Ryan Weathers continues to force his way into Marlins rotation conversation

WEST PALM BEACH, FL—Ryan Weathers racked up seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings in the road game of Sunday's split-squad slate against the Astros at CACTI Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. According to the scoreboard radar gun, his fastball velocity touched 98 mph on multiple occasions as he carved through the Astros lineup. 

Weathers on his outing: "I felt really good. I felt like I was in control today. Controlling the counts. 0-0's were really good and then I won a lot of 1-1's and got to a 1-2 a lot. Stuff felt great. I was really heavy split, four-seams, and two-seams today, mixing in the changeup, mixing in the breaking ball when needed. I just faced these guys about a week ago and did really well with the breaking ball against them. So today early, they were seeing it down a little bit. So I put it in the back pocket until later on in the outing."

With Edward Cabrera getting scratched from his start in the home game of the split-squad slate due to right shoulder tightness and Braxton Garrett already sidelined as he recovers from a shoulder issue, Weathers is now a near-lock to make Miami's Opening Day rotation along with A.J. Puk. As of mid-Sunday afternoon, Weathers leads all MLB pitchers with 17 spring training strikeouts.

Weathers on possibly making the rotation: "Anytime you get mentioned as possibly being on a big league team, it's obviously an incentive. I'm a Marlin and I'm here to do whatever I can to help the team win. Whether that's filling up water cups, throwing out of the bullpen, or starting, I have the same goal in mind."

Final line for Ryan Weathers: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 68/47 pitches/strikes (individual pitches were tracked manually by yours truly, so those totals are unofficial.)

Other notable performances

Trey Mancini had a two-hit game. In the second inning, he sneaked a home run off the top of the wall, and he smashed a ground-rule double to RF in the sixth inning. 

Nick Gordon had two hits, drove in two runs, stole two bases, and made a leaping catch at the wall in left field.

Declan Cronin pitched a scoreless inning in relief, allowing only one baserunner on a hit by pitch.

Yonny Chirinos pitched three scoreless innings and recorded a save with just one strikeout. 

Manager's musings

Bench Coach Luis Urueta (managing the road game while Skip Schumaker stayed in Jupiter) on Ryan Weathers: "He's been doing a pretty good job throughout spring. Today no different than the other outings where he attacked early, commanded all his pitches, threw first-pitch strikes. We love to see that from him. He's on a good path and we are excited to see more from him."

Noah's Notes

• With much of the Marlins' major league staff coaching the other split-squad game, manager of the FCL Marlins, Luis Dorante Sr., assumed the role of bench coach this afternoon. Dorante is the father of Marlins team interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. The two of them shared a moment together on the field prior to the game. 
• This game was finished in just two hours and five minutes, finishing before the home squad completed the fifth inning in Jupiter. 
• Trevor Rogers and Max Meyer are scheduled to pitch Monday night against the New York Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.