The Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds meet Thursday at 12:10 p.m. ET at loanDepot park in a game that puts two of the league’s hottest hitters on the same field. Xavier Edwards leads Miami into the matchup, while Sal Stewart anchors Cincinnati’s side.
Edwards is batting.400, the second-best average in the league, and Stewart is eighth at.366. The numbers give the reds - marlins meeting an early-season edge that goes beyond the standings, where Miami enters at 7-5 and second in the NL East and Cincinnati arrives at 8-4 and first in the NL Central.
Max Meyer is scheduled to start for the Marlins after opening the season 0-0 with a 4.66 ERA. Rhett Lowder is expected to go for the Reds, bringing a 1-0 record and a 1.64 ERA into the matchup. Those pitching lines matter because both teams have spent the first stretch of the season winning enough to keep pace without giving much away.
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The bigger test for Miami is whether Edwards can keep hitting at a level that has put him among the league leaders, and whether Meyer can steady a rotation spot that has not yet produced dominant results. Cincinnati, meanwhile, has the better record and the sharper early pitching line, but it also has to protect that start while playing through a long injury list that includes Jose Trevino, Caleb Ferguson, Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene.
The Marlins' injury report includes Max Acosta, Kyle Stowers, Esteury Ruiz, Christopher Morel, Adam Mazur, Ronny Henriquez and Otto Lopez. The game is part of a watch guide that also includes betting, odds, ticketing and streaming links provided by partners of The Athletic, giving fans multiple ways to track a meeting that already carries the look of an early measuring stick for both clubs.
For Miami, the question is whether a 7-5 start can hold against a division leader with the better pitching matchup on paper. For Cincinnati, it is whether Stewart and Lowder can help turn a good opening into something more durable.
