MIAMI – It would’ve been easy for the Marlins to roll over after one of the worst starts in franchise history. It would’ve been even easier to do so when clubhouse favorite Luis Arraez was surprisingly dealt in an early May trade.

Instead, Miami rediscovered its 2023 winning formula when the calendar flipped to a new month. If it’s too late to turn this season around, manager Skip Schumaker is still proud of what his players have shown.

“We could have gone downhill pretty quick after a rough start,” Schumaker said. “It could have just spiraled into something that none of us wanted to be part of. There could have been some blaming, some finger pointing, you want to talk about different narratives. They came out every day and played as hard as they could. And I'm really proud of that, how they approached every single day, because it could have went a different direction really quick.”

With Friday night’s 8-2 victory over the reigning World Series champion Rangers at loanDepot park, the Marlins completed May with a 14-13 record. It marks the club’s first winning month since September 2023 (17-10), and it comes on the heels of opening the season 7-24 in March/April.

Miami has gone from a 0.226 (March/April) to 0.519 (May) win percentage -- a 0.293 improvement that is largest in the Majors. The Marlins have won 11 of their last 17.

So what has changed?

Here’s a look at some key numbers, in terms of MLB rankings at the end of Friday’s game:

Pitching overall
March/April: 5.61 runs per game allowed (second-most)
May: 4.22 runs per game allowed (1.39 decrease is fourth-largest)

Starting pitching
March/April: 5.24 ERA (third-highest), 4.76 IP/G (lowest)
May: 4.30 ERA (decrease of 0.94 is fifth-largest), 5.40 IP/G (0.64 increase is sixth-largest)

Relief pitching
March/April: 4.77 ERA (seventh-highest)
May: 3.56 ERA (decrease of 1.21 is seventh-largest)

Run differential
March/April: -63
May: -6 (+57 run differential improvement is second-largest)

It’s no secret Miami’s pitching staff turned the corner with the returns of left-handers Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett from the injured list. Luzardo and Garrett started Games 1 and 2 of the National League Wild Card Series, respectively, last October.

While right-hander Sixto Sánchez couldn’t complete the fifth to collect his first win since September 2020, four relievers -- Declan Cronin, A.J. Puk, Calvin Faucher and Burch Smith -- kept the Rangers scoreless over five innings.

“Same as I've talked about: It was just the pitching,” Schumaker said. “It starts with those guys. The bullpen has kept us either in games or helped us win games. [We] figured out not really the roles, but they've just been really good. The starting pitching has been excellent. For the most part, timely hits.”

Hitting overall
March/April: 3.58 runs per game (27th)
May: 4.00 runs per game (0.42 improvement is tied for seventh-largest)

Josh Bell
March/April: .181/.269/.285 (.554 OPS)
May: .311/.365/.466 (.831 OPS)

Jazz Chisholm Jr.
March/April: .239/.331/.395 (.725 OPS)
May: .275/.325/.496 (.820 OPS)

Chisholm has looked more comfortable in the leadoff spot, which he took over following the departure of Arraez. Middle-of-the-order bats Bell and Jake Burger, who tallied three hits in the series opener, have caught fire.

“Honestly, we kind of always knew that we can play well,” said Nick Gordon, who had a .748 OPS in May. “It's a long season. The beginning was a little rough, but that's what this marathon is for. Keep your head down, keep grinding, and we kind of knew things will turn for us. We're just really hoping that they can keep rolling and keep going in a good way.”

Gordon knocked a two-run homer to center in the second inning against former Marlin José Ureña. He tacked on an RBI fielder’s choice in a two-run third.

Jesús Sánchez collected his first career game with three extra-base hits (two doubles and one homer). He added a three-run shot to left-center in the seventh off former Marlin Jesus Tinoco.

“I think that's something that we look for as offensive players is just having that pitching there backing us up, and then we can feel comfortable to get those results,” Sánchez said via interpreter Will Nadal. “I think we're a team that can hit, we're a team that can get offensive results, and you're seeing that. And then I think we also have the capability of winning a lot of games if that's what happens.”