![\"Miami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIA_MarlGame8-12084.JPG\" "\\"Miami")
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Miami Marlins right fielder Esteury Ruiz (3) reacts to hitting a home run during the third inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla.<\/p>\n
Alie Skowronski<\/p>\n
askowronski@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Eury Perez did the work on the mound.<\/p>\n
Esteury Ruiz backed him up with his bat and legs.<\/p>\n
Together, the duo of Perez and Ruiz was more than enough to lead the Miami Marlins to a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and ace Paul Skenes on Tuesday to begin a three-game series at loanDepot park. It was the Marlins\u2019 12th shutout win of the season, tied with the New York Yankees for third-most in MLB behind only the Philadelphia Phillies (15) and Detroit Tigers (13).<\/p>\n
The Marlins improved to 61-59 as they attempt to stay in the race for a playoff spot. Pittsburgh falls to 58-63.<\/p>\n
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Miami Marlins pitcher Eury P\u00e9rez (39) reacts to striking someone out during the second inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
Perez tossed seven shutout innings, marking the fourth time this season he has made it through seven frames. The 6-8 righty held the Pirates to three hits and two walks while striking out seven. He did not allow a runner to get past first base.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe cruised right along in this one,\u201d Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said.<\/p>\n
Since returning from the injured list on June 24, Perez has posted a 2.00 ERA (12 earned runs over 54 innings) with 56 strikeouts across nine starts. And this comes as Perez enters uncharted territory. Even after missing a month with a leg injury, Perez has already eclipsed his single-season career-highs for starts (21) and innings pitched (116 2\/3).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a process of a lot of work that we\u2019ve been doing,\u201d Perez said. \u201cWorking on that attack, and it\u2019s just about just continuing to to doing the little things. … [I\u2019m] trying to go out there and have a lot of confidence in every single pitch that I throw, and just do a good job. Just go out there with a big smile on my face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Petersen worked around a single to toss a scoreless eighth before Pete Fairbanks then threw a shutout ninth to seal the win and pick up his 18th save of the season.<\/p>\n
Ruiz, meanwhile, hit a solo home run off Skenes, who won the National League Cy Young Award last season and was a preseason favorite to win the award again this season but hasn\u2019t lived up to those expectations, and scored a second run while utilizing his speed on the basepaths.<\/p>\n
The home run \u2014 a no-doubter to left field on an elevated 95.5 mph Skenes fastball in the third inning \u2014 was Ruiz\u2019s sixth of the season, a new career-high. It was also the first Skenes has given up in his MLB career against a hitter in the No. 9 spot of the lineup. Ruiz then doubled Miami\u2019s lead in the fifth after he was hit by a pitch, stole second (his 28th stolen base of the season) and scored on an Xavier Edwards infield single coupled with a Jacob Gonzalez throwing error.<\/p>\n
On the season, Ruiz is hitting .266 with a .887 on-base-plus slugging mark across 157 plate appearances. Half of his 34 hits have gone for extra bases: six home runs, 10 doubles and one triple.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been a real spark for us in a lot of ways,\u201d McCullough said. \u201cHe jumped on a first pitch for a homer, and then you know gets hit by the pitch, and I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s anybody better to delay steal than him. The number of times he\u2019s done it this year \u2014 it\u2019s not a secret anymore; I\u2019m sure people talk about it, but still how well he can execute that to get on there and create a run for us in a game that you figure was going to be low scoring and was going to be tight. I think those are just little things that he\u2019s done for our offense all season long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skenes was finished after that inning despite only throwing 65 pitches. It marked the seventh time in his past nine starts he failed to get through at least six innings.<\/p>\n
This story was originally published August 11, 2026 at 8:58 PM.<\/p>\n