Marlins 2, Pirates 0: Pérez Outduels Skenes in Miami
Eury Pérez threw seven three-hit innings and Esteury Ruiz did the rest as Miami blanked Pittsburgh — and kept its wild-card pulse alive.
A pitchers' duel on paper delivered exactly that — until only one side kept pitching like it. The Miami Marlins shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 on Tuesday night, their third straight win and 12th shutout of the season.
Pérez owns the night
Eury Pérez (6-9) struck out the first three Pirates he faced and never really let go, per CBS Sports: seven innings, three hits, seven strikeouts, two walks on an even 100 pitches. Michael Petersen bridged the eighth and Pete Fairbanks worked a clean ninth for his 18th save in 21 chances.
On the other side, Paul Skenes (9-11) wasn't bad — five innings, two runs (one earned), four strikeouts on just 65 pitches — but the reigning NL Cy Young winner came in carrying a 6.26 ERA over his previous eight starts, and the Pirates' offense gave him nothing to work with. Pittsburgh managed four hits and absorbed its 12th shutout loss of the year.
Ruiz manufactures both runs
Esteury Ruiz was the entire Miami offense. His solo homer in the third — his sixth of the season — broke the deadlock, and in the fifth he was hit by a pitch, stole second and came home when shortstop Jacob Gonzalez's error on Xavier Edwards' infield single let him score.
What it means
For Miami (61-59 after the win), the timing matters more than the margin: the Marlins sit within striking distance of the final NL wild card, and a three-game winning streak right after a four-game skid keeps them in the conversation. For Pittsburgh (58-63), losers of six of seven, the frustration is sharper — a quality-enough Skenes start wasted is becoming the story of the Pirates' season.