Sunday’s Game

Marlins fall in regular season finale, set eyes for Tuesday

Marlins Podcast Episodes

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• No clue what the pitching plan would’ve been on Sunday if the Marlins actually needed to win. Because they didn’t, Ryan Weathers took the mound…and he looked solid out there! The Marlins used a comically weak lineup and the results were just as bad as expected: four total baserunners and no extra-base hits. The Pirates scored the game’s only three runs against Bryan Hoeing in the bottom of the eighth.

• Meanwhile in Arizona, the Diamondbacks adopted a similar approach. With their loss to the Astros, the Marlins clinched the fifth seed in the National League playoffs.

• The Marlins will not complete their suspended game against the Mets, as they had been scheduled to do this afternoon. I’m frankly confused about how that game is being ruled for record-keeping purposes. MLB is preserving the individual stats from the game, but it hasn’t been marked as a win, loss or tie yet.

• Congrats to Luis Arraez on winning the NL batting title. He practically led the race from wire to wire, finishing with a .354 batting average that establishes a new Marlins single-season record.

• Listen back to Sunday’s State of the Fish Twitter Space hosted by Grant Kiefer. It’s also available on the Fish On First podcast feed.

• Elsewhere around the majors, Buck Showalter announced that he won’t be returning as Mets manager. The Mets plummeted from 101 wins in Showalter’s first season to 74 this season despite carrying the highest payroll in the majors. Former knuckleballer Tim Wakefield—best known for his Red Sox tenure—passed away from brain cancer at the age of 57. Miguel Cabrera‘s playing career came to an end.

Miguel Cabrera finishes legendary playing career

• The Marlins begin their postseason run against the fourth-seed Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday. All games of the best-of-three series will have 8:08 p.m. ET start times with television coverage on ESPN. The Game 1 probable starters are Jesús Luzardo and Zack Wheeler. For Game 2, it’ll be Braxton Garrett and Aaron Nola. It’s the first time that these longtime NL East rivals have ever met in the playoffs.

• Kevin Barral updated his NL Wild Card Series roster projection. How does it compare to yours?

Miami Marlins 2023 Wild Card Series Roster Projection #2

• This is Opening Day for the Arizona Fall League. Eight players from the Marlins organization have been assigned to the Peoria Javelinas. First pitch at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Photo courtesy of Bally Sports Florida