Bad baseball for 2024; All-Star voting begins

On Wednesday, "Bad Boys" stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence took over loanDepot park. Handicapped by poor outfield defense, Braxton Garrett immediately put the Marlins in a 3-0 hole. Miami's bullpen threw up zeroes in relief of him, but it ultimately didn't matter. The Marlins lost, 5-3. Terrific offensive showings from Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes and Randy Arozarena in particular. Incomprehensibly, Tampa Bay has won 23 of 26 games against the Marlins dating back to 2019.

Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 2-1. INF Xavier Edwards (FOF #8 prospect) went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, raising his batting average to .365. In what figures to be his penultimate rehab appearance, JT Chargois threw a 1-2-3 inning. Double-A Pensacola lost, 14-6. High-A Beloit won, 4-3. OF Jake DeLeo hit a game-winning, two-run home run in the eighth inning. Low-A Jupiter lost, 4-3. LHP Patrick Monteverde (FOF #18) struggled with his control during a rehab start (1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 0 K, 46 pitches/23 strikes). OF Colby Shade went 3-for-3 with his 20th stolen base. INF Junior Sanchez went 1-for-4 in his first game at the Low-A level. Way back in 2019, he received a $1.15M signing bonus from the Marlins. He played parts of three seasons in the Florida Complex League before finally earning this assignment. FCL Marlins lost, 2-1. OF Dillon Head (FOF #5) and OF Kemp Alderman continued their rehab assignments. DSL Miami won, 2-1. Excellent professional debut for LHP Kifraidy Encarnación (4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K). 

Here's more Marlins news and content for you:

🔷 Through 20 Marlins series, we once again have a tie atop the Prediction Time leaderboard. A season-high four people submitted perfect Citrus Series predictions, including @Michael Cronin and @Will. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub.

🔷 Check out our exclusive Fish Unfiltered interview with manager Skip Schumaker wherever you get your podcasts. The pending free agent told us bluntly, "I don't know what's gonna happen" beyond this season, but being around a struggling team has not deterred him from wanting to continue managing.

🔷 Fan voting for the MLB All-Star Game began on Wednesday. The Marlins position players listed on the 2024 ballot are Tim Anderson (SS), Josh Bell (1B), Christian Bethancourt (C), Jake Burger (3B), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (OF), Bryan De La Cruz (DH), Nick Gordon (OF), Otto Lopez (2B) and Jesús Sánchez (OF). It would be a miracle if any of them got elected as National League starters.

🔷 Isaac Azout explains why Chisholm is likeliest to be selected. Kevin Barral compared his first 60 games of the season to the injury-shortened 60-game campaign he had in 2022.

🔷 On this day in 1994, the Marlins overcame a six-run deficit in a wild walk-off win over the Dodgers.

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, José Ureña (6.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) carried a perfect game into the sixth inning. The White Sox extended their losing streak to 13 in a row. The Angels completed a three-game sweep of the Padres.

🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: 

• Triple-A Jacksonville at Charlotte, 5:30 p.m. ET (doubleheader)
• Double-A Pensacola vs. Mississippi, 7:05 p.m. ET
• High-A Beloit vs. Lake County, 5:00 p.m. ET (doubleheader)
• Low-A Jupiter at Lakeland, 6:30 p.m. ET
• FCL Marlins vs. FCL Nationals, 12:00 p.m. ET
• DSL Marlins vs. DSL Mets Blue, 11:00 a.m. ET

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