Kevin Barral

MIAMI, FL—The Miami Marlins pitched well, but the Giants staff performed even better. Kyle Harrison was backed up by a deep bullpen to shut out the Marlins by a final score of 2-0. It's the fifth time in 2025 that the Marlins have been held scoreless. Cal Quantrill only went 3 ⅓ innings in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels. His workload was closer to normal in this outing: five innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out a season-high seven. His fastball averaged 93.9 mph and topped out at 95.0 mph, marking his hardest-thrown pitch of the season. When Quantrill struck out Willy Adames swinging to finish his outing, you saw him shout at his dugout, showing emotion, something he also did in his start against the Tampa Bay Rays. "Maybe a little bit unnecessary," the veteran right-hander noted, but he has been "grinding this season" (career-worst 5.84 ERA), so it was nice for him to see the work behind the scenes pay off. "He did a really good job of navigating around," said manager Clayton McCullough. "He was able to get some some strikeouts today, especially when he needed to and really made some big pitches when it counted, when he needed to finish guys off. Gutsy effort by him." One thing Quantrill did to find success was get ahead in the count, posting a 62% first-pitch strike rate. "Thought we were mostly in power counts and that we protected the swing-and-miss pitch to the best of our ability until two strikes and we were able to get a couple whiffs there." Quantrill generated 11 whiffs on Friday night, including five with his splitter, which he threw 21% of the time. Even when the Giants put the ball in play against Quantrill, only five of them were hard hit (exit velocity of 95+ mph). His 87.7 mph average exit velo allowed was much better than his season average of 91.4 mph. In the top of the first inning, Heliot Ramos hit a triple to right field and Kyle Stowers made a perfect throw to third baseman Connor Norby, which would've gotten Ramos by a mile, but Norby wasn't able to make the catch. After Quantrill struck out Jung Hoo Lee, Giants RBI leader Wilmer Flores drove Ramos in, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead. Third baseman Matt Chapman took Quantrill deep for his 10th home run of the season, extending the lead to 2-0. Similar to Quantrill's last start, the Marlins went with Janson Junk in long relief. In his previous appearance, Junk went five innings of work, earning the save. On Friday, he went four shutout innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out five. "For Junk to come in behind Cal tonight and give us four innings as well and keeping us right in the game was huge," McCullough said. "Gave our offense a chance to come back and at the same time preserve a number of our guys down in the bullpen. Between him and Cal tonight, to get that effort from both of them was great for us. Not only two guys who got through the game, but in the manner in which they pitched was the most important thing." Giants starter Kyle Harrison was great, going five innings of work, allowing one hit, three walks and striking out five. Overall, seven Giants arms limited the Marlins offense to only three hits, though Miami did work seven walks. "Their bullpen certainly has been tough and it's good," said McCullough. "Harrison the first time through, maybe just gotta be a little more patient, get into the at-bat, which I felt there was a stretch where we were able to get a couple walks out of them. The second time through, he seemed to drive it up a little bit and without that many knocks, we created an opportunity there." The Marlins offense ended the night going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving ten on base. They brought the potential winning run to the plate in both the seventh and eighth innings, but couldn't get the big hit. With the loss, the Marlins drop to 22-33 on the season and will send Edward Cabrera to the mound on Saturday. He will look to keep the momentum going from his last start against the Angels. First pitch is at 4:10 pm. View full article

Miami Marlins outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. speaks with Fish On First about making his MLB debut and what adjustments he'll have to make to stick on the roster. View full video

Prior to Friday's series opener against the San Francisco Giants, the Miami Marlins announced a handful of roster moves, most notably designating Matt Mervis and Ronny Simon for assignment. Their 40-man and active roster spots have gone to outfielder Heriberto Hernández and infielder Jack Winkler. The Marlins optioned Graham Pauley to Triple-A Jacksonville on Thursday, which paved the way for Dane Myers to be reinstated from the injured list. Mervis was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Vidal Bruján over to the Chicago Cubs. He showed early signs of a potential breakout season, slashing .213/.286/.520/.806 with seven home runs and 14 RBI through the end of April, with a stretch from April 1-17 that he slashed .286/.333/.800/1.133. It all went downhill after that. Mervis had not hit a home run or driven in a run since April 23 as opponents began attacking him with more fastballs. In 42 Marlins games overall, he slashed .175/.254/.383/.637 with a 71 wRC+. He struck out 37.3% of the time. Simon earned his first career call-up after an excellent start to the season with AAA-Jacksonville. As a Marlin, he played in 19 games and slashed .234/.327/.277/.604 with five RBI and a 73 wRC+. The baseball world became much more familiar with the versatile switch-hitter on Tuesday when he committed three errors and was replaced midway through the game. Simon received widespread support from current and former players after he was seen crying on television. Like Simon, Heriberto Hernández signed a minor league deal with the Marlins and had history with president of baseball operations Peter Bendix from their days in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Through 41 Jumbo Shrimp games, he's slashing .220/.319/.454/.773 with nine home runs, 21 RBI and a 109 wRC+. The only downside—similar to Mervis—is that Hernandez strikes out 35.0% of the time, though he walks 11.7% of the time. Defensively, he has been a left fielder and designated hitter this season. With Mervis out of the picture, Eric Wagaman will be Miami's main first baseman. Although Hernández has played 45 career games at first, none of those were above the High-A level. It was reported by Christina De Nicola that catcher Liam Hicks would see some time at first base, so it looks like he'll back up Wagaman. Minor league Rule 5 Draft pick Jack Winkler is also set to make his MLB debut. Through 41 games played, he has slashed .275/.331/.423/.754 with five home runs, 19 RBI and a 106 wRC+. He's split time between third base and shortstop, but has also played first and second. Winkler's strikeout rate (26.8%) and walk rate (8.3%) are both lower than Hernández. Ranked second on the Marlins with 0.9 fWAR in 2025, Dane Myers missed the previous 16 games due to a right oblique strain. The Marlins 40-man roster remains full. The Marlins and Giants kick off a three-game set on Friday night. Cal Quantrill will take the mound at 7:10 pm. View full article

Fish Unfiltered—Episode #74 Returning Fish Unfiltered guest Craig Mish sits down with Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral to describe his transition from Miami Marlins scoops king to TV analyst, the ongoing struggles of Sandy Alcantara, players who could be on the trade block this summer and much more. Find Fish Unfiltered on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes The Offishial Show, Swimming Upstream, Big Fish Small Pod and more. Watch Mish on FanDuel Sports Network Florida where he works as a pregame/postgame analyst for select Marlins home games. On Friday, he will be moderating a panel with Marlins bench coach Carson Vitale and field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt in the Blue Moon Brew Hall at loanDepot park. To RSVP, email enrollment@marlins.com or call 305-480-2525. Follow Craig (@CraigMish), Isaac (⁠@IsaacAzout⁠), Kevin (⁠@kevin_barral⁠) and Fish On First (⁠@FishOnFirst⁠) on Twitter. Join the ⁠Marlins Discord server⁠! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at ⁠FishOnFirst.com⁠. View full article

On Fish Unfiltered, Marlins insider Craig Mish floats the possibility that Xavier Edwards could be expendable as the team turns to internal options to handle shortstop and leadoff hitter responsibilities. View full video

The Marlins immediately took a 6-0 lead, but then never scored again. Their second baseman and starting pitcher had especially rough nights. Man oh man, this was certainly an interesting game. The Marlins had their most productive first inning of the season, batting around to build a six-run lead. Within an hour, that lead was completely gone. Second baseman Ronny Simon committed three errors (and four total misplays) while starting pitcher Max Meyer failed to miss bats as the Marlins fell to the San Diego Padres by a final score of 8-6. Simon has been a part-time player for the Marlins since being called up on April 20 with second base being his main position. He had only committed one error there prior to Tuesday's game. Simon ranged into foul territory to record the first defensive out of the night for the Marlins, then finished off the inning by fielding a routine grounder. However, he mishandled every other ball that came his way and was removed from the game early. In the bottom of the second inning, with the Marlins leading 6-1, Padres left fielder Tyler Wade hit a grounder towards Simon that deflected off his glove for an RBI single. The rookie made matters worse by throwing wildly to home (his first error). Both Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth scored to make it a 6-3 game. hhkg17.mp4 In the third inning, Simon was distracted by a Padres hit-and-run and allowed a grounder to get through him into center field. The play was ruled a single as the lead continued to shrink to 6-4. xqwpcq.mp4 It became clear that Simon was letting the pressure get to him when he made errors on consecutive plays in the fourth. He allowed Wade to reach first base, then Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded into what could have been a double play, but Simon flipped the ball beyond the reach of shortstop Javier Sanoja, eyvcz4.mp4 8976q5.mp4 Following the inning, the Marlins took Simon out, moving Sanoja from short to second base. Otto Lopez entered the game at shortstop. "Things just started to snowball a little bit and the compound effect was tough," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Just thought for us and him in that moment that making the change, that was prudent with how things had transpired." As much as Simon opened the door for the Padres to rally, Marlins starting pitcher Max Meyer turned in one of his worst starts of the season, not striking anyone out for a second time in 2025 and allowing six runs (four earned). His 3 ⅓ innings of work also marked his shortest outing of the season. "Maybe not his crispiest stuff, but I think he was out there battling and kept trying to make pitches," said McCullough. "You gave them some extra outs that made things difficult, but I felt Max just kept going. Competed his butt off out there tonight." Although Meyer's slider can be his best weapon, it was not effective in this outing. San Diego hitters posted a 98.2 mph average exit velocity against it with no whiffs. Here's what Meyer told the media regarding Simon's rough defensive night: "I told him, 'I know you’re not trying to do that behind me. Keep your head up.' Stuff like that is going to happen. It’s baseball at the end of the day and I’m not going to hold anything behind him.” Miami's first-inning explosion off of Stephen Kolek began when lead-off hitter Jesús Sánchez stayed hot with a single to center field. Kyle Stowers, Liam Hicks, Connor Norby and Ronny Simon each drove in a run apiece. Victor Mesa Jr., who was making his first career start, recorded his first career hit and RBI during the rally. The ball left the bat at 104.8 mph. Sanoja drove in the sixth and final Marlins run of the game on a sac fly. "Excited for him and that had to feel great," said McCullough about Mesa's milestone. "For us at that time, that was a big hit to keep the momentum going and pushing a run across." Former Marlin Luis Arraez made a major impact. He ripped an RBI single up the middle against Meyer to drive in the game-tying run. Next time up with two outs in the fifth inning, he singled off of Anthony Bender's unhittable sweeper to give the Padres a 7-6 lead. Valente Bellozo worked the final three innings of the game. Jackson Merrill's solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning put the nail in the coffin. With the loss, the Marlins dropped to 21-32 on the season. This was their first blown lead of six runs or more since April 28, 2024. McCullough will send Sandy Alcantara to the mound as the Marlins try to salvage the series. First pitch is at 4:10 pm on getaway day. View full article

The Marlins got another quality starting pitching performance, but Ryan Weathers did not receive enough help from the rest of the roster in the extra-inning loss. Drafted seventh overall by the San Diego Padres in 2018, Ryan Weathers did not reach his potential with them. After posting a 5.73 ERA in 43 major league appearances (29 starts), Weathers was traded to Miami at the 2023 MLB trade deadline. He has grown a lot since then and showed it on Monday night, going 5 ⅔ innings pitched, allowing two runs (both unearned) on three hits, three walks and a season-high six strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 99.2 mph, a mark he never reached with his former club. Unfortunately, Weathers' great start was not enough for the Miami Marlins. Their offense went silent after taking an early 3-0 lead and the Padres battled back to walk it off in the bottom of the 11th by a final score of 4-3. Weathers' best pitch on Monday was his changeup, generating six whiffs and four punchouts with that pitch. Going into his start, he had thrown his changeup 29.5% of the time, making it his second-most-used pitch. "You could see a lot of the empty swings and I think the fastball velocity, I think he did a good job of getting in on some righties at times—that kept the changeup open," said manager Clayton McCullough following the game. "He was good again. This is how Ryan has been throwing. To come back and—especially, I'm sure, a lot on his mind coming back here and a lot of emotions going into that—to be able to channel it and stay within himself and just continue to make pitch after pitch was a really great outing." In the bottom of the fourth inning, Weathers began the inning striking out Manny Machado swinging and inducing a Gavin Sheets groundout. The Padres rallied with two outs. Xander Bogaerts smacked a base hit and stole second, marking his tenth stolen base of the season. Jake Cronenworth kept things going when he reached first on a throwing error by Marlins third baseman Connor Norby, marking his third error of the season. That permitted Bogaerts to advance to third. After Weathers issued his second walk of the game, the bases were loaded for former Marlins minor league signing José Iglesias, who hit a double down the left field line past a diving Norby and driving in two runs. Weathers would remain in the game and hold onto a 3-2 lead by inducing a groundout. After a 1-2-3 fifth, he recorded two outs in the sixth inning, but was taken out in place of Jesús Tinoco. Former Marlin Luis Arraez entered the game as a pinch-hitter and flew out to Jesús Sánchez to wrap up the bottom of the sixth. Through three starts in 2025 since coming off the injured list, Weathers has an outstanding 1.15 ERA. Overall as a Marlin, he owns a 3.75 ERA, nearly two full runs better than what he did during his Padres tenure. The Jesús Sánchez leadoff hitter experiment continues to be a success for the Marlins. Sánchez began the game with a base hit into right field, setting up designated hitter Agustín Ramírez for an RBI double, Ramírez's 17th extra-base hit. Ramírez was driven in by Norby on an RBI single, giving Weathers a 2-0 cushion to work with. In his second at-bat of the night, Sánchez took Padres starter Randy Vásquez deep for his third home run of the season. The ball went 417 feet to dead center at 111.0 miles per hour to make it a 3-0 lead. Sánchez is slashing .273/.385/.545/.930 in nine games leading off against right-handed starters since Xavier Edwards was placed on the IL. Trailing throughout the night, the Padres tied it up at three apiece when Manny Machado hit a solo home run off of Calvin Faucher in the eighth inning. It was Machado's third homer in his last four games. Victor Mesa Jr., who was called up prior to the game, took over as a defensive replacement in center field. His first at-bat didn't come until the tenth inning, with an opportunity to put his team on top. After making a great but late swing at the first pitch, he fouled off the second pitch, putting him in a 0-2 count. He took the next pitch, then right-hander Jason Adam struck him out swinging on a slider away. Usually asked to pitch low-leverage situations, Tyler Phillips was surprisingly relied on not only to force extra innings, but to face the top of the Padres order in the tenth. He retired Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Machado in order. The Marlins went with lefty Cade Gibson in the 11th inning. After Gavin Sheets grounded out to second base, moving the go-ahead run to third, Gibson spiked a curveball for a game-ending wild pitch. With the loss, the Marlins fell to 21-31 on the season. Max Meyer will toe the rubber against Stephen Kolek, brother of former Marlins first-round pick Tyler Kolek. Victor Mesa Jr. is also expected to start for the Marlins. First pitch is at 9:40 pm. View full article

The 2018 international signing is getting the call-up to the Majors and scheduled to be in Tuesday's Marlins lineup. Fish On First has learned that the Miami Marlins are calling up Fish On First number 19 prospect Victor Mesa Jr. to the Major Leagues on Monday. Derek Hill is being placed on the injured list with a left wrist injury in a corresponding roster move. A source says Mesa is expected to make his first career start on Tuesday. Mesa, 23, was signed out of Cuba in 2018 for $1 million and has been with the organization since then. He found himself on the cusp of debuting in 2024, slashing .259/.319/.430 with 13 home runs, 51 RBI and a 98 wRC+ at the Triple-A level, but suffered a lower back injury, knocking him out for the remainder of the season. In spring training this year, Mesa suffered a right hamstring strain, taking him out of the mix for an Opening Day roster spot. He completed a rehab assignment earlier this month and has played six games with AAA-Jacksonville since being reinstated. The outfielder has slashed .300/.375/.650 with one home run, five RBI and a 161 wRC+. Offensively, Mesa has an interesting profile. He has posted reverse platoon splits each of the past two seasons, including a .290/.390/.500/.890 slash line against left-handed pitching in 2024. Defensively, he can play all three outfield spots. Hill had recently been serving as Miami's main center fielder. Through 23 games this season, Hill is slashing .233/.300/.370/.670 with two home runs, five RBI and an 82 OPS+. He has also struck out 35.4% of the time. Sources tell Fish On First that he will wear uniform number ten and have six family members/friends in attendance at Petco Park as the Marlins and San Diego Padres begin a three-game set on Monday. His father, Cuban baseball legend Victor Mesa Sr., will be at the game. View full article

A strong offensive night from the Marlins wasn't enough as they fell to the Angels in game one of a three-game set. On a night the Marlins offense had 14 hits and Eric Wagaman had a big homecoming game, starter Sandy Alcantara struggled, allowing six runs as the Fish dropped game one against the Los Angeles Angels by a final score of 7-4. Wagaman, who made his Major League debut last season with the Angels, was DFA'd this past offseason by them and elected Minor League free agency. He was signed to a split deal with the Marlins and broke camp with the big league roster. After going hitless in his first couple games to begin the season, Wagaman later found himself on a 12-game hit streak. Going into Friday's homecoming game, Wagaman had slashed .242/.293/.373/.666 with three home runs, 12 RBI and an 81 OPS+. After he flew out in his first at-bat of the game, Wagaman took Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi deep for his fourth home run of the season and put the Fish on the board despite trailing, 6-1. In the top of the eighth inning with one out and two runners in scoring position, trailing 6-2, Wagaman smacked an RBI single to drive in both runs and make it a two-run deficit. He finished the night going 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. That was Wagaman's fourth three-hit game of the season. Amongst the Marlins' 14-hit day, Kyle Stowers had a three-hit day, extending his hit streak to ten games. He drove in the game's second run off of former Marlin Shaun Anderson in the top of the seventh inning. That marked Stowers' fourth three-hit game of the season. Five Marlins went on to have a multi-hit game. One of those five Marlins was rookie Agustin Ramirez, who led off for the first time in his professional career. He went two-for-five with a run scored. Alcantara, who had seen a recent trend of the final line no entirely reflecting his performance on the mound, came to an end on Friday night as he went 5 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits, two walks and one home run. He also struck out six. Alcantara's fastball averaged 97.0 mph and topped out at 98.6 mph. In the bottom of the second inning, Alcantara surrendered a home run to outfielder Taylor Ward, his 15th of the season making it a 1-0 Halos lead. In the bottom of the fourth, Alcantara surrendered a sac fly to Ward and an RBI double to Angels young catcher Logan O'Hoppe, making it a 3-0 lead. Everything fell apart for Alcantara in the sixth inning. After surrendering a walk to Nolan Schanuel, Cuban third baseman Yoan Moncada knocked in a double, moving the Florida Atlantic product to third. Alcantara walked the aforementioned Ward to load the bases. Former Marlin Jorge Soler brought the runner at third in on a catchers interference and Alcantara hit longtime NL East rival Travis d'Arnaud with a pitch to drive in the sixth run of the game. That wound up being the Dominican's final pitch. When the Marlins brought in Lake Bachar, the right-hander left a hanging slider in the middle of the zone to Soler. who belted his seventh home run of the campaign, giving the Angels a 7-4 lead. Alcantara is now 2-7 on the season with a 8.04 ERA and his next start is projected to be in the series-finale against the San Diego Padres. With the loss, the Marlins are now 19-30 on the season and will go with Cal Qauntrill, who is coming off one of his best starts of the season. First pitch is at 10:07 pm ET. View full article

Once again, the Marlins bullpen was unable to hold onto a tight ballgame, surrendering eight runs in a single inning. MIAMI, FL - On Tuesday, the Marlins aimed for their second-straight series win. After starting pitcher Ryan Weathers gave the Marlins five strong innings, the bullpen was unable to keep the game tied in the top of the sixth inning as they allowed eight runs on eight hits. The Cubs went on to defeat the Marlins by a final score of 14-1, marking the most amount of runs the Marlins have allowed at home this season. As for the Cubs, this marked their 10th game with 10+ runs. That’s the Cubs’ most such performances in their first 49 games since 1898 (11). Going into his sixth inning appearance, Calvin Faucher had not allowed an earned run in his last 12 outings (0.00 ERA, 1.98 FIP). On Tuesday, he was unable to record an out and surrendered six earned runs. It marked the first time in his career that Faucher was unable to record an out in an appearance. His ERA spiked from 2.25 to 5.63 following Tuesday's outing. "Calvin [Faucher] had been throwing the ball so well and I think outside of the lead-off walk, I really think he was victimized some," said manager Clayton McCullough following the game. "Some base hits found holes and other balls fell in front of some guys and some found holes through the infield. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop the bleeding. They did a good job of stringing some at-bats together." After Faucher was taken out of the game, Lake Bachar surrendered two more runs, capping the Cubs' eight-run top of the sixth and giving them a commanding 9-1 lead. Cade Gibson gave the Marlins two shutout innings and in the ninth inning, the Marlins opted to go with position player Javier Sanoja who surrendered five runs, giving the Cubs a 14-1 lead. It was Sanoja's fourth relief appearance of the season. Ryan Weathers took the mound for his second start of the season on an 85-pitch limit. He was taken out after five innings and 80 pitches thrown. The Marlins lefty had an almost identical final line to his first start last week, allowing one run on four hits, no walks and striking out four. In the top of the first inning, Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker took Weathers deep for his 11th home run of the season. Postgame, Weathers noted that this was the best his fastball has ever felt since he reached the big leagues. His fastball averaged 97.3 mph and topped out at 99.0 mph, which he hit just once in the top of the first inning. He generated four whiffs and half of his strikeouts came on that pitch. "I don't know what's going on with it, but it just has a lot more carry on it right now, which I'm cool with," said Weathers. "Just got to keep staying where I'm at with that and I think we'll keep getting good results." In his rehab assignments, Weathers never surpassed 62 pitches thrown or five innings of work. Although Tuesday's decision seemed pre-decided, this goes all the way back to how the coaching staff and front office went about preparing their pitchers for the season. Having them go in one-inning increments has seemed to backfire with some of their starters. Going into Tuesday's contest, the Marlins' bullpen ranked 24th in ERA (4.68) and third in innings pitched (188.1). Part of how much the Marlins have had to rely on their bullpen is because their starting pitchers have not gone deep into games. Only two Marlins starting pitchers have completed six innings of work this season: Max Meyer five times and Sandy Alcantara once. Edward Cabrera, Valente Bellozo and Cal Qauntrill have all entered the sixth inning of a ballgame, but have yet to complete it. Weathers did not attempt to lobby to go back out for a sixth inning of work. "My job is to just go pitch," said Weathers. "When the ball gets taken from me, that's when it gets taken from me. We knew of a rough pitch count before the game and I would have more pitches to work with, but I shot myself in the foot and didn't take care of business early. Like I said, it's not my job. My job is give whatever I got whenever skip hands me the ball." On a positive note, for a third straight game, a Marlins catcher hit a home run. On Sunday, it was Liam Hicks. Agustin Ramirez would homer on Monday and then the lone run of Tuesday's game was thanks to Nick Fortes' first home run of the season. Marlins catchers have now hit a total of 11 home runs in 2025 compared to only six in 2024. With the loss, the Marlins are now 19-28 on the season and still have an opportunity to take the series. Max Meyer will take the mound on Wednesday with first pitch at 1:10 pm. View full article

If asked, Sandy Alcantara is ready to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. MIAMI, FL - With the 2026 World Baseball Classic inching closer and closer, Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara is one of the top names to potentially join the Dominican Republic. The DR will once again be in Pool D and play their games at loanDepot park in Miami. On Monday, Fish On First asked Alcantara about the possibility of joining the DR in the upcoming tournament. Alcantara said that he has not yet been approached about pitching for his home country, but that he would immediately say yes. "I'm here. So if they want to call me, I'm ready," Alcantara said. In the 2023 installment of the World Baseball Classic, Alcantara pitched the team's opening game against Venezuela in Miami. In his lone start, Alcantara went 3 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits, walked three and struck out two. "It was an incredible experience," said Alcantara. "A lot of fans, especially latin fans. It's something that makes you feel more comfortable and gives you more energy. I think everything was great last WBC and hopefully I can have another opportunity." Alcantara was coming off his 2022 All-Star season and became the first reigning Cy Young Award winner to pitch for his home country. "I think everything in general," said Alcantara when asked what stood out the most about the experience. "The chemistry, the players that you meet there and the fun that you have. Playing the same sport that lot of all star players participate in is cool, so it's something that makes me feel even happier." The Dominican Republic was unable to advance passed the first round in the last World Baseball Classic as they lost to Venezuela and Puerto Rico. This season, Alcantara has struggled, posting a 7.99 ERA, 5.37 FIP, 7.3 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 through 41 2/3 innings pitched this season. His next scheduled start is on Friday, May 23 against the Los Angeles Angels at 9:40 pm. View full article

Victor Mesa Jr. is back in action for the Marlins Triple-A affiliate, but Deyvison De Los Santos will miss some time. On Saturday, Fish On First's number 19 prospect Victor Mesa Jr. was reinstated from the 7-day injured list. Unfortunately, the corresponding roster move for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp was placing Deyvison De Los Santos (FOF #9) on the 7-day IL. Mesa suffered a right hamstring strain during spring training and did not appear in any Grapefruit League games. He later had warts on the bottom of his foot surgically removed, which elongated his IL stint. Mesa had been emerging as a serious call-up candidate during the 2024 season. He played in 80 Triple-A games and slashed .259/.319/.430/.749 with 13 home runs, 51 RBI and a 98 wRC+. Defensively, he played primarily center field, but saw action in all three spots. Mesa suffered a back injury in late July and missed the rest of the year. Mesa is batting leadoff and playing center field in his 2025 Jumbo Shrimp debut. De Los Santos, who the Marlins acquired last season from the Arizona Diamondbacks, was Minor League Baseball's reigning home run king. He got off to a slow start in 2025, but recently caught fire with two homers and a 1.154 OPS in five games prior to getting hurt. Considering the struggles of Matt Mervis, the 21-year-old first baseman was beginning to emerge as an alternative for the Marlins. For the season, he is slashing .250/.317/.399/.716 with five home runs and 20 RBI. During Friday's game, De Los Santos suffered a left quad strain running to first base in the top of the second inning. This is the first IL stint of his professional career. c43hvw.mp4 Longtime Marlins prospect Troy Johnston has been splitting time between left field and first base this season. He will now likely see almost all of his reps at first. He is slashing .273/.357/.491/.848 with four home runs, 19 RBI and 13 stolen bases. A former Marlins Minor League Player of the Year who is six years older than De Los Santos, he has made an even stronger case to potentially be called up. He is hitting fifth in Saturday's Jumbo Shrimp lineup. View full article

The Marlins have not beaten their in-state rivals in a season series since 2018. They got things started on the right foot on Friday. MIAMI, FL—Two-out magic was the name of the game for the Miami Marlins in their series-opening win against the Tampa Bay Rays. They scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and four more in the sixth on their way to a 9-4 final score. It was the Marlins' biggest margin of victory since April 13. When the Marlins acquired third baseman Connor Norby from the Baltimore Orioles last season, they brought in a highly rated prospect who really impressed through his first 36 games with the organization. After somewhat of a slow start in 2025, Norby has heated up and finished Friday's game going 2-for-4 with three RBI. He is now slashing .264/.304/.425/.729 with two home runs and nine RBI. The Marlins were one strike away from wasting a bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth inning, but rookie catcher Agustín Ramírez worked an eight-pitch walk to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead. That brought up Norby. Going into his at-bat, he had been 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. In a 2-2 count, Rays starter Taj Bradley went with a splitter, which Norby hit 102.6 mph into left field, clearing the bases and giving the Marlins a 5-1 lead. This marked his fifth multi-hit game of the season. "I haven't been great in those spots," said Norby following the game about coming to the plate with RISP, "so that swing was obviously huge at that point in the game, but it's going to happen again for everyone else. Whether you get the job done or not, you're going to learn from the good or bad and as long as we keep putting ourselves in those spots, we're going to win a lot of games." The Marlins offense has been at its best with two outs. Going into Friday's game, as a team, they had been slashing .254/.338/.421/.759 in those situations (compared to .244/.309/.382/.691 overall). They have produced more than half of their total runs this season (92 out of 182) with two outs." For a while, it seemed like we were cashing in a whole lot on those opportunities," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "To count on the two-out RBI, the odds aren't really in your favor and we continue to stress the more opportunities that we give ourselves—the more rallies we start, the more pressure we can put on the opponent. We will come through. Creating as many of those opportunities you can and tonight, we were able to both create the opportunities and also cash in." Eric Wagaman, who went hitless in the prior series against the Chicago Cubs and had a .513 OPS during the month of May, knocked in two runs for the Marlins. In the bottom of the first, a sac fly drove in the first run of the game and he added another insurance run in the sixth inning, following Kyle Stowers' RBI single with his own. "Wags has been going through it a little bit on the results part," said McCullough. "Carson (Vitale) talked to him quite a bit. Our hitting guys have talked to him and it's nothing about the swing or mechanics. It's just, 'take a step back, take a breath, we believe that you're a major league player and a really good hitter.'" Despite being struck by two comebackers in the top of the fourth inning, Marlins starter Max Meyer was solid, going five innings, allowing four runs on six hits, no walks and seven strikeouts. The first comebacker was a 112.7 mph base hit by Yandy Díaz, which hit Meyer's right ankle. The second hit Meyer's right thigh at 90.0 mph. He said postgame he was fine. "Guess I'm just ugly. The ball just finds me," Meyer said jokingly. One thing worth noting in his start was that his slider, which opposing hitters seem to have begun picking up, was hit extremely hard, with the five balls in play averaging an exit velocity of 96.0 mph exit (max of 106.2 mph). On the other hand, six of his seven strikeouts came on that slider. "Stuff felt really sharp," said Meyer. "Later on, probably leaned off the fastball a little bit. Should have went back to it, but I can't complain with how I feel right now. My stuff feels good. I'm starting to tighten everything up, so now it's just pick the right counts to throw certain pitches and I think we'll straighten out." For the first time this season, Marlins starting pitchers were credited with a win in back-to-back games. With the win, the Marlins are now 17-26 on the season while the Rays fall to 20-24. Sandy Alcantara will take the mound on Saturday. This will be Alcantara's first time facing the Rays since 8/29/23, where he surrendered four runs. That same season, he tossed a complete game shutout. First pitch is at 4:10 pm and it is Cuban Heritage Day at the ballpark. View full article