Offishial news, 9/22/23: Sandy's rehab; controlling their destiny again

Thursday's Games

Marlins Podcast Episodes

• Thursday's Marlins MiLB Notes: Sandy Alcantara (4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 51 pitches/34 strikes) and Huascar Brazoban (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, nine pitches/six strikes) both began rehab assignments with Jacksonville. In Alcantara's case, it is likely to be a one-and-done with him rejoining the Marlins rotation next week, albeit with a somewhat limited workload. It was an awesome night for Jerar Encarnación, who drove in six of the seven Jumbo Shrimp runs and added an outfield assist. Pensacola is going back to the Southern League Championship Series, thanks largely to a lights-out start from LHP Patrick Monteverde (6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K).

• NL Wild Card race updates: the Phillies won, while the Cubs and Giants lost. The Cubbies have dropped seven of their last eight games and it's the first time since June 5 that San Francisco has dipped below the .500 mark. The Marlins hold the third Wild Card spot thanks to having the head-to-head tiebreaker over Chicago.

• Elsewhere around the majors, the Rays are calling up top prospect Junior Caminero. The power-hitting infielder just turned 20 in July and will unseat Eury Pérez for the title of MLB's youngest active player. Gerrit Cole (Yankees) retired 24 of the 26 batters he faced over eight excellent innings. Tarik Skubal (Tigers) tallied a season-high 10 strikeouts and has quietly been among the sport's best starters since returning from the injured list in July. Four teams fighting for three postseason berths in the AL, the Astros, Blue Jays, Mariners and Rangers, each have 68 losses.

• We’ve got a new episode of Fish On First LIVE streaming tonight at 5:30 p.m. ET on
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• The Marlins have a 41.4% chance to win their series opener against the Brewers, per FanGraphs. Jorge Cantú and Alex Fernandez are on hand for the final Flashback Friday of 2023. Triple-A Jacksonville (7:35 p.m. ET) is on the road.

• El Extrabase reports on Luis Arraez's parents arriving from Venezuela. This weekend (if Arraez's ankle sprain is sufficiently healed), they'll be watching him play major league games in person for the very first time.

• Christina De Nicola of MLB.com details the "off-the-wall" decision that Marlins executive Adrian Lorenzo has made to leave the baseball industry to focus on his art career. With input from Lorenzo, the franchise is in the process of revamping its international operations staff.

• Remember to vote for 2023 Roberto Clemente Award nominee Jorge Soler.

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