The Miami Marlins have not gotten off to the best start this season. They entered Sunday with a 5-17 record and 10 1/2 games back in the National League East. But the Marlins know they still have plenty of games left to climb the standings.

The key for them to climb those standings, though, will be the production of the young players.

That was on display in the Marlins’ 6-3 win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon, as Jesús Sánchez launched a towering home run and Edward Cabrera gave the team five solid innings.

The win gave the Marlins their sixth win of the young season and most importantly, allowed them to split the series (2-2) this weekend in Chicago. That split is the first time Miami did not lose a series this year.

The team can point to the play of Cabrera, Sanchez, and a strong fourth inning on offense — in which they totaled four hits — in Sunday’s win.

“I honestly think that we have a really good team,” Sánchez said through translator Will Nadal. “I think right now we’re in harmony. We’re in sync. I think we have a good team, and I hope we can keep it going.”

It hasn’t necessarily been smooth sailing for the Marlins’ rotation early in 2024 after losing Sandy Alcantara (elbow) and Eury Perez (elbow) to season-ending injuries and Braxton Garrett (shoulder) to the injured list in the first few weeks.

However, Cabrera has given the team some stability atop the rotation so far.

He delivered six innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts in his first start of the year against the San Francisco Giants and then gave Miami a chance to win on Sunday behind five innings.

“If you look at my first two starts last year, I probably had [6 2/3] combined innings with the two outings together,” Cabrera said through a translator. “I’m having more success out there, and I think I’m doing pretty well this year compared to last.”

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