Sixto shines as Marlins fall; Eury leaves early

Before we discuss the second coming of Sixto Sanchez, we must address the elephant in the room. The Marlins Grapefruit League game against the Nationals began with a heart-stopping scene for Miami fans as RHP Eury Perez was taken out of yet another start after throwing just 14 pitches. Once again, he was bothered by a lingering fingernail. Perez had previously been removed from his second spring start back on March 2 with a broken nail and wore a fake fingernail over the broken one during his previous start this past Friday. He only threw his fastball and curveball during that outing, as the slider is the pitch that puts the most strain on that finger. On Wednesday, it took until the third batter he faced to throw the slider, which he threw for a ball with his second-to-last pitch. After he struck out Jacob Young on three fastballs, he walked the next two hitters he faced and was immediately taken out. 

Eury Pérez was officially diagnosed with discomfort from a broken nail on his right middle finger. The team announced that he was removed for precautionary reasons. 

After the game, Perez told reporters via an interpreter, "I was having some type of discomfort with my nail every time I was throwing. As I mentioned in previous interviews with you guys, I have a fake nail on top of my nail. I was feeling the nail lifting a little bit. So that was that was part of the discomfort. So they cut my nail now." 

Postgame, manager Skip Schumaker said, "It's tough to build up [him] when he has the fingernail issue, and it's only 14 pitches. This is obviously not ideal when you're trying to get to the 70-pitch mark. ... Obviously, what we're doing isn't working with the nail, so we have to figure out a plan B to get him back on the mound as soon as we can so that he can be ready."

Declan Cronin relieved Eury and threw 40 pitches before coming out of the game due to a blister issue. When asked about Cronin, Skip said, "He has a blister, too. So we got to figure out this blister/hand situation. I don't know if they've got to go to CrossFit and toughen up the hands and fingernails or whatever, but we got to figure out this blister situation because it's kind of a theme so far." 

As Marlins pitchers seem to be dropping off the depth chart left and right, one name has miraculously re-entered the conversation: Sixto Sanchez. Having dealt with more setbacks and injury issues over the last two years than most people will deal with in a lifetime, Sixto said today with a smile, "I can finally say I feel 100%." And he looked the part, too. His changeup was as nasty as usual, but it was the fastball that turned heads on Wednesday. His fastball velocity reached a scorching 98.8 MPH, leaving all of us to wonder, is Sixto back? 

He even got to show off his PFP skills, perfectly fielding a ground ball in front of the mound and throwing accurately to second to begin an inning-ending double play to cap off his heart-warming performance. He was greeted with hugs and handshakes as he made his way back to the dugout with a huge smile. 

Skip Schumaker said of Sixto: "I said early on that someone's going to surprise you every spring training. This is definitely a surprise. I mean, he's throwing 99 miles an hour. He's always had a changeup, so having the 99 [MPH fastball] with the 87 [MPH changeup] is quite a bit of difference. He's feeling great, and he threw two innings today. He can field his position. He's checking a lot of different boxes; it's been great. I mean, he's been through a lot. Guys were giving him hugs in the dugout. So you know, there's been a lot of tough days for him over the last couple of years, and to see what he's doing right now in a spring training game, in the second inning, throwing 99 is pretty impressive."

The Marlins wound up losing the game, 2-1. They are now 6-8-3 in Grapefruit League action. 

Noah's Notes

• A.J. Puk is scheduled to throw in a minor league game tomorrow at approximately 1 PM. 
• Josh Simpson said he felt great after playing catch for the first time since his injury. 
• Ryan Weathers is scheduled to start Friday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter. 
• The inaugural Spring Breakout game is scheduled for Friday, March 15 at 2:05 pm at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Noble Meyer is expected to start.