{"id":238389,"date":"2026-04-20T01:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T01:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/238389\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T01:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T01:59:07","slug":"kyle-stowers-returns-to-boost-miami-marlins-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/238389\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Stowers returns to boost Miami Marlins lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kyle Stowers\u2019 return to the Miami Marlins\u2019 lineup Sunday meant more than just a key bat becoming available.<\/p>\n

After opening the season on the injured list with a right hamstring strain, the 2025 All-Star returned at a moment when Miami could use both his production and his presence. Manager Clayton McCullough said before game two of the series that Stowers \u201cis certainly a huge part offensively of what we can do,\u201d adding that his return helps \u201clengthen out the lineup\u201d because of the power and on-base ability he showed last season.<\/p>\n

McCullough also pointed to what Stowers brings beyond the boxscore.<\/p>\n

\u201cKyle\u2019s a really steady teammate,\u201d McCullough said. \u201cA lot of guys lean on him. He\u2019s not usually too up and down. I think he handles things in stride very well\u2026 He\u2019s been knocked down a lot, but he keeps getting up. So, Kyle brings a lot on both fronts, on the field and behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCullough\u2019s day ended early Sunday when he was ejected in the top of the second inning after arguing with first base umpire Cory Blaser over a balk call on first baseman Connor Norby during a pickoff attempt.<\/p>\n

For Stowers, the return is also personal. He said the rehab process taught him something new about himself, especially because the hamstring injury was something he had never dealt with before.<\/p>\n

\u201cBattling injuries in this game is part of it, but it\u2019s definitely a challenge,\u201d Stowers said. \u201cIt\u2019s a different challenge than on-field performance, good or bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stowers said the process of returning to play is still teaching him things.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m still kind of in the process of learning more about myself through this process,\u201d Stowers said. \u201cDefinitely doesn\u2019t feel like I\u2019m a finished product from it and just still, constantly learning about how can I just get ready to play? How can I be at my best every single day with whatever the circumstances are going into that day?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stowers also said he believes the Marlins are closer than their recent results suggest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like we\u2019re not far off,\u201d Stowers said. \u201cI think it\u2019s just mistakes that I think will be cleaned up.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Stowers is simply ready to get going again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, just excited to be back with the guys,\u201d Stowers said. \u201cI\u2019m just excited to kind of get into the rhythm of the season. You know, ready to get things kicked off and, you know, it feels like maybe a slightly bigger day for me, but, just one game of what I think is 141 left. So, I\u2019m ready to just get in the swing of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday, he did exactly that.<\/p>\n

Back in left field and batting in the cleanup spot for the first time this season, Stowers went 2 for 3 with a double and a hit-by-pitch as the Marlins (10-12) beat the Milwaukee Brewers (12-9) 5-3 at loanDepot Park to avoid a sweep. More importantly for Miami, his return came in a game where 23-year-old right-hander Eury P\u00e9rez gave the club the kind of aggressive, controlled start it had been missing.<\/p>\n

After the Marlins issued 17 walks and allowed five stolen bases during the first two games of the series, P\u00e9rez gave them something much cleaner. He navigated through six innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run, while striking out seven Brewers and surrendering just a single walk. McCullough called him \u201cfantastic\u201d afterward and pointed to the way he attacked hitters from the start.<\/p>\n

It was also not by accident.<\/p>\n

A day earlier, Sandy Alcantara had offered his own scouting report on Milwaukee and his advice for P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey like to run, they like to swing the bat early,\u201d Alcantara said Saturday night. \u201cHe just needs to be more aggressive tomorrow, attacking the first pitch for a strike, and try to not throw too many pitches each inning.\u201d<\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez said that message carried directly into Sunday\u2019s outing.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of good words of advice from Sandy, the way he was pitching out there,\u201d P\u00e9rez said. \u201cSo we practiced that in the bullpen, and we took it to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bond between P\u00e9rez and Alcantara goes beyond the dugout. P\u00e9rez recently became a father and said Alcantara is the godfather of his child, a reflection of how much he values the veteran\u2019s guidance.<\/p>\n

He later expanded on what Alcantara had stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me that just to work a lot with the inside pitches,\u201d P\u00e9rez said, \u201cnot only with lefties but also with righties, because the ball when I throw tends to run a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez looked in control almost immediately, striking out Garrett Mitchell to begin the game and punching out five through his first three innings. By the time Milwaukee finally got on the board in the sixth, Miami had already built the cushion it needed.<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s momentum started in the first, and fittingly, Stowers helped create it before he even recorded an official at-bat.<\/p>\n

When his name was announced before his first plate appearance, the crowd gave him a noticeably loud ovation. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Stowers battled through a seven-pitch at-bat against Jacob Misiorowski. A curveball in the dirt skipped away from catcher Gary S\u00e1nchez and allowed Jakob Marsee to score from third for the game\u2019s first run. On the next pitch, the ballpark held its breath as a 101.5 mph fastball drilled Stowers on the hand.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for the Marlins, he stayed in the game. When asked afterward about what it was like being thrust into such a high-intensity, high-leverage spot in his first at-bat back, Stowers kept it simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have no choice but to be present,\u201d Stowers said afterward. \u201cIt\u2019s the only way that you\u2019re going to have a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miami pushed across two more runs in the inning, then watched P\u00e9rez settle into a rhythm. He stranded Brandon Lockridge at third in the fifth, finishing the threat with his seventh strikeout on a 98 mph fastball. At one point, P\u00e9rez said, the fastball simply became too good to move away from.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the fastball is the best pitch in my arsenal,\u201d P\u00e9rez said. \u201cSo we ended up using it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Marlins tacked on to their lead in the sixth. Liam Hicks walked, Owen Caissie doubled and Javier Sanoja, pinch-hitting for Graham Pauley, shot a two-run single back up the middle to stretch the lead to 5-1.<\/p>\n

Stowers, meanwhile, found his first hit of 2026 in the fifth with a stand-up double down the right-field line, then added a leadoff single in the seventh. McCullough thought the quality of his at-bats mattered just as much as the results.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor him to go out there and collect a couple hits was huge,\u201d McCullough said. \u201cThe swings looked very aggressive. He looked balanced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milwaukee made things uncomfortable late. Marlins reliever Andrew Nardi walked two batters in the eighth, and Gary S\u00e1nchez laced a two-run single up the middle to cut the lead to 5-3.<\/p>\n

Calvin Faucher relieved Nardi and escaped the jam by getting William Contreras to line out to left. Pete Fairbanks then shut the door in the ninth, striking out two Milwaukee batters on six pitches before Blake Perkins grounded out to second as fans rose to their feet and erupted when the final out settled into Connor Norby\u2019s glove.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

John Devine has worked with the Miami Herald since 1996. He has worked as a Broward sports editor, Broward news editor, assistant sports editor and deputy sports editor before he became executive sports editor in 2021.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyle Stowers\u2019 return to the Miami Marlins\u2019 lineup Sunday meant more than just a key bat becoming available.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-238389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}