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Miami third baseman Connor Norby believes the Marlins’ offense is starting to get hot.

That theory will be tested on Saturday afternoon as Miami plays host to the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle game of a weekend series.

In the series opener on Friday, the Marlins drilled the Rays 9-4. It was the second time this month that the Marlins have scored nine runs in game, tied for their third-best total of the season.

“We know this offense is going to click,” Norby said after Miami extended its modest winning streak to two games. “We’ve played a lot of close games. We’ve had to grind out wins. We have some guys like myself who … we feel like we’re getting there.”

Norby has recorded at least one hit in nine of his past 10 games. Serving as the Marlins’ designated hitter on Friday, he went 2-for-5 with a three-run double.

“He has the knack for getting hits with runners in scoring position,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said of Norby. “He’s certainly not afraid of those moments. He enjoys those moments.”

Norby is hitting .324 (12-for-37) over his past 10 games. For the season, however, he is hitting just .264 with a .729 OPS due to a slow start to the year.

“The big thing we talked about is swinging at better pitches,” Norby said of conversations with his coaches. “My chase is down. I still expand the zone from time to time — so does everybody.

“When my chase is down, I’m great. When my chase is up, I’m not good.”

On the injury front, the Marlins played on Friday without Xavier Edwards (back tightness). Javier Sanoja took Edwards’ place at shortstop, and Jesus Sanchez batted in Edwards’ customary leadoff spot. The pair went a combined 3-for-7 with three runs, an RBI and two walks.

Sandy Alcantara (2-5, 8.10 ERA) will start for Miami on Saturday. In six career starts against Tampa Bay, the right-hander is 2-3 with a 3.44 ERA.

The Marlins are still hoping Alcantara can regain his Cy Young Award form from 2022. However, he missed last year after Tommy John surgery, and he has not looked sharp in 2025.

Tampa Bay will counter with right-hander Drew Rasmussen (1-4, 3.38). In four career games against the Marlins — including two starts — Rasmussen is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings.

Rasmussen pounds the zone with a high-octane fastball (95-100 mph).

At one point last season, the thought was that Rasmussen would be Tampa Bay’s closer. In 2024, he had a 2.83 ERA with one save in 16 appearances, including 12 in relief. However, that was when he was returning from an elbow injury that cost him much of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Despite the Friday loss, the Rays are 9-3 over their past 12 road games.

In the so-called Citrus Series against Miami, Tampa Bay is 24-4 since the start of the 2019 season.

After winning four of their past six games overall, the Rays endured a rough night on Friday. They pitching staff was especially shaky, walking seven batters.

“(It was about) Just falling behind and not being able to reset the count,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “That is very uncharacteristic. We do such a good job usually of being in the zone and staying in the zone. Giving up hits is one thing. But free passes ultimately, really, was the outcome of the game.”

–Field Level Media