The Miami Marlins and manager Clayton McCullough dropped the opening game of their road series on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 in a close game where the Fish's rally fell short. But there was a silver lining to the loss.
Veteran starting pitcher Janson Junk was steady on the mound and showed the Marlins staff that he keeps on improving with each outing every fifth day on the rubber. Junk completed five innings giving up two runs on eight hits while walking two batters and striking out two.
The Marlins had a chance to tie the game up in the ninth inning and get Junk off the hook but ultimately fell short. But Junk has improved in his last few starts and if he finds consistency till the end of the season, it should help take pressure off of Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez among others.
Aug 14, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the second inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Every Marlins fan knows that when they think of their ace and top guy in their starting rotation, it is none other than Alcantara. And then when they think of guys that are right behind him, they think of Perez and Max Meyer .
But Meyer has been out hurt with an injury for a little bit now and Perez has become the 1B of the rotation for the Fish for quite a while. But enter Junk, back to the rotation, who has had an up-and-down year.
Junk has not given up more than two runs in a start of his since July 20 when he gave up six to the Houston Astros . Junk has gone five straight starts of giving up two runs or less and that is huge for McCullough's starting rotation and hoy injury prone the rotation has been.
Junk is trying to show the Miami staff that he can really be something in the starting rotation and against the opponents he has been consistent versus, is opening eyes. He has faced the Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates , the Atlanta Braves , the New York Mets , and the San Diego Padres in his last five games.
Most of those teams that Junk has recently pitched against are playoff teams or teams that are right on the edge of the postseason pitcher. Junk is showing the Marlins staff that he has the stuff and has what it takes to get outs against good teams and that goes a long way towards the end of the season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/marlins/onsi as Janson Junk Shows Improvement in Marlins Loss to Phillies .
