​Eury Pérez left the Athletics stunned with a pitch mix that kept Miami in control, delivering seven perfect innings in the Marlins’ 9-8 win on Sunday. Pérez leaned into new looks on the mound, introducing a sinker to his repertoire for the first time this season, catching opponents off guard as he expanded beyond his usual arsenal. The four-seam fastball, which had been his most-used pitch at 51.9% of attempts, decreased to 38.4% after he added the sinker, while the sinker rose to 18.2% against Oakland.
MLB Network studio analyst Mark DeRosa dissected Pérez’s flawless seven innings, emphasizing the precision and velocity that fueled his outing. Pérez’s fastball averaged 98.1 mph, placing him behind only Bubba Chandler (98.4 mph) and Jacob Misiorowski (100.4 mph) among notable hard throwers. “When you’re north of 97 miles per hour, the hitter can’t even set up off it,” DeRosa noted. “If you fall behind, he can blow you away.”
In his matchup with right fielder Lawrence Butler, Pérez logged seven pitches to strike him out, mixing in the sinker, fastball, and slider before ultimately leaning on the heater. The sequence began with a ball on the sinker, then returned to the fastball, before flipping to the slider and later the sweeper, leaving Butler behind as Pérez finished with another fastball that averaged 97.4 mph. DeRosa added, “When he’s behind in the count and must execute, he anchors at the top of the zone and commands two pitches at his fingertips, often elevating to 99 mph.”
Pérez’s versatility continued to unsettle the next hitter, Max Muncy, as he again shifted from slider to sweeper and finally to a fastball for the strikeout. The constant mix kept batters off balance and disrupted their timing, culminating in seven perfect innings with eight strikeouts. The 23-year-old earned his fifth win of the season, boosting his record to 5-6. His next start is set for Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians as Miami returns home for a six-game stint at loanDepot Park following a 10-game road trip spanning three states.