Marlins cook up waiver claim; Caribbean Series to return to loanDepot park

On Tuesday, the Marlins scored a pair of runs on balls that didn't even leave the infield. Four Miami relievers combined to allow only one hit. Tanner Scott has eclipsed 10 saves for the third straight season. The Marlins won, 2-1.

Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 2-0. Dominant effort by the rehabbing Edward Cabrera (4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 60 pitches/37 strikes) as well as the pitchers who entered after him. The Jumbo Shrimp staff combined for 16 strikeouts. Double-A Pensacola lost, 5-4. Nice bounce-back start for LHP Adam Laskey (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 67 pitches/51 strikes). INF Cody Morissette has extra-base hits in four of his last five games. High-A Beloit won, 7-2. Nine straight wins for the Sky Carp! RHP Jacob Miller (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 86 pitches/56 strikes) enjoyed the longest outing of his career. Low-A Jupiter won, 7-5. Struggling outfielders Kemp Alderman and John Cruz had much-needed strong showings, each going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. DSL Marlins won, 8-6. DSL Miami lost, 21-7. Three different relievers allowed five earned runs, including Japanese RHP Raisei Nakamura. Nakamura did collect his first career MiLB strikeout, though.

Here's more Marlins news and content:

🔷 The Marlins claimed LHP Austin Kitchen off waivers from the Rockies and optioned him to Jacksonville. Kitchen has no MLB experience, but has performed solidly in the upper minors during his age-27 season (33.0 IP, 3.00 ERA and 3.47 FIP with a 56.3 GB%). He has a four-pitch mix: 91 mph fastball, 83 mph changeup, 78 mph slider and 73 mph curveball. Sixto Sánchez was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. That means he isn't eligible to be reinstated until July 31 (I'm skeptical that we'll see Sánchez return to the big leagues in any capacity this season).

🔷 Marlins major league strength and conditioning coach Brendan Verner has been selected to handle strength and conditioning for the National League All-Star team. What does that even entail when the team is only together for parts of two days? Congrats anyway, I guess.

🔷 The Caribbean Series is coming back to Miami in 2028. “This year’s tournament was a marquee event for our community," Marlins president of business operations Caroline O'Connor said in a statement, "and we thank LIDOM for an outstanding partnership that once again brings the best of winter baseball to loanDepot park.” Average attendance for 2024 Serie del Caribe games surpassed what we've seen during the Marlins regular season despite the tournament's rosters relying mostly on minor league and unaffiliated players.

🔷 The Miami New Times selected Luis Arraez as the "Best Miami Marlins Player" in their annual "best of" issue despite him no longer being on the Marlins.

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Aaron Judge is on pace for 58 homers and 150 RBI after hitting a grand slam on Tuesday. The White Sox also reached the halfway point of their season and are on pace for 120 losses. The Astros have won six in a row to pull within a game of the .500 mark. Christian Encarnacion-Strand is scheduled to undergo wrist surgery that will likely end his 2024 season. Even when healthy, his sophomore campaign had gotten off to an awful start. Overall, Reds first basemen have a 62 wRC+ this year. Maybe a fit for Josh Bell if they play well leading up to the trade deadline? 

🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Valente Bellozo) wrap up their series against the Royals (RHP Brady Singer). The 24-year-old Bellozo will be making his major league debut! Bellozo will wear uniform No. 83. The most likely corresponding roster move is designating Kent Emanuel for assignment (again). The Marlins have a 47.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. Unless the results are abysmal, I would expect Bellozo to make a second start after this one as Edward Cabrera needs more time to build up his pitch count on his rehab assignment. First pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET.

🔷 Today's MiLB schedule:

• Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Nashville, 12:05 p.m. ET
• Double-A Pensacola at Biloxi, 7:35 p.m. ET
• High-A Beloit at Cedar Rapids, 1:05 p.m. ET
• Low-A Jupiter at Daytona, 6:35 p.m. ET
• FCL Marlins vs. FCL Mets, 12:00 p.m. ET

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