Kevin Barral

MIAMI, FL - Cal Quantrill's Marlins debut was not one to remember. Quantrill, 30, signed a one-year deal this off-season worth $3.5M. He took a shorter term deal over the Colorado Rockies' multi-year offer. After getting off to a rough start this spring, his final start saw him go four perfect innings while striking out five. He then threw a five inning sim game on the eve of Opening Day. His first ever start at loanDepot park ended on a sour note. In the top of the fifth inning, New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso took the right-hander deep on a 3-2 pitch for a grand slam to give the Mets a 6-1 lead in what would be the nail in the coffin on Monday night. The Mets wound up victorious by a score of 10-4. In his Marlins debut, Quantrill went four innings, allowed six runs on eight hits, walked one and struck out two. He was unable to record an out in the fifth inning. Heading into the fifth, the right-hander had only allowed one run though four, but then allowed a single to Luisangel Acuña and an RBI double to Jose Siri which gave the Mets a 2-1 lead. He then hit Starling Marte with a pitch and walked Juan Soto to load the bases for Alonso. The Marlins made the questionable decision to leave their starter in there despite him getting up in pitch count. "Cal (Quantrill) is a veteran, been in a lot of spots before and had been throwing well," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "He got some traffic and we had Anthony (Veneziano) going in the event that we wanted to pull the trigger there. He had a couple opportunities to get himself out of there and kind of keep things where they were, so gave him a chance to get through that." Quantrill was unable to and was taken out after the Alonso slam. Going into the at-bat, the Mets' first baseman had a career .823 OPS with 27 home runs against the Marlins. His grand slam on Monday went to the opposite field and traveled 400 feet according to statcast. "I got into some bad counts, which was a tough way to start the inning," said Quantrill following the game. "Just got away from me a little bit there, but threw the ball pretty well up until the fifth. Just bad counts and free base runners got me in the end." When asked if he was surprised to be facing Juan Soto, Quantrill said, "nope, I'm a starting pitcher, I'm in there until I'm not." The Marlins' scored first on Monday night via an impressive opposite field home run by the hot-hitting Otto Lopez. Lopez's second homer of the season ricocheted off the facing of the upper deck. He would later add an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning, continuing his impressive start to the campaign. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Eric Wagaman, the lone position player that the Marlins signed this offseason, hit a 424-foot homer to the Budweiser Bar, tacking on the Marlins second run of the game. This also marked Wagaman's first homer as a member of the Marlins. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Wagaman drove Griffin Conine on an opposite field RBI single to make it 10-4, which would be the final score. "We all believe in Eric's ability to hit," said McCullough. "We felt very confident with that coming into this season and a few tough at-bats early didn't diminish our thoughts on him, but nice for him to get some rewards with some knocks" On the bright side, right-handed reliever Luarbert Arias made his Major League debut in Monday's loss. He went three perfect innings and struck out one. Arias is the first pitcher in Marlins history to pitch at least three innings with zero baserunners allowed in his MLB debut. "For him to go out there and make his debut and pitch as well as he did was great," said McCullough. "It just sets us up very well for tomorrow and moving forward." When asked about a potential roster move, McCullough said that they "are in a good spot" and that they will have "a lot of relievers available," for the rest of the series. With the loss, the Marlins fell to 3-2 on the year. Sandy Alcantara will make his second start of the season against Mets' Kodai Senga on Tuesday at 6:40 pm.

MIAMI, FL—If there's one thing that is evident through the first three games of the 2025 season, it's that the Miami Marlins will push teams all the way till the end. That's exactly what happened on Saturday afternoon as the Marlins trailed the Pittsburgh Pirates four separate times, but ultimately won in walk-off fashion by a final score of 5-4. Griffin Conine didn't even start for the Marlins—he entered to pinch hit in the bottom of the seventh inning. He would stay in the game, taking over in left field. In the top of the eighth, with the game tied at three, Pirates outfielder Jack Suwinski hit a 103.7 mph ball over his head which looked surely gone off the bat and would've put the Pirates ahead, but Conine leapt over the left field wall and robbed Suwinski. "Knew it was going to be right at the fence," said Conine following the game. "I thought for sure it was going to be out of my reach, but it kind of hung up for me, got close to the fence and pretty much jumped as high as I could and extended as high as I could and just like snow cone, barely in the webbing and somehow hung on." When you think of Griffin Conine, you think of a 6'1," 210-pound slugger, but many sleep on his defense. In a limited sample size last season, Conine was way above the league average in defensive runs saved and is doing it again this season. "I think that's something I worked really hard on," said Conine of his defense. "Early on in my career, like, out of college, I was mostly offensive-driven. That was my focus, that's what I worked on the most. Always had a good arm, but as far as the importance of getting jumps and reading the outfield and being able to go back on the ball and all that stuff, it takes a lot of work, some BP, timing and all that stuff, so it's cool when it shows up in games like this." Conine wasn't the only Marlins outfielder who took runs off the scoreboard. Dane Myers threw Tommy Pham out at home in the top of the 12th to keep the game at four apiece. Myers recorded another outfield assist way back in the first inning. Through three games, the Marlins have three outfield assists, two coming from Myers and one from Conine in Friday's loss. "I think we're just taking pride in doing the little things right," said Myers. "Usually, you don't see it pay off right away, but we focused on it in camp and it's cool to see results that early." In the bottom of the 12th, with the bases loaded, Myers walked it off against Tim Mayza to give the Marlins their second win of the season and complete a 3-for-6 day for himself at the plate. "Feels good. That's a game of baseball," said Myers. "Through the ups and downs, you just gotta stay ready for whatever. Like I said, I'm proud of myself for being mentally ready to handle whatever." Otto Lopez continued to contribute across all aspects of the game. He was in the middle of the relay during Myers' first assist, had a 3-for-5 night with one RBI and stole a base. Overall in this series, Lopez has gone 5-for-11 with one home run, four RBI and only one strikeout. "As we got into the middle part of spring training, Otto really started to elevate the ball," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Not really like a home run hitter, but the line drives, the quality of contact really seem to turn a corner, and we've seen that thus far." In his season debut, Valente Bellozo gave the Marlins 4 ⅓ innings of work, allowing one run off of four hits, walking two and striking out four. The lone run that Bellozo surrendered came in the bottom of the first inning on a Jack Suwinski RBI double. After that, the Marlins starter shut out the Pirates offense. Bellozo, who added a kick-change to his arsenal this offseason, featured it 12 times on Saturday, striking out Ji Hwan Bae swinging in the top of the third inning. UUFycnFfZFhBc1VBPT1fVWxOV1hRWUZBbE1BQVZJR1ZBQUhVQVFFQUFBRkFsQUFDbEFFQkZZTkFRWlJCbFJT.mp4 Following the game, Daniel Álvarez of El Extrabase reported that the Marlins have optioned Bellozo to Triple-A Jacksonville. This comes after the Marlins used seven arms (including Bellozo). A corresponding roster move will be announced prior to Sunday's game. With the win, the Marlins move to 2-1 on the season and will look to take their first series of 2025. Max Meyer will make his highly anticipated 2025 debut against former Marlin Andrew Heaney. The Marlins will also induct Jeff Conine into the team's inaugural Hall of Fame class. The Conine ceremony will begin at 1:00 pm.

MIAMI, FL—Going into the final weeks of spring training, the Miami Marlins were expecting to have a rotation of Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers, Edward Cabrera, Max Meyer and Cal Quantrill. Injuries made them adjust those plans. While Cabrera (middle finger blister) and Weathers (flexor muscle strain) complete their rehab, Connor Gillispie and Valente Bellozo have the opportunity to make a few starts in their place. Gillispie was claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Braves back in January. He was in West Palm Beach when he received the news, about to make his way over to Venice, close to where the Braves hold their spring training. It all ended up working out for the 27-year-old as he simply made his way up to Jupiter. Gillispie had a strong spring, enough to make the Marlins rotation. Through six appearances (three starts), Gillispie posted a 3.86 ERA, striking out nine and walking five. He didn't allow a single hit in his first four appearances. "Pitching staff was able to enhance the repertoire," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Enough fastball that has good carry to the top of the strike zone and a lot of confidence in his breaking pitches. Connor's a terrific competitor." At the major league level, Gillispie made three previous appearances, all of those with the Cleveland Guardians where he posted a 2.25 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 9.0 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 through 8.0 IP. Friday marked his first career start and he had family and friends in attendance. "Pressure comes with it," said Gillispie. "I've prepared my whole life for this, so just another day in the park." On Friday night, Gillispie gave the Marlins five innings of work against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing four runs (three earned) off of four hits (one home run), walking four and striking out four. Bellozo made 13 Marlins starts last season, posting a 3.67 ERA, 5.73 FIP, 5.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 through 68 ⅔ innings pitched. He will take the mound on Saturday. Entering 2025, his velocity is up—after averaging 89.2 mph with his four-seam fastball last year, he averaged 90.4 mph during the spring. When it comes to his arsenal, Bellozo added a kick-changeup, something he began using in his second outing of the spring. "I think it's moving well," said Bellozo. "It's attacking in the zone, having more confidence on it. That's gonna come with the outings, practice, throwing programs and bullpens. Right now, I have a really good feeling of that pitch and the feedback is good. The hop and the depth of that pitch is gonna be huge." Uk80blpfVlZjPV9Wd2xVQmxJTkJGUUFXMWNIVmdBQUNWUldBRmxRVWdJQUJGSUNVUVFNVWxVRFUxRUE=.mp4 In five Grapefruit League appearances (two starts), Bellozo posted a 9.45 ERA. He got off to a promising start, but it all went downhill after that. "I'm a pitcher of info, of getting more info," said Bellozo. "I open my pictures of the swings, of aggressiveness, of counts and other stuff. I think that affected [me] a little bit in the spring because we don't have all that info. But here in the league, now Opening Day and all the outings, we have all that info and it's gonna work for me." The Marlins optioned Bellozo on March 14 to Triple-A Jacksonville. Following Ryan Weathers' injury, the team brought Bellozo down to Miami and informed him on Tuesday that he would be one of 17 players making their first career Opening Day roster. "This is part of the business, part of baseball," Bellozo said. "That was my mindset when they sent me down: be prepared. I know that I did a really well last year, my last two months and the numbers are there. Only be healthy, be prepared for the call. The call was really quick and we're ready. We're gonna be 100% every outing and every start."

MIAMI, FL—You couldn't have asked for a better Opening Day game. Sandy Alcantara made his long-awaited return to the mound, and although the Miami Marlins were trailing when he was taken out, his teammates erased a 4-1 deficit and defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in walk-off fashion by a final score of 5-4. It was the first Marlins Opening Day win at home since 2014 and the second ever at their current ballpark. Outfielder Kyle Stowers, who had a rough 50-game sample with the Marlins last season, just completed an equally rough spring training. He slashed .175/.365/.175/.540 with three RBI, but walked 12 times. Then he began Thursday's game with two strikeouts. "We saw high-quality at-bats from Kyle (Stowers) all spring long," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "The scoreboard not reflecting that, but he was making some good swing decisions in the box. Not easy to have the first couple go that way, but that's a professional. You got to hang in there and your next at-bat could be the most important." Stowers bounced back and worked back-to-back full-count walks. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with a runner on third, he hit a 105.5 mph RBI single down the right field line off of David Bednar to knock in the first walk-off win of the MLB season. "It's special," said Stowers. "Obviously, there was already a lot of energy with it being Opening Day, thought the atmosphere was great. It's just those moments any time of the year which are why we play the game, opportunities like that. I was just happy to be the guy in that moment." Stowers' heroics also snapped a losing streak against the Pirates, who beat the Marlins in all seven of their head-to-head matchups last season. For the first time in 571 days, Sandy Alcantara pitched for the Fish. After cruising through 4 ⅔ innings, striking out seven, the Marlins ace ran into some trouble, surrendering an 2-RBI single to Bryan Reynolds, giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning. In total, he allowed three hits and walked four on 91 pitches. "It wasn't my best outing today," said Alcantara following the game. "I was fighting since the first inning. I just need to take away the walks and be okay. I just gotta think about what I did today and prepare myself for my next start." Alcantara went with his sinker, changeup, four-seam fastball and slider. His four-seam fastball was averaging 98.2 mph while the sinker averaged 97.2 mph. no1pkh.mp4 Although Paul Skenes struck out seven Marlins, they made the reigning National League Rookie of the Year work. Skenes finished his outing going 5 ⅓ innings, allowing two runs off of three hits and walking two. The Marlins went on to finish the night with seven walks, matching their highest total from the 2024 season. "I thought we had a lot of really high quality at-bats," said McCullough. "Paul is tough, and to at least stress him some and get his pitch count up there. When their guys came out of the bullpen, our guys put together some really good at-bats." For the first time since the shortened 2020 season, the Marlins have begun with a 1-0 record. On Friday, Connor Gillispie will take the mound for the Marlins. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm.

MIAMI, FL—Opening Day has finally arrived. We are getting a rematch of last year's season opener between the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates, except with an even better pitching matchup to enjoy. It'll be the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara facing 2024 National League Rookie of the Year winner Paul Skenes. Although the home team will have to overcome a lot of obstacles to be competitive in 2025, the first game of any season always comes with good vibes. Here's the latest on the Marlins and some information on starter Paul Skenes and the Pirates. Pitching Matchups & Game Times Thursday: RHP Sandy Alcantara vs. RHP Paul Skenes, 4:10 pm Friday: RHP Connor Gillispie vs. RHP Mitch Keller, 7:10 pm Saturday: RHP Valente Bellozo vs. LHP Bailey Falter, 4:10 pm Sunday: RHP Max Meyer vs. LHP Andrew Heaney, 1:10 pm Marlins Updates Taking the mound for the Marlins on Thursday will be ace Sandy Alcantara. His fifth Opening Day start may be the one he's most motivated for. The last time he threw a pitch in a regular season game was on September 3, 2023 against the Washington Nationals. "I was out for more than 17 months," said Alcantara on Opening Day eve. "Now I'm back, I'm super excited to be out there tomorrow and show people that I was working to be out there to represent my country and my team." Alcantara did note in his press conference that a pitch count has been set for Thursday. It was a conversation that he had with pitching coach Daniel Moskos and manager Clayton McCullough. Alcantara only maxed out at four innings and 57 pitches during Grapefruit League action, though he did have one more tune-up last week on the backfields to continue stretching out. During the midst of the press conference, the Marlins swung a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, acquiring right-handed pitcher Tyler Phillips in exchange for cash considerations. Reliever Seth Martinez was designated for assignment as the corresponding move. Last season, Phillips made eight appearances (seven starts) and posted a 6.87 ERA, 5.57 FIP, 6.87 K/9 and 1.72 BB/9 through 36 ⅔ innings pitched. He made seven appearances (one start) in spring training games, but struggled, posting a 7.59 ERA. Phillips' pitch mix consists of a sinker (30.3%), sweeper (29.2%), four-seam fastball (19.2%), curveball (14.4%) and changeup (6.9%). Expect Phillips to be a bulk guy during this first series of the season. Within the bullpen, the only lefty that will make the Opening Day roster is Anthony Veneziano. After getting off to a great start this spring, he cooled off, but still finished with a 3.18 ERA in 10 appearances. Per Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase, utility man Javier Sanoja has made the roster as well. Fish On First's 20th-ranked prospect is the youngest player since José Fernández and Christian Yelich (2014) to make a Marlins Opening Day roster. This spring, Sanoja slashed .229/.250/.286/.536 with two RBI. He will be playing all over the field—in a short stint with the big league team last year, he played four different positions. Our own Alex Krutchik reported that third baseman Graham Pauley has made the Marlins roster. After being optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on March 16, he will be recalled on Thursday in light of the Connor Norby left oblique strain. Norby will miss about four weeks. In 11 spring games, Pauley slashed .286/.355/.429/.784 with one home run and five RBI. Now, it's just a matter of how much playing time he'll receive (Jonah Bride, Eric Wagaman and Sanoja can all play third base, too). Introducing the Pittsburgh Pirates Last season, the Pirates posted a 76-86 overall record, which included going a perfect 7-0 against the Marlins last season. After going 48-48 in the first half, the Pirates fell off, finishing 28-38. One of the bright spots in 2024 was National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. The top MLB draft pick in 2023 was even more dominant than advertised with a 1.96 ERA, 2.44 FIP, 11.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 through 133 innings pitched. That ERA was the lowest amongst qualified pitchers in baseball from the time he debuted (May 11) through the end of the season. Skenes' arsenal already includes a four-seam fastball, splinker, curveball, sweeper, slider and changeup. His best pitch is the splinker, which averages 94.0 mph and had hitters whiffing 29.3% of the time. He threw it 603 times as a rookie and allowed only one home run. In his lone start against the Marlins, Skenes went six innings, allowing one run off of six hits, walking one and striking out nine. Otto Lopez had the lone RBI. He and Xavier Edwards each had a multi-hit day off of Skenes. Last season, Pirates starting pitchers ranked 15th in ERA and fWAR. As for the bullpen, they were 27th in ERA and 18th in fWAR, in part because of the down season that closer David Bednar had. He posted a 5.77 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 9.05 K/9, 4.37 BB/9 and 23 saves through 62 appearances. Despite that, Bednar is expected to open 2025 in the closer's role again. Offensively, the Pirates ranked 28th in baseball in wRC+ and fWAR. Former shortstop Oneil Cruz enters his first full year as a center fielder. He's coming off a nice season, slashing .259/.324/.449/.773 with 21 home runs, 76 RBI and a 110 wRC+. Pittsburgh legend Andrew McCutchen produced better than the league average as a 37-year-old, slashing .232/.328/.411/.739 with 20 home runs, 50 RBI and a 105 wRC+. He'll still be a big piece for the Pirates as he goes into his age-38 season. They will be expecting a lot more from talented third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes after he slashed .233/.283/.290/.573 with only four homers in 96 games. This offseason, the Pirates were relatively quiet. They signed Andrew Heaney, Tommy Pham and Adam Frazier to one-year deals and added middle relief depth. Their biggest trade acquisition, Spencer Horwitz, is beginning the year on the injured list.

MIAMI, FL—On Tuesday, the Miami Marlins hosted the New York Yankees for an exhibition game. Right-hander Max Meyer gave the Marlins five innings en route to a 4-2 victory of the Yankees. He allowed two runs (one earned) off of five hits, allowed no walks and struck out three. Meyer's fastball averaged 95.4 mph, which is higher than any regular season start of his MLB career. The 26-year-old starter used his entire five-pitch mix, led by his slider (25% usage) and changeup (22%). All three of Meyer's strikeouts were swinging strikeouts, with former American League MVP Aaron Judge being the final victim. "He was terrific," said manager Clayton McCullough. "Finished off what was a really good spring training. The crispness of his pitches in particular, some of the breaking balls he threw today. Max can gain count leverage and get up on counts with people. He just has so many weapons to work with...Max finished as strong as he and us could hope for." Meyer will make his first regular season start on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After struggling late in the spring, Marlins first baseman Matt Mervis hit a solo homer in the bottom of the third inning to put the Marlins ahead, 3-1. The ball left the bat 93.7 mph and went 359 feet into right field. Mervis will finish his first spring with the Marlins slashing .212/.255/.481/.736 with four home runs and eight RBI. He should be starting at first base on Opening Day. "Matty had some really good at-bats in Port St. Lucie on Sunday," said McCullough. "Had a walk and lined out. Today, another walk in his first at-bat and then hit a homer. He's in a good spot right now heading into the season." With the recent news of Connor Norby landing on the injured list to begin the season, the Marlins brought infielder Graham Pauley to Miami. He started Tuesday's game at third base. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Pauley hit a solo home run with an exit velocity of 107.9 mph that went 384 feet to right-center field. It was the second-hardest-hit ball by either team. RDFOQVpfVlZjPV9BbEFEVkZVSEExUUFDMVVHVWdBQUNGVlNBRmdOV2dVQUMxMEdCUVpRQmdSVUNBSlQ=.mp4 Back on March 16, the Marlins optioned Pauley to Triple-A Jacksonville, thinking there wouldn't be room for him in the majors, but now, he is well-positioned to get recalled for Thursday's opener. Of Note - Entering the regular season, the Marlins' starting rotation order will be as follows: Sandy Alcantara (Thursday), Connor Gillispie (Friday), Valente Bellozo (Saturday), Max Meyer (Sunday) and Cal Quantrill (Monday). On Wednesday, Quantrill and Edward Cabrera will face off in a simulated game. Quantrill will go five innings, but Cabrera's outing will likely be shorter as he gradually builds up his pitch count after suffering a blister on his middle finger. The latter will begin the season on the injured list and get sent on a minor league rehab assignment if the sim game goes as planned. - McCullough notes that the Opening Day roster is almost done: "Definitely going to be some members that aren't going to be with us Opening Day. That certainly could be. It also means they're going to come up and help us out at some point." - In his return to loanDepot park as an opposing player, Jazz Chisholm Jr. played second base and went 0-for-2, both plate appearances being groundouts.