The Miami Marlins rolled into Minneapolis looking like a team that’s finally starting to figure things out — and by the fourth inning Wednesday night, the Minnesota Twins were already buried under another avalanche of hits, walks, and crooked numbers.
A 9-5 final score at Target Field tells part of the story. The rest? Miami completely controlled this game for long stretches, hammering Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson early while getting another sharp outing from Max Meyer. The Marlins scored in four straight innings to open the night and never really let Minnesota breathe after that.
And once again, Liam Hicks kept doing things that suddenly don’t look fluky anymore.
The Marlins catcher drove in three more runs Wednesday, pushing his season total to an MLB-best 38 RBIs. Think about that for a second. Not “among league leaders.” Not “having a nice year.” Hicks is leading all of baseball in RBIs right now, and every game it becomes harder to ignore what’s developing here.
Miami’s offense came out aggressive from the first inning and never backed off. Leo Jiménez set the tone immediately, collecting three hits and constantly putting pressure on Minnesota’s pitching staff. Xavier Edwards followed with one of his best all-around games of the season — doubling, tripling, scoring three runs, and generally creating chaos every time he got on base.
Then came Owen Caissie’s second-inning blast.
With the Marlins already ahead 2-1, Caissie launched a two-run homer to left-center off Woods Richardson, his third home run of the season. The swing made it 4-1 and felt like the moment the game tilted completely toward Miami. Woods Richardson never recovered.
By the time the Marlins hung four more runs in the fourth inning, the Twins starter was finished after another ugly outing that has Minnesota fans running out of patience fast.
Woods Richardson dropped to 0-6 on the season after allowing eight runs — six earned — over just three-plus innings. He gave up seven hits, walked four, and looked overwhelmed by Miami’s approach all night. Over his last seven starts, his ERA has ballooned to 9.79 across 30 1/3 innings. After opening the season with a pair of solid performances, things have unraveled quickly.
The Marlins, meanwhile, are doing exactly what competent offenses are supposed to do against struggling pitching: attack mistakes and keep pressure on the defense inning after inning.
Otto Lopez and Joe Mack each added RBIs as Miami continued getting production throughout the lineup instead of relying on one or two hot bats.
While the offense grabbed the headlines, Max Meyer quietly delivered another outing that’s becoming increasingly routine for him.
The right-hander worked 5 2/3 innings, struck out nine, and improved to 3-0 on the season. Byron Buxton got him twice with first-pitch solo homers — one in the first inning and another in the third — but outside of that, Meyer kept Minnesota’s lineup mostly under control.
That strikeout total jumps off the page. Meyer’s stuff looked electric again, and he’s beginning to resemble the frontline starter Miami hoped they were developing all along.
As for Buxton, he was easily Minnesota’s biggest bright spot in an otherwise rough night. The Twins center fielder finished 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBIs, two runs scored, and a walk. His solo shots were his 14th and 15th homers of the season.
Kody Clemens added a late homer for Minnesota, while Josh Bell contributed a two-run double in the fifth inning. Bell also quietly made one of the strangest pieces of baseball history imaginable: his stolen base Wednesday was his first since September 27, 2018 — a gap of 978 games between steals, the longest such streak recorded since at least 1900 according to Elias Sports Bureau data.
The victory pushes Miami to 20-23 on the season. That’s still below .500, but the overall vibe around this club is changing. The Marlins suddenly have multiple young hitters producing, Meyer pitching like a legitimate ace, and a lineup that’s becoming much tougher to navigate top-to-bottom.
There is one major concern hanging over the roster, though.
The Marlins placed left-hander Robby Snelling on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a sprained UCL in his left elbow. That’s the kind of injury wording that immediately gets everyone’s attention. Braxton Garrett is expected to return and start Thursday’s rubber match, but Snelling’s situation could become a significant storyline moving forward depending on the severity.
The series is now tied 1-1 heading into Thursday afternoon’s finale after Minnesota won the opener 3-0 on Tuesday.
But Wednesday belonged entirely to Miami.
The bats showed up early. Meyer handled business again. Hicks kept piling up RBIs. And for another night at least, the Marlins looked a whole lot more dangerous than their record suggests.
