Marlins squander late lead against Padres as losing streak hits a franchise-record 12 games

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marlins lost a franchise-record 12th straight game on Sunday, and the record-breaker might have been the most painful of the skid.

Six outs from ending their slide, the Marlins unraveled. The San Diego Padres erased a two-run deficit with a four-run eighth inning and won 5-3.

“To come in here every day and cry about it and make excuses, I don’t know what that’s going to do,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “We have a very prideful group that is certainly upset, frustrated, angry about how things are going. We’re the only ones that can change that.”

Three previous times in franchise history the Marlins lost 11 straight before ending the slide. They did it twice, on two separate stretches, in 1998 when the club lost 108 games, and again in June 2011.

“Right now, it just feels a little bit like we’re playing roulette and somehow it hits red 12 times in a row,” Marlins slugger Kyle Stowers said. “I think what hurts the most is we can’t try any harder.”

Before the late meltdown Sunday, the Marlins were in position for celebratory postgame handshakes. Miami scored two runs in the second and Stowers homered in the third for a 3-0 lead.

But, after starter Janson Junk limited the Padres to one run and three relievers kept them off the board, Lake Bachar couldn’t continue the trend when he was called to pitch the eighth.

Manny Machado hit a two-run homer to tie it at 3, and Jackson Merrill followed with a go-ahead solo shot. Luis Campusano added an RBI single to add to the misery.

Jeers from the crowd of 21,675 were noticeable after the third out ended the inning. Miami has not won since an 8-4 victory over Seattle on July 9.

“I understand fans’ frustrations, sure. I’d be frustrated if I were a fan, too,” McCullough said. “But nobody is more frustrated than we are. These guys every day come in here, attacking each day with the best to come out there and win.”

The Marlins had done plenty of winning before the All-Star break and were at 52-42 and three games behind NL East-leading Atlanta. They also had the third NL wild-card spot.

But the unraveling began in the weekend home series against Cleveland prior to the break. With the exception of Saturday’s 7-2 to loss against San Diego, Miami has lost the other 11 games by three runs or less.

Miami's bats have gone silent during the skid. The Marlins are hitting .208 with a .607 OPS. On Sunday, Stowers had two of Miami’s five hits.

“How we've been playing, we’ve been playing good enough to win, but we’re one play short most of the nights,” Stowers said. “I think we’re still in a good spot. I still love our chances. We love this group. It’s just the micro level of losing these many times sucks.”

The Marlins' next opportunity to end the skid will be Monday, when they open a three-game home series against division rival Philadelphia. Phillies ace Zack Wheeler is scheduled to start.

“It’s going to be staring at us again,” McCullough said. “We have to meet this head on.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough watches play during the eigth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Marlins' Javier Sanoja reacts during his at-bat in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Marlins' Kyle Stowers walks off the field at the end of the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Marlins' Javier Sanoja is tagged out short of third base by San Diego Padres third baseman Luis Rengifo during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — All-Star outfielder Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left hamstring strain, a significant blow to a New York Yankees team already missing two big bats.

The Yankees recalled outfielder Spencer Jones from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before Sunday night's game at Philadelphia to take Bellinger's spot on the roster.

Bellinger will have more tests Monday in New York. He said he woke up feeling similar to Saturday, but not well enough to avoid the injured list.

“Little tight,” Bellinger said. “I didn't wake up worse.”

He will stay out of cleats for at least four days and continue to do light jogging during that time, but there is no timeline for a return at this point.

“See how you feel, see how your body is recovering,” Bellinger said.

New York manager Aaron Boone sounded fairly optimistic about the injury.

“It's not something that seems terrible,” he said. “He's able to move around today. Just hope for something on the shorter side, but tough to know for sure.”

New York has been without slugger Aaron Judge since May 31 because of a fractured rib, and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is still out with a strained right calf that's sidelined him since April 24. The Yankees entered Sunday's game 2 1/2 games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Bellinger said he felt tightness in his hamstring while rounding first on a double in the eighth inning of the Yankees' 3-1 win over the Phillies on Saturday night. He waved off Boone and remained on base for the rest of the inning but walked slowly off the field and down the tunnel to the clubhouse after the third out.

Max Schuemann replaced Bellinger in left field in the bottom of the eighth.

Schuemann was set to start in left and bat seventh Sunday night.

“Just got to mix and match and piece it together,” Boone said. “We have capable guys. We're going out there expecting to win.”

Bellinger is hitting .259 with 11 homers and 53 RBIs in 102 games this season. He entered Saturday with 19 defensive runs saved, most in the majors, and was MVP of the All-Star Game on July 14 in Philadelphia.

Bellinger re-signed with the Yankees last winter for $162.5 million over five years and has been a key part of the offense. He was hitting .280 through mid-June before a slump dropped his batting average to .254 heading into the All-Star break. He hasn’t homered in a month.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger singles to score Austin Wells during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, July 25, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)