Ketel Marte and the Diamondbacks Host Marlins in Weekend Series

The D-backs' superstar second baseman should be a handful for the Marlins pitching staff

Jun 24, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) rounds the bases and celebrates his home run during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks are back home following a 5-4 road trip that took them through Toronto, Colorado, and Chicago. Now they'll face the Miami Marlins for a three game set at Chase Field this weekend.

Arizona is 41-39, 3.0 games out of the NL Wild Card. They own a 20-18 record at Chase Field, and lead the season series against Miami 3-0, having swept them April 15-17 in Miami.

Miami just completed a sweep of the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park with a convincing 12-5 victory on Thursday. The Marlins also took two of three from the Braves just prior to that, and have now won five of six, improving their record 34-45. Their road record is 17-21.

Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins Pitching Matchups

Marlins and Diamondbacks Pitching Matchups | Jack Sommers

On Friday night Eury Perez will make his fourth start since coming back from Tommy John surgery. He impressed in 2023 in 19 starts, posting a 3.15 ERA and striking out 10.64 per nine. Still getting stretched out, he threw 4.2 innings and 89 pitches in a loss to the Braves on June 21, giving up three runs

Merrill Kelly picked up a win in Colorado June 21, going six-plus innings, allowing three runs, two earned. Kelly has had a very good bounce-back season after dealing with shoulder problems in 2024, becoming the ace of the staff since the Corbin Burnes injury and Zac Gallen's poor season.

Saturday afternoon the D-backs will face a resurgent Sandy Alcantara. The former Cy Young winner has taken a while to gain his footing after missing all of 2024 due to Tommy John Surgery. Don't be misled by his full-season 6.69 ERA. Not only is his FIP two runs lower, but over his last four starts in June he has a 2.74 ERA and 3.20 FIP.

Brandon Pfaadt is having a down year, filled with hard contact along with difficulty facing left-hand batters (.861 OPS against). One positive note for Pfaadt is that his home ERA is 4.08 compared to 6.60 on the road.

Sunday afternoon's series finale features Cal Quantrill versus left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez. Quantrill entered June with an 8.10 ERA, but over his last nine starts has pitched to a 3.92 ERA.

Rodriguez meanwhile has pitched very well since coming off the injured list due to a sore shoulder. In four starts, 22 innings he's given up only six runs, five earned, for a 2.05 ERA. That comes with a 3.66 FIP, but he struck out 10 White Sox in six shutout innings June 23.

Diamondbacks vs Marlins Offense

The Marlins rank 23rd in MLB with 330 runs scored. They have a .704 team OPS, which ranks 17th oddly enough. They're hitting better in June however, sporting a .718 OPS, 15th-best in the league. They also have a .721 OPS on the road away from their pitcher-friendly home ballpark in Miami.

Left fielder Kyle Stowers is their best hitter this year, posting an .833 OPS with 12 homers and 38 RBI. DH Augustin Ramirez has a .760 OPS with 12 homers and 30 RBI. Second baseman Xavier Edwards is batting .337 in June to raise his average to .288 for the year.

The D-backs offense has carried the team in 2025, ranking third in MLB in both runs scored (413) and OPS (.779). The offense is led by Ketel Marte who is batting .313/.416/.596, 1.012 OPS. Marte has hit 15 homers since coming off the injured list on May 2.

The D-backs are without stars Corbin Carroll (20 HR, 57 runs scored) and catcher Gabriel Moreno, both of whom suffered hand fractures and are out for at least the next several weeks, if not longer.

Eugenio Suarez missed most of the White Sox series after getting hit on the hand by a pitch on Monday. It's not yet known if he will play in this series. Suarez is fourth in MLB in homers with 25 and third in RBI (67). Josh Naylor is batting .307 with an .852 OPS. He is tied with shortstop Geraldo Perdomo with 53 RBI.

Diamondbacks and Marlins Bullpens

Miami has a 4.36 bullpen era, compared to the Diamondbacks 5.13. The Marlins' pen had to work hard in the Giants series however, throwing 13.1 innings the last three days. Closer Calvin Faucher had Thursday off however. He has a 3.94 ERA and eight saves, but four blown saves.

The Diamondbacks had Thursday off, and their pen should be well-rested for the weekend. They play 16 straight games without a day off heading into the All-Star break. Arizona will hope not to have to overwork their pen in this series, and save some high-leverage reliever innings from Shelby Miller for the Giants series next week.