to center in the third to get Oakland on the board, and then the fourth inning brought the game's biggest momentum shift. McNeil doubled to center, scoring Bolte, Kuroda-Grauer, and Cortes all at once to make it 7-5. That play swung the home win probability from 19% to 36% — the closest the Athletics would get all night. It looked like a genuine rally was brewing, and the Marlins' early cushion had been cut nearly in half.

Stowers personally ended any suspense. He homered to right in the sixth — 368 feet — to push it back to 8-5, then came back in the eighth with a 388-foot shot to right center that scored Hicks and made it 10-5. Caissie put the finishing touches on it in the ninth with a 390-foot homer to left that scored Ruiz for the final 12-5 margin. Four different Marlins went deep on the night, and the pitching staff held Oakland scoreless after the fourth inning. The story of the night was a Miami lineup that appears to be hitting its stride at exactly the right time — the Marlins cracked the ESPN Power Rankings top 10 this week, and performances like this one explain why.