Marlins SP Pérez excited to be back in big leagues despite rocky return from injury

PITTSBURGH (AP) — For a young pitcher, Eury Pérez has already experienced a lot.

A prized prospect with Miami before he got injured, the 6-foot-8 Pérez returned from Tommy John surgery Monday night and made his first major league start since Sept. 20, 2023. He allowed four runs and four hits in three innings while striking out five and walking two as the Marlins lost 10-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“It was really great to see him back out there,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “I mean, you think of everything he’s been through. I told him when he came out of the game that maybe it was not the outing he was thinking about, but think about what happened in getting to this point. I told him he should be very proud of the work he put in.”

Pérez, still the youngest pitcher in the majors at 22 years and 55 days old, started off by tossing two scoreless innings. The Pirates, though, scored four times in the third to take a 4-1 lead as Andrew McCutchen knocked in a run with an infield single and Bryan Reynolds followed with a bases-loaded triple to right-center.

“A few things piled up in that inning,” Pérez said. “It was very exciting to be able to get that first start in the big leagues again. In the first inning, I kept thinking about all the obstacles that I went through. It’s good to be back.”

The right-hander made his big league debut in 2023 and went 5-6 with a 3.15 ERA in 19 starts before sitting out last season. Baseball America ranked Perez as the seventh-best prospect in the game before the 2023 season.

"Look, it’s one start, right? He’s going to be better,” McCullough said. “He’s a big part of our present and our future.”

Perez was activated from the 60-day injured list before the game, and left-hander Ryan Weathers was placed on the 60-day IL with a left lat strain. In five starts this season, Weathers is 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA.

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