Former Cardinal Hits Walk-Off Grand Slam Off All-Star Closer

The Miami Marlins went into Saturday's contest having lost their previous six straight games, but former Stanford Cardinal Kyle Stowers said enough is enough. He stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, and on the first pitch he crushed the ball over the wall in left-center, sending the fans home happy.

It should also be noted that the home run came against Sacramento Athletics closer Mason Miller, who was an All-Star last season in his first year in the bullpen. He's also looked un-hittable for most of the 2025 season, but on Saturday his command wasn't where it typically is, and the Marlins took full advantage.

Not something you see from Mason Miller very often. pic.twitter.com/fw4c93bNsW
— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) May 3, 2025

After hitting leadoff man Matt Mervis, Miller rebounded and struck out the next two batters he faced. A Javier Sanoja double put runners on second and third. Mervis would score on a wild play, where Miller uncorked a slider that resulted in ball four, but the ball went to the backstop. Xavier Edwards had a terrific at-bat, taking some close pitches, and drawing a walk to load the bases.

Then Stowers came up and called game.

It was also the Stanford alum's second home run of the game, having hit a two-run shot off starter Osvaldo Bido in the third inning. He now has six home runs on the year, after having six in his career heading into this season.

Stowers was originally selected with the No. 71 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, and was traded to the Miami Marlins last summer along with Connor Norby in a deal that sent Trevor Rogers to the O's. While he struggled in his 50 games with the Fish post-trade, he has been a beast for the team this season, batting .324 with a .392 OBP, six home runs, and 25 RBI.

He does also hold a .412 BABIP, which would indicate some amount of luck on his side to begin the year, but he's barreling balls up with the best of them and has plenty of red on his Baseball Savant page. The areas that cause some concern would be his strikeout rate (27.8%, 17th percentile) and whiff rate (34.6%, 6th percentile).

While it can be difficult to root for a team that's rebuilding like the Marlins are, given that the stakes are a bit lower, one of the biggest positives that can come from those down years is being able to give guys like Stowers some playing time and potentially finding a diamond in the rough.

The A's did the same thing with Brent Rooker, the No. 35 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, and he has been one of the best hitters in baseball the past two seasons. Rooker also earned himself a contract extension this offseason, and is one of the faces of this up-and-coming A's team.

If Stowers keeps hitting like he is, maybe he can follow a similar path with the Marlins.