The Toronto Blue Jays ended their road trip the same way they started it: frustrated by a young ace. After being stifled by Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh, they ran into another generational talent Sunday afternoon at loanDepot Park, when Eury Pérez overpowered their lineup in the Marlins’ 5-3 win.
The 22-year-old right-hander delivered six innings of two-run ball, striking out four and allowing just three hits to outduel Toronto’s Kevin Gausman. It was his third win in five August starts, and he exited to a standing ovation from the Miami crowd. “He’s good,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “You look back at the road trip, two of the three losses are against him and Skenes. He’s got 100 with good movement, and it’s tough to gear up for that and hit his off-speed stuff.”
Miami gave Pérez breathing room early. Eric Wagaman opened the scoring with a solo home run in the third inning, then Jakob Marsee broke the game open with a bases-clearing triple in the fourth to make it 4-0. The rookie later added a double and scored again, capping a breakout performance. The Blue Jays rallied late, with Daulton Varsho crushing a three-run homer in the seventh to make it 4-3.
Marlins, led by their young ace, steal a game from the Blue Jays
Two of those runs were charged to Pérez, who had exited after allowing a single and a walk to open the frame. Still, he left with a career-high 94 pitches thrown and plenty of confidence in his stuff. “Thank God for this outing,” Pérez said through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “It was a good outing, an outing that gave me a learning experience. This is a strong lineup, and I’ll rank it as one of the best [performances] I’ve had this season.”
For Pérez, Sunday marked another step forward after an uneven stretch. Earlier this summer, he was roughed up in consecutive starts, giving up nine runs and five homers. Seeking a fresh start, he trimmed his signature long hair — and, it seems, some of the bad luck that came with it. Since then, he has been locked in. He’s now 3-0 in August with a 3.00 ERA, looking every bit the phenom who posted a 1.29 ERA in July and reminded everyone why he’s considered the Marlins’ future ace.
Manager Clayton McCullough praised Pérez’s ability to attack the zone with his fastball and mix in his breaking pitches effectively. “He had a really electric fastball today,” McCullough said. “His slider was good, he mixed in some really good changeups. He and Liam [Hicks] did a nice job of using the whole mix. That was a big reason he was able to be so efficient.”
The Blue Jays leave Miami at 76-55, their bid for a sweep falling short. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s pinch-hit appearance was a positive step as he works back from a hamstring injury, but Schneider admitted the slugger’s status will remain “day to day.” As for Pérez, he looks to be hitting his stride at just the right time. After missing all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery, the towering 6-foot-8 Dominican has quickly reestablished himself as one of the most electric young arms in baseball — and Sunday’s outing offered another glimpse at the ceiling he’s still chasing.
