Kevin Barral

Max Meyer set a career high in strikeouts on Friday night, but was overshadowed by Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach, who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and did not allow a run. Max Meyer was good, but Spencer Schwellenbach was great. The Atlanta Braves are winless no more after taking a lead in the bottom of the third inning of their home opener and never looking back as they defeated the Miami Marlins by a final score of 10-0. It marked the first time that Miami has been shut out in 2025. On the bright side, Meyer was the first Marlins starter this season to complete six innings of work. Outside of a three-run third inning, Meyer settled in and would finish posting a career-high eight strikeouts, all of them swinging. Five of his eight strikeouts came on the slider, which also generated eight whiffs. Meyer's four-seam fastball averaged 95.1 mph, topping out at 96.4 mph. His slider (33%) and four-seam (25%) were his most-used pitches. Meyer's sweeper and sinker, the two new pitches added to his arsenal, had the lowest usage rates on Friday. Four of the eight hits surrendered by Meyer came in the third. Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna put the Braves on the scoreboard with a two-run double. Austin Riley knocked in the third run on an RBI single. Meyer would go on to retire eight straight before hitting Riley with a pitch (or did he?) in the bottom of the fifth inning. Meanwhile, Spencer Schwellenbach had himself a career night, throwing eight shutout innings, allowing two hits, no walks and striking out ten, one shy of a career high. The first Marlins hit off of the Braves righty came in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Liam Hicks single. Out of 99 pitches, Schwellenbach threw 73 of them for strikes. His four-seam fastball was unstoppable, generating 11 whiffs. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Braves tacked on two more runs off of George Soriano. Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson went back-to-back for their first home runs of the season. Luarbert Arias entered the game for the Marlins in the inning that followed, but was unable to complete the inning, recording one out and allowing five earned runs. The Marlins deployed their first position player pitcher this season, Javier Sanoja. Through their first seven games (all losses), the Braves had maxed out at five runs. They doubled that in this series opener. They also doubled their previous season high with 16 hits. With the loss, the Marlins are now 4-4 on the season. Cal Quantrill will take the mound on Saturday for Miami as he looks to rebound after a rough debut outing, in which he allowed six runs against the New York Mets. Braves prospect AJ Smith-Shawver will make his second start of the season. First pitch is at 7:15 pm. View full article

Led by their pitching staff, the Blue Wahoos are seeking their third postseason appearance since becoming a Miami Marlins affiliate. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are back in action on Friday and they will be looking a lot different this season. Their roster to begin the 2025 season features several of the most talented pitchers in the Miami Marlins organization. Six total members of Fish On First's Top 30 prospects list will be at the Double-A level. The following article includes player quotes from the team's annual Media Day, which was held earlier in the week. Pitching Robby Snelling (FOF #6 prospect) will be the Wahoos Opening Day starter, but he didn't particularly see himself beginning the season at AA, especially after reaching Triple-A last September and earning himself an invite to big league spring training. "I thought that this year I'd potentially be starting up there with how I threw last year in that one start," said Snelling. "I also understand that there's steps that you have to take to get up there. Nothing changes for me—I'm going to come here and do my thing. There's a plan for everything, so excited to see how this year goes." In his stint with the Wahoos, Snelling made seven starts, posting a 4.00 ERA, 2.76 FIP, 10.25 K/9 and 2.75 BB/9. Overall, it was a rough season for Snelling who was with the Padres, but dealt to the Marlins as one of four prospects in the Tanner Scott/Bryan Hoeing trade. Someone who he looked up to during his Pensacola stint was pitching coach and former Phillies pitcher Jerad Eickhoff. "He's young, like he can really sympathize with the guys," Snelling said. "He's not far removed from baseball. People forget he literally played three years ago. It's like he understands the new wave the game is going towards. He understands how guys are feeling. He played on both sides of having the union and not having the union. He knows how hard it was and the difficulties in the game now." Joining Snelling on this pitching staff will be fellow left-hander Dax Fulton (FOF #14), who is returning from his second Tommy John surgery and will be repeating the AA level to kick things off. The last time Fulton threw in a regular season game was in May 2023. Fulton was also with the Marlins on the big league side this spring and in two appearances, he was perfect, striking out two. This time, it was a much better camp than what Fulton had back in 2023, just months prior to his injury. "Just went up there to continue to gain more experience from those guys," said Fulton. "Most importantly, just prove that I'm healthy, prove that I'm ready to throw the ball again and that I'm going to go out there and do my best. They were great to me. I felt like I had a really good camp, a lot better than I did the first time. I learned a lot from that first experience and the biggest thing for me is just distancing myself from the injury, getting back to the normalcy of pitching every five/six days and getting back to normal." Jacob Miller (FOF #26) enters 2025 with changes to his arsenal. He went from throwing a changeup to now throwing a splitter and going from slider to sweeper. Last season between High-A and AA, Miller posted a 3.85 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 7.30 K/9 and 2.67 BB/9 through 114 ⅔ innings pitched. This spring, it was about getting the feel of his new pitches. "Every time I pick up the ball—especially since the splitter is so new, only had it a month—I feel like I get a little bit more feel for it," said Miller. "Hopefully that'll help get a little bit more punch and if not still produce weak contact, to what it's been so far. It gets some uncomfortable takes because it's just a different look with such low spin and has a little knuckle on it. Sometimes it'll cut, sometimes it'll fade on side. Just having that, even if a pitcher is sitting on that offspeed, it's different every time. You're not going to be able to consistently square it up. Just having all that in the back of my head, just knowing I have the confidence in my stuff will be really good." Position Players The most notable position player who will suit up for the Wahoos this season is catcher Joe Mack. He's coming off a season between High-A and AA where he hit .252/.338/.468/.807 with 24 home runs, 78 RBI and posted a 137 wRC+. He was the winner of the 2024 Minor League Gold Glove as well. Although Mack could've easily started the season at AAA, the organization is having him repeat the level to get consistent playing time. "I've been seeing him with a good attitude," said first-year manager Nelson Prada. "I don't want to put anything on his mind that he already got rid of. During spring training when he came to our group, he was fine. I think he understand how the game is, having somebody like Agustín (Ramírez) in front of him, I'm sure he knows Agustín is going to make it to the big leagues at some point this year, and he's going to in AAA." Mack made a strong impression this spring on the big league side, going 6-for-19 with two RBI and two walks. He was reassigned to minor league camp on March 11. Someone else to keep in mind is infielder Jared Serna (FOF #10). After reaching the AAA level last season, Serna will be in AA to primarily receive reps at shortstop while also maintaining his defensive versatility. With the Wahoos in 2024, he slashed .266/.343/.390/.732 with two home runs 23 RBI and a 119 wRC+. Serna was one of three players acquired in the trade that sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the New York Yankees. Kemp Alderman climbed through two levels last season to reach AA. After a hot start with the Jupiter Hammerheads, posting a 120 wRC+, Alderman was challenged and promoted to High-A where he struggled a bit, but with how aggressive the Marlins were when it came to promotions, Alderman received one last promotion to AA where he also struggled through a six-game sample size (4-23 with 1 HR and 9 K). "As you go up in the levels, you learn that you're not just up there swinging—you have to have a plan," said Alderman. "Just having my plan, my approach, sticking to it, and if it works, it works and if it doesn't, we'll go from there." Alderman was one of the Marlins' representatives in the Arizona Fall League. He broke out, slashing .306/.375/.833/1.208 with six home runs and eight RBI. He called it "probably the most fun I've ever had playing the game of baseball." "Decrease out zone chase," said Alderman when asked about some of his goals for this year. "Just trying to hit pitches I want to hit instead of hitting pitcher's pitches. Knowing my what my plan is and just selling out to that and if it doesn't work, fine." Per an interview with Baseball America, Alderman lost 20 pounds over the offseason, going from 255 lbs to 235. He believes that he's capable of a 20/20 season. "I worked a lot this spring training in the outfield," Alderman continued, "trying to better that and then on the basepaths just trying to be more aggressive, steal some more bags. Last year, coming back from a hand injury, didn't steal as many bags as I want. This year, I want to try to add that to my game, being a big guy who can run." The Wahoos will begin their season on Friday at 7:05 pm. Robby Snelling is taking the mound against the Biloxi Shuckers. Evan Fitterer will pitch in game two and Dax Fulton will go on Sunday. View full article

The Marlins' new field coordinator attracted a huge crowd on Monday to discuss his role in designing the bats that are rapidly gaining popularity across the league. MIAMI, FL—A former physics professor has been one of the most popular names in Major League Baseball during the first week of the 2025 regular season. Miami Marlins field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt, also known as "Lenny" or "El Torpedo," isn't used to showing his face to the world, but his innovative approach to bat design has captured everybody's curiosity. "There's a lot more cameras here today than I'm used to," said Leanhardt on Monday when speaking to the media. "I'm used to walking behind all of this and someone else is standing here. It's definitely been a surreal couple of days." Leanhardt's former team, the New York Yankees, leads the majors with 15 home runs so far this season. Many of them have been hit with customized bats that have unusual proportions, and it turns out Leanhardt was heavily involved in the research and production process. "At the end of the day, it's about the batter, not the bat," said Leanhardt. "It's about the hitters and their hitting coaches, not their hitting implements, so I'm happy to always help those guys get a little bit better, but ultimately it's up to them to put good swings on good pitches and grind it out every day." The torpedo bats being used by the Yankees have a similar length and weight as "normal" bats and follow MLB rules—the different appearance just comes taking some of the wood from the end of the bat and shifting it closer to the player's sweet-spot. Former Marlin Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is off to a hot start with a .417/.500/1.167/1.667 slash line and three homers, described it in a tweet: Per Leanhardt, his conversations with major league and minor league players began leading into the 2023 season. "They were definitely asking me questions and offering design advice and demoing them," said Leanhardt. "It's a feedback group. There's many different makes and models that have gone through this process, some of which never saw the field of play and some of which are hitting a lot of home runs right now." The question that arises with this is why did it take so long for somebody to figure out that changing the traditional bat shape could benefit hitters? "All I can say is that I was one of those smart guys for so long that they grew up swinging those old, weird-looking bats as well," said Leanhardt. "It wasn't until now that maybe anyone really thought about this, myself included. You show up every day, you put the glove on you're given, swing the bat that you're given, you put the spikes on that you're given and you go about your day as best as you can, and every now and then, it takes time to question what you're doing. Couple of years ago, some of the hitters started questioning what they were doing and I just kind of responded to their questions." Leanhardt left the world of academia to begin his baseball journey in 2017, initially coaching in an independent league and at a community college. His time in Minor League Baseball started in 2018 as the New York Yankees rookie ball hitting coach. He wouldn't join their major league staff as an analyst until 2024. This is Leanhardt's first season with the Marlins as field coordinator. He can be seen picking up the phone in the dugout during games when a close play is being considered for a managerial challenge, but his job involves much more than that. "He's kind of the central point," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "He's there with our group each day, bringing our strength and conditioning, on-field work, hitting, baserunning and what we're going to do on a daily basis. Lenny makes sure that every group is coordinated and synced up and what our work is going to look like from a schedule standpoint, during a homestand, series and then ultimately, in the dugout." rlrgzt_1.mp4 For all Marlins fans wondering if and when these bats will be used in Miami, it's already in the works. Per Leanhardt, expect to see them in action within the next several weeks. "One of the big goals here is to be as innovative and on the leading edge of things as we possibly can be. This is certainly something that we're gonna look to be on the leading edge of. It's just been a quick offseason for everyone, lot of turnover and everything like that, so we're getting ramped up right now with it." View full article

Miami Marlins reliever Luarbert Arias speaks with the media at loanDepot park after debuting on March 31 against the New York Mets. Arias became the first pitcher in Marlins history to go at least three innings with no baserunners allowed in his debut. View full video

After a solid four innings by Cal Quantrill, his Marlins debut ended on a sour note as the Marlins fell to the Mets. 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. View full article

Miami Marlins field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt speaks with the media at loanDepot park about the unconventional torpedo bats popularized by his former club, the New York Yankees. View full video

Although Dane Myers clinched the victory with his bat, his defensive performance and that of Griffin Conine made the biggest difference for the Marlins. 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. View full article

Miami Marlins outfielder Griffin Conine speaks with the media about the amazing catch he made to take away what would've a go-ahead home run by Jack Suwinski. The Marlins went on to win the game in 12 innings. View full video

Miami Marlins catcher Liam Hicks speaks with the media at loanDepot park after debuting on March 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hicks played the entire game, going 0-for-3 with a walk. View full video

When Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers went down with injuries, the Marlins called upon Connor Gillispie and Valente Bellozo to fill some innings. 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." View full article

Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers speaks with the media at loanDepot park about his walk-off hit on Opening Day. View full video

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. View full article

Clayton McCullough speaks with the media at loanDepot park after guiding the Miami Marlins to a walk-off win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in his managerial debut. View full video