Silver Lining in Marlins’ First Shutout Loss was Janson Junk’s Quality Start

The Miami Marlins were shut out for the first time on Monday, falling to the Cincinnati Reds, 2-0. But Janson Junk gave Miami everything he had.

The rotation’s fifth starter — and the one most likely to lose a job at some point this season — had an excellent night even as he took his first loss of the season. In the bigger picture of the season, the performance was validation of including Junk in the rotation in the first place.

It was a quality start for the right-hander. He went 7.1 inning, as he allowed seven hits, two runs (both earned), with a walk and three strikeouts as he trimmed his ERA to 3.09. In most games, that performance earns a pitcher a win. But Reds starter Brandon Williamson and three relievers quieted the Marlins for just three hits.

Janson Junk’s Big Night

Janson Junk's second start of 2026:
7 1/3 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K
87 pitches (57 strikes)
Max velo: 96.1 mph

-- Career high for innings
-- Much-needed after weekend bullpen usage
-- Back-to-back deep starts for Marlins at home pic.twitter.com/12GJWyB1Db
— Christina De Nicola (@CDeNicola13) April 7, 2026

MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola used Junk’s Statcast graphic to show just how good his evening was. It was a career high for innings and a huge leap from where he ended up in his first start on March 31.

That start against the Chicago White Sox saw him go just 4.1 innings. He only allowed five hits and two earned runs. But it’s the length he provided to cover an over-taxed bullpen that will help the Marlins this week.

On Sunday in New York, the Marlins started closer Pete Fairbanks so he could get an inning in before he hopped on a flight to join his wife for the birth of his child. Miami ended up using five pitchers, including starter Chris Paddack, in a game that was delayed for several hours by rain.

With Junk going 7.1 innings, Miami only had to use one reliever on Monday. Tyler Phillips threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and basically made the rest of the Marlins’ bullpen available for Tuesday’s game with Cincinnati.

If Junk can pitch like that for the foreseeable future, then Miami has a solid backbone at the back of its rotation. With the way the rotation is set up, if he provides that sort of length and performance consistently then it bleeds perfectly into turning the baseball over to Sandy Alcantara, the rotation’s ace.

As luck would have it for Miami, Alcantara is the starting pitcher for Tuesday's game against Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott. Alcantara is coming off his last start in which he threw a Maddux, which is a complete game shutout while throwing under 100 pitches.