Final fling of the spring

JUPITER, FL—Before venturing home to Miami ahead of their 32nd season of play, the Miami Marlins would host the New York Mets for one final Grapefruit League tune-up at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. 

Darren McCaughan, acquired from Seattle over the offseason, tossed three perfect innings for Miami, registering 3 strikeouts in the process against the Mets B-team. The 28-year-old Long Beach native is set to open the year in Triple-A Jacksonville.

Miami plated the game's first run thanks to a Luis Arraez 3rd-inning, RBI single. Arraez concluded the spring hitting .386, driving in 4. 

The Marlins touched up Tylor Megill for 3 runs over 5 innings in his final outing, with the club's second and third runs coming on a two-run single from newly acquired INF/OF Nick Gordon.

Sunday, too, brought with it some bonus bits of feel-good vibes for Sixto Sánchez. After learning he made the Opening Day roster on Friday, Sánchez tossed 2 scoreless innings in Miami's 5-1 victory. In 9 innings spread across 6 appearances this spring, the right-hander held the opposition scoreless, striking out 8.

Of initial concern, reliever Andrew Nardi's fastball velocity was down, averaging just 91 mph on the day. In 2023, Nardi's four-seamer averaged 94.6. Nardi's slider (-2.1 mph) and split-change (-1.9) were noticeably down from the previous year as well. Speaking postgame, Nardi called it "nothing to worry about," further stating it was "just one of those days." 

Of Note

- Miami concludes their 2024 Grapefruit League slate having finished at or below .500 for the third straight spring (7-7 in 2022, 7-16 in 2023 and 10-12-5 in 2024).

- Updated spring training stats for individual Marlins players are available here.

- The Marlins will play an intrasquad at loanDepot Park on Tuesday. Edward Cabrera (shoulder stiffness) is set to appear in it.

Looking Ahead

The Marlins' next time taking the field will be under the bright lights of loanDepot park when they square off against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day, Thursday, March 28.

Jesús Luzardo, coming off a strong 2023 season that saw him strike out 208 hitters over 178 ⅔ innings pitched, will make his first career Opening Day start. Pittsburgh will counter with Mitch Keller. An NL All-Star in 2023, Keller won 13 games while tossing 194 ⅓ innings, helping him net a five-year/$77M extension at the outset of spring training. 

First pitch is slated 4:10 EST.