Alex Krutchik

The Miami Marlins are winning late games again. This time, it was Josh Bell coming up clutch with a walk-off single in the 10th. MIAMI, FL—Things are starting to feel a little bit like 2023 in Little Havana. The Marlins shot themselves in the foot with a 7-24 start in the first month of the season. But Miami is now 9-9 in May, with four of those wins being walk-offs. The Milwaukee Brewers were the latest victims of the Marlins’ late-inning heroics. Down to their final out with Nick Gordon at second base in the ninth inning and losing 2-1, Otto Lopez hit a bloop single to right field to score Gordon and give the Marlins hope. After Tanner Scott danced around a leadoff walk and sacrifice bunt in the 10th, he escaped with the tie still intact. After being shaky to start the season, Scott’s ERA is down to 1.80 and hasn't given up an earned run in 13 games dating back to April 14. The Marlins small-balled their way into a scoring threat when leadoff hitter Christian Bethancourt laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the placed runner in Vidal Bruján to third base. Then, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz were intentionally walked. That set the table for Josh Bell. After putting up miserable individual numbers in March/April, Bell has enjoyed an extended hot streak. He scored the first run of the game for Miami when Gordon drove him home in the seventh. Here in extras, he connected on a curveball on the outer half of the plate. The bulky switch-hitter—batting lefty in this situation—shot a ball through the right side to deliver the win. It was his 25th RBI of the season, tying Bryan De La Cruz for the team lead. tox16a.mp4 “At first, I was just thinking to get the ball in the air, get the ball to the outfield. But then when I found myself with a two-strike at-bat, I'm just trying to put the ball in play,” Bell said. The vibe in the Marlins clubhouse was noticeably more cheerful than it was after their rare wins in April. “It feels good," Bell said. "Feels like last year. You know, hopefully we can turn the ship around, start playing Marlins baseball. The vibes right now feel just like last year. Our starters are going to put us in position to win games. Bullpen is gonna keep us in that position. So the offense has to do its job. We're fortunate enough that three runs was a winner tonight.” Speaking of the starters, Marlins starting pitcher Ryan Weathers picked up where he left off after his last outing in Detroit in which he threw eight scoreless innings. Like his start against the Tigers, he carried a no-hitter rather deep into the game. Except, instead of his Detroit outing where his first hit conceded was a single to start the sixth inning, Weathers’ first hit allowed on Monday was a home run to Andruw Monasterio. Weathers tried sneaking a changeup low and in to the right-handed batter, but he missed and threw it down the middle. It was Monasterio’s first home run of the year. Weathers allowed two consecutive walks with one out in the sixth. Christian Yelich, the first walk allowed, stole second base and advanced to third on a bad throw by catcher Nick Fortes. With Willy Adames at the plate two batters later, Yelich successfully stole home as Fortes threw the ball back to Weathers. Yelich collided with Fortes, and Fortes stayed on the ground in pain for about a minute before he was able to get up. He remained in the game, but was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. vvb91o_1.mp4 But those were Weathers’ only mistakes on Monday. His secondary pitches—sweeper and changeup—accounted for 11 whiffs on 19 swings. He allowed two hits, walked three, and struck out eight. Despite the chaos of that sixth inning, he showed composure beyond his years. “He’s able to calm down now on the mound, and that's growing,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “He's gonna be really good. And it's just fun to watch young guys grow up in the league. I've seen him for a number of years now, and the difference between the San Diego days and right now is night and day.” But still, Schumaker recognized the 24-year-old the Marlins acquired from the San Diego Padres last year has even more room to develop. “I think people have to remember: he is still growing,” Schumaker said. “He's a young starting pitcher in this league. And he is still learning and still growing. He's really good. He's always had stuff. He grew up the right way, he prepares, he's the one guy that I trust 90, 100, 110 pitches because he works so hard. He's a horse. But he's starting to really pitch.” The Marlins have won six of their last eight games, with four of those victories coming by one-run margins. They'll face off against the Brewers again on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. View full article

Skip Schumaker was very candid in talking about Sixto's ongoing first-inning struggles. Marlins catcher Christian Bethancourt said it perfectly after Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the New York Mets: “(Sixto Sánchez) gets in trouble in the first inning, and after that, he pitches like Pedro Martinez." Okay, maybe the Pedro comparison is a step too far, but you get the sentiment. Since being inserted into the Marlins rotation at the beginning of May, Sánchez has been brutal to begin most of his starts before settling down into a solid pitcher from the second inning onward. In Sánchez’s most recent start Sunday, he needed 40 pitches to get out of the first inning. The 25-year-old gave up four runs in the first frame that lasted just under 20 minutes. Sánchez would pitch three more innings, allowing zero runs, three hits and one walk on 45 just pitches. In his five starts this year, Sánchez is sporting a 19.80 ERA in the first inning. In innings two through four, he’s recorded a combined 1.98 ERA with three total walks. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who is usually a staunch defender of all of his players when speaking to the media, gave a public challenge to Sanchez after Sunday’s loss. “That's unacceptable in the first inning,” Schumaker said. “So, if he wants to start at this level, he's going to have to be better in the first inning. It just is what it is." This is the first season Sánchez has pitched at the major league level since 2020 when he was the top prospect in the Marlins' system. In March 2021, he suffered a right shoulder injury. A pair of surgeries and numerous setbacks related to that kept him out of action until last year when he threw a single inning with Double-A Pensacola. Schumaker said he and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. spoke with Sánchez underneath the stands after his rough first inning. Following a trend that has plagued him in past starts this year, Sanchez came out of the gate with a fastball sitting in the high 80s before ramping it up to the mid 90s later on. Schumaker said he asked Sánchez if he was feeling healthy, to which Sánchez said yes. That’s when Schumaker challenged the right-handed pitcher to show him that he can be better. But the deficit was already too much. “At this level, it's tough to come back from four runs every single time,” Schumaker said. “And he's not giving his teammates a chance to win.” Sánchez also hasn’t been inducing the swing-and-miss stuff that he was known for before his injuries, in large part because of the lack of separation in velocity from his secondary pitches. Per Baseball Savant, Sánchez's whiff rate has been cut in half from 24.7% in 2020 to 12.8% this season. “If you don't have swing-and-miss at this level, then you have to be elite on the ground,” Schumaker said. “You have to produce all kinds of ground balls. He's been about league average or just above league average with that, which is really good. But you know, not many guys are gonna swing and miss at this level at 87 (miles per hour) because everything else kind of blends.” Schumaker was asked, specifically, if the team is able to identify or explain why Sánchez falters so much in the first. But he is just as confused as everybody else. “Ask him. I'd love to know,” Schumaker said. “Because we tried more pitches in the bullpen, we've tried less pitches in the bullpen; we've tried more in the weight room, less in the weight room; more in the training room, less in the training room. So we have to figure it out, collectively. I've said this before. The changes that we're trying to do are not working, so we have to keep trying to find something.” While Schumaker still believes in Sánchez, time may be running out for what was once the most electric prospect the Marlins had. “I'm not going to give up on him,” Schumaker said. “We're not going to give up on him. But he's not a top prospect anymore. Like, it's time to go. If he wants to start, he's gotta figure this part out.” Sánchez told the media that he believes it has to do with his arm positioning and having a better warm-up routine. But whatever it is, there doesn’t seem to be a simple answer. “I think it's just about that first inning, making sure that I'm giving my team an opportunity to win,” Sánchez said. “I think it's something that I have to be prepared to go out there and compete. And that's what I'm going to keep trying to do.” Sánchez's rotation spot is due up next on Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Down in Triple-A Jacksonville, right-handers Max Meyer and Roddery Muñoz—both of whom made starts for the Marlins earlier this season—would both be fully rested and eligible to be recalled if the club chooses to make a change. View full article

A few days removed from destroying the Marlins dugout in frustration, the 26-year-old pitched perhaps his best game of the year. Marlins starting pitcher Trevor Rogers came into Wednesday’s game receiving some of the lowest run support in the major leagues, with his offense averaging 1.46 runs per game, according to Bally Sports Florida. The trend continued again in Wednesday afternoon’s 2-0 win against the Detroit Tigers, with Bryan De La Cruz’s two-run home run in the first inning being the only offense to speak of. But those two runs are all Rogers and the bullpen needed. The 26-year-old lefty tossed five scoreless innings while striking out six. He allowed just three hits and walked two. Most of that traffic came in the third inning. Rogers walked Carson Kelly to begin the frame, and hit Andy Ibáñez with a pitch after recording the first out of the inning. He struck out Wenceel Pérez for the second out, but walked Mark Canha to load the bases. After getting a visit from Mel Stottlemyre Jr., Rogers came back and struck out Gio Urshela on three straight changeups to escape the jam. Rogers came back with a 1-2-3 fourth inning, and worked around a leadoff single in the fifth. One of the keys for Rogers was his fastball velocity increasing as the game went on, after having trouble with maintaining it in his previous starts this year. "It was the first time that he wanted the ball back in the sixth inning," Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said to the media after the game. "So just to show you how he's feeling and confidence he's gaining. It's a really good job by Mel and the pitching staff, obviously, of game-planning, and then getting Trevor back to where he needs to be." 15534e97-89c65e36-27a3fb6e-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 After his last outing in which he gave up four runs in 3 ⅓ innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, Rogers said he identified some issues with his mechanics where his throwing hand felt disconnected from his body, especially when his planting foot hit the ground. After Wednesday's outing, he said the changes he made in the last few days had him feeling much better. "It was a big part of the results today," Rogers said. "Really just maintaining my posture down the mound and getting more extension. I had better extension today...It was just really, really good. Mechanics were solid, just riding down the mound a lot more efficiently and really getting my fastballs in today, consistently, (which is) something that I've been lacking recently." Marlins starting pitchers—Sixto Sánchez, Ryan Weathers and Rogers—allowed zero earned runs in 17 ⅔ innings in Detroit this week. Declan Cronin got five outs, and was pulled for Andrew Nardi after allowing a two-out single to Kelly in the seventh inning. Nardi, struggling with inherited runners this year, needed just three pitches to get Riley Greene to pop out to third baseman Jake Burger. Calvin Faucher and Tanner Scott then delivered the 1-2 punch in the eighth and ninth innings. It was the first time Scott had pitched on back-to-back days since April 29-30. Following a trend that has plagued the Marlins this year, the offense couldn’t tack on more insurance runs after the first-inning outburst. The infield single from Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the subsequent home run by De La Cruz in the first inning were the only two hits Tigers starter Casey Mize allowed in six innings of work. The Detroit bullpen threw three scoreless innings and allowed just two singles: one to Nick Fortes, and another to Jake Burger. View full article

Rogers' struggles continued as Miami dropped Friday's series-opener to Philadelphia. Trevor Rogers was certainly hoping for a better outing than his last, giving up eight runs in 2 ⅓ innings against the Oakland Athletics last weekend. That bounce-back would not come on Friday night as Miami fell to Philadelphia 8-2. The 26-year-old lefty couldn’t get out of the fourth inning in Miami’s loss to Philadelphia as he allowed five runs (four earned), mostly to the bottom half of the Phillies lineup. When Rogers returned to the dugout after being pulled, he slammed his glove and hat to the ground, and knocked over water cups on top of the Gatorade cooler. "I think there should be a lot of pissed off people," Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. "Nobody wants to get their ass kicked every night... I think anger is good, at times, because it builds adrenaline, it means you care. I think if you're just going through the motions and checking boxes, it's just another game, so to speak, you're not made for this." It was an uncharacteristic moment for the normally even-keeled Rogers. "We’re a good group of guys in there," Rogers said. "We’re all just pissed at how things are going so far. When we hit, we just can’t pitch. When we pitch, we just can’t hit. We just can’t put a nine-inning game together." Nick Castellanos, mourning the passing of his dog, Tiger, cranked a solo home run to right center field to open the scoring in the second inning. Johan Rojas then drove home Edmundo Sosa with a single to center field. Rogers danced around trouble in the third after allowing J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper to reach base to start the inning, thanks to a 6-4-3 double play and a lineout to third baseman Jake Burger, but he struggled again in the fourth. Rogers allowed the Phillies' 6-7-8 hitters in Whit Merrifield, Sosa, and Cristian Pache to reach base (although Merrifield reached on a Burger error). Pache’s double would score Merrifield to make it 3-0. Rogers then struck out Rojas, but when the lineup flipped back over, leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber drilled a two-RBI single to make it 5-0 Philadelphia. In all, Rogers allowed nine hits (three of which were doubles), two walks, and struck out three. He has now given up 17 hits in his last 5.2 IP. "Me going out there and laying a goose egg like that didn’t help things," Rogers said. "I just gotta be better. That’s kind of what p***** me off the most. I can’t give my team a chance. That’s kind of where you saw the frustration there." Meanwhile, the Marlins' offense had no answer for Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez. Coming into Friday’s game with a 1.72 ERA in seven starts, Suarez pitched seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits and two walks and struck out nine. The only Marlins runs came in the eighth inning on a Josh Bell double to left field. Christian Bethancourt was the only Marlin with multiple hits on Friday, going 2-for-3 with a double. After starting the season 1-for-38 at the plate, he is on a modest three-game hitting streak, going 5-for-11 with two doubles in that span. Miami fell to 20 games under .500 at 10-30. Coupled with a Colorado Rockies victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday, the Marlins once again hold MLB's worst record. Trevor Rogers suffered his sixth loss (0-6) while Suarez improved to 7-0. It has now been 393 days since Rogers has earned a win. The Marlins will take on the Phillies on Saturday at 4:10 pm at loanDepot park. Jesús Luzardo is likely to return from his three-week IL stint to make the start. He will oppose RHP Taijuan Walker. View full article

Dane Myers picked up Jazz Chisholm Jr. in Tuesday's Marlins win after the center fielder's late-game ejection for arguing balls and strikes. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was watching from the top step of the Miami Marlins clubhouse Monday night when Dane Myers came to the plate in the 10th inning. With Bryan De La Cruz standing on second base with one out in a tied ball game against the Colorado Rockies, Myers hit a single through the right side of the infield just past a diving Elehuris Montero at first base. The walk-off hit snapped a seven-game losing streak for Miami. The 28-year-old outfielder was a defensive replacement for Chisholm in center field after Chisholm was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the seventh inning. Down 5-0 at the time, home plate umpire Jansen Visconti called a first-pitch strike from Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner that was just below the strike zone. Five pitches later, on a 2-2 count, the right-handed Feltner threw a front-door slider to the lefty Jazz that barely touched the black on the inside part of the plate. Still tailing away at the time it crossed home, Chisholm took exception to the call and exchanged words with Visconti. Visconti allowed Chisholm to say his peace as he walked back to the dugout, turning his head back towards home once more before getting back to the bench. After a warning from Visconti, Chisholm kept complaining, and he was ejected. As he left the dugout, Chisholm threw a piece of equipment on the field. “Me and this umpire don't have a good history anyway,” Chisholm said after the game. “I just feel like it's every time with this guy.” Chisholm only played in 97 games last year while dealing with multiple injuries. The prior season, he played 60. The emphasis this offseason was for the 26-year-old to stay healthy so he can contribute as much as possible. But it also means keeping his composure so he can stay in the game. “I said it last year and I’m going to say it again: we need him in the game,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. This year, Chisholm has only missed one game. He is batting .239 with four home runs and a 104 OPS+. He has doubled his walk rate from 6.8 percent last year to 12.1 percent this year. His strikeout rate has also dropped three percent to 27.4. “He’s a big part of our club and he’s been doing great,” Schumaker said. “Righties and lefties for me. Taking good at-bats against lefties…He’s been out early working. As far as early work, as far as the hitting side.” But still, Schumaker was less than pleased with his starting center fielder missing key at-bats late in a game. “The borderline pitches, he can’t get upset about it,” Schumaker said. "I know it’s tough, it’s in the moment. You never want to get punched out on a borderline pitch one way or the other. But I don’t want our culture or our identity to be that we're going to argue balls and strikes that are close pitches.” This was the fourth ejection of Chisholm's young MLB career. All four have been related to borderline strikes called against him. Chisholm’s spot came up again in the bottom of the ninth down 5-1. With bases loaded and one out, his replacement in Myers hit a two-RBI single up the middle to chip away at the Rockies’ lead. “But I don't want one pitch to ruin a whole at-bat or a whole game where that at-bat could come up again, and it came up twice," Schumaker said. "Luckily, Dane had a really great game, and it kind of covered him. Good teammates cover up mistakes sometimes. I bet you he will say, ‘I made a mistake,’ I’m hoping. And you learn from it. Hopefully he learned from it, because we don’t need him out of the game.” 5mkcqe.mp4 Chisholm said he thanked everyone in the clubhouse during the team’s quick postgame meeting: the bullpen, the position players, and of course, Dane Myers. “I just feel like a win like this could really get us going, man,” Chisholm said. “Like I told them after the game in our little win meeting that we have after every game: ‘That is how you play team baseball. That's how you go get it.’" He then joked: “I mean, if I had to get thrown out every game, I’ll do it for the boys.” View full article

Following Saturday's loss, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker vented about his team's frustrating miscues. It simply was not supposed to look this way. When the Miami Marlins lost ace Sandy Alcantara to a torn UCL and slugger Jorge Soler declined his 2024 player option, the expectation was that the team would take a step back, but not bottom out. On the eve of Opening Day, FanGraphs projected the Marlins to finish 81-81. Even the most critical of pundits had their win totals in the high-60s/low-70s range. Now, the Marlins are 6-22, a historically bad pace. It’s not even the end of April and their playoff odds, per FanGraphs, have cratered to 1.0 percent entering Sunday, compared to 28.8 percent the month before. You’d be remiss not to take into account the Marlins’ injury luck. During spring training, they lost starting pitchers Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, and Eury Pérez, and relief pitcher JT Chargois. Of these pitchers, Cabrera is the only one to have returned. Just in the past week, the Marlins lost reliever-turned-starter A.J. Puk to fatigue in his throwing shoulder and ace Jesús Luzardo to discomfort in his throwing elbow. Both are on the 15-day IL. The injury bug has also bitten Jake Burger, one of the better hitters the Marlins had in the first couple weeks of the season. He has been sidelined for the last two weeks with a strain of his left intercostal muscle (though he is expected to begin rehab games soon). “Obviously this is not what we envisioned coming out of spring training,” Skip Schumaker said Saturday. “We've had some injuries, but a lot of teams have had injuries.” While many criticized the front office for not being proactive during the offseason to build off of last year’s postseason appearance, the 2024 Marlins are beating themselves with sloppy play more so than lack of talent. Bad mistakes on the basepaths, poor decisions in the field, and all-around bad offensive play have consistently plagued the Marlins. On Saturday, that poor play came to a head. The Marlins lost 11-4 to the Washington Nationals, largely because of things they did to themselves. “We just haven't played clean baseball,” Schumaker said. ”And we've had some tough losses. Days we hit, we don't pitch. Days we pitch, we don't hit…Today was probably the sloppiest of all of them, honestly.” Starting pitcher Edward Cabrera allowed five runs in the loss, and you can make the argument that almost all of them could have been prevented with better defense. The first run came on a passed ball in the third inning that allowed Jacob Young to score. It was a changeup in the zone that appeared to glance off Christian Bethancourt’s glove. r7u4gt_1.mp4 The fifth inning is where it all came apart. Cabrera allowed a single and a walk to open the frame. The third batter of the inning in Nick Senzel bunted the ball back to the mound, and Cabrera threw over to third base to get the lead runner Trey Lipscomb out. Third baseman Vidal Bruján tagged Lipscomb instead of simply touching the base on the force play and trying to throw out Senzel at first base on the double play. Senzel, a slow runner, was about halfway up the first base line when Brujan received the ball. “It was a firm bunt,” Schumaker said. “So that is a go to third, redirect, try to get the double play. That part is a mental mistake. Mental mistake of not mixing up your looks. That's mental for sure. Errors are going to happen. We got to somehow play cleaner baseball, there's no doubt, but errors will happen. That is part of the game.“ QVlNOUtfWGxnR0RBeGJDMWM9X1VGTlFVRk5YQlFFQVhGc0JWZ0FBQkFaWEFBTUdCd1FBVmdBTVVnSlJWMUVFVVFwUw==.mp4 Eddie Rosario, the runner at second base, stole third during the next at-bat. Jacob Young then hit a ground ball to Emmanuel Rivera at first base. Rivera threw home but catcher Christian Bethancourt was just a hair too late on the tag. Cabrera walked CJ Abrams, setting up a bases-loaded opportunity for Jesse Winker. Cabrera hung a curveball middle-middle, and Winker hit it to the home run porch in right field for the grand slam. "The mental stuff, the baserunning, where to put the ball, where to put the bunt down, how to field the bunt, all that stuff, that is mental stuff, that is gameplay,” Schumaker said. The Marlins are in the bottom five of the majors in batting average (.221), slugging percentage (.323), and runs per game (3.3). When you add bad baserunning, like Jesús Sánchez failing to return to first base after he rounded second on a hit-and-run that resulted in a flyout to right field in Friday’s loss to Washington, the precious few baserunners the Marlins get are not scoring. “I'm sure they're pressing because they don't want to keep getting out,” Schumaker said. “If I was in that scenario, I'd be pressing too, so I get it. That's human nature. They want to win. It's not for lack of effort. I mean, again, (Tim Anderson) and all those guys were in the cage, it felt like for hours today, and working with the staff and up and down the lineup. We hit the ball hard, no love a lot of the time.” Luis Arraez leads the team's qualified hitters with a .301 batting average and has been looking like himself since a slow opening series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The next-highest is Bryan De La Cruz, hitting .252 and leading the team with five home runs. Christian Bethancourt began the season 0-for-29 before an RBI single Saturday. Free agent signing Tim Anderson is hitting .222 with a .507 OPS, a continuation of his severe 2023 struggles rather than the rebound that Miami forecasted. “Just not the game or the type of team that we are," Schumaker said, "I know that. They know that. They're as frustrated as anybody. But they’re big leaguers. So we flush it and try to get them tomorrow.” View full article

The Miami Marlins found themselves at the wrong end of another loss, this time in blowout fashion. Edward Cabrera held up for as long as he could. With just one run of support from his offense through four innings, Cabrera was flying through the game with one of his more efficient starts of his young career. He allowed just one unearned run on a passed ball along with two hits and zero walks. He struck out four and needed just 54 pitches with 34 strikes. Tied at 1-1 in the fifth, Cabrera allowed a single and a walk to open the frame. He helped himself with a 1-5 putout to throw out the lead runner at third base on a bunt back to the mound, but that was about all the positivity the Marlins would get that inning. Eddie Rosario, the runner at second base, stole third on the next at-bat. Jacob Young then hit a ground ball to Emmanuel Rivera at first base. Rivera threw home, but catcher Christian Bethancourt was just a hair too late on the tag (he lost control of the ball when applying the tag, anyway). 1ff9f491-c8f0a5de-384fe6dc-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Cabrera walked CJ Abrams, setting up a bases-loaded opportunity for Jesse Winker. Cabrera hung a curveball middle-middle, and Winker hit it to the home run porch in right field for the grand slam. In a matter of 10 minutes, this pitchers’ duel between Cabrera and Nationals rookie pitcher Mitchell Parker was now a blowout. "When you are playing sloppy baseball like today—the fifth inning was just not who we are," manager Skip Schumaker said. "Started off with a couple of walks, but the hit back to (Cabrera) that should have been probably a throw to third and then redirect to first for a double play ball. We go for a tag play. That's kind of a mental mental error there." "Overall that inning just was not who we are and what we're capable of," he continued, "and we need to flush that quick. The only way to work through that stuff is to keep working." Now with a clean slate on the bases, Declan Cronin came in relief and danced around two walks and a hit-by-pitch of his own to get out of the inning without further damage. Cronin would give up a run in the next inning. Kent Emanuel, called up from Triple-A Jacksonville Saturday morning, allowed three earned runs in a three-inning mop-up role. The offense, again, did nothing to help the cause. They scored one run in the first inning when Mitchell threw a wild pitch to Tim Anderson that allowed Luis Arraez to score from third base. They wouldn't score again until the ninth inning when they were down 11-1. Bethancourt, mired in an 0-for-29 slump to start the season, got his first hit with an RBI single to deep center field. Otto Lopez then hit his first major league home run: a two-run shot to the grassy batter's eye in center field. This was the Marlins' second straight loss to the Nats after beating them 11 times in 13 tries last season. There is now a seven-game gap between them in the standings. Their four-game wraparound series continues on Sunday afternoon. View full article

After five years in the Marlins farm system, Anthony Maldonado was called upon in an emergency situation and met expectations. Anthony Maldonado had a strong case to make the Marlins major league roster coming out of camp. The right-handed reliever allowed just one run in seven spring training games and six innings. The 26-year-old was instead sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he continued to produce solid numbers with a 2.31 ERA in 11 ⅔ innings. Up in Miami, pitchers were dropping left and right. Already without starters Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, and relief pitcher JT Chargois—only Cabrera has returned so far—the Marlins then lost A.J. Puk to shoulder fatigue and Jesús Luzardo to elbow discomfort. Luzardo, the team’s ace while Alcantara recovers from Tommy John surgery, complained of stiffness in his elbow the day before his start on Friday. On short notice, this meant that not only did the Marlins need to call up Maldonado for his fresh arm, but he’d be starting against the Washington Nationals as well. Maldonado was a starter at Bethune-Cookman University for three years (2017-2019), but had spent his whole professional career adapting to a relief role. "Honestly, I was really excited for it,” Maldonado said after the game. “The coaching staff talked to me. (They said) just treat it like I'm coming out of the bullpen. I didn't try to warm up like a starter, I did my own routine. I liked it a lot.” Whatever the Wellington, Fla. native did to get himself ready worked well. In front of a large contingent of friends and family, Maldonado threw three scoreless innings while allowing just three hits, zero walks, and striking out two. Maldonado, who was drafted by the Marlins in the 11th round of the MLB draft in 2019, said he will always remember walking off the mound after inducing a double play to end the third inning and seeing his loved ones cheer for him. “I didn't know where the family section was, but I hear them going crazy,” Maldonado said. “And looking up and seeing my friends and family and fiancé cheer meant a lot. I gave them a point so they knew I saw them.” It was the second time Maldonado completed three innings in his professional career, with the last instance coming with Double-A Pensacola in 2022. “He stuck with his strengths,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “And that's the slider. Slider is real, played a little bit with the cutter, he has enough fastball to keep you off guard. But I think lefties, righties, it doesn't matter. He's got a real slider. We knew that in spring training.” lyfijl.mp4 It was in spring training where Maldonado tinkered with the grip on his fastball. Sitting around 92 mph, it behaviors more as a sinker now, which helps to set up his slider. He also throws a changeup and cutter. On Friday night, he threw one of each. “(The fastball) was a work in progress, and I think it got better every outing,” Maldonado said. “My last two outings in Jacksonville, the fastball was really good and I was really getting confident with it, throwing it a lot more. My last outing in Jacksonville, I didn't even throw a slider—I was all fastball and cutter. And I thought that really helped to make the slider more effective if I have other pitches to protect it.” Both of Maldonado’s strikeouts Friday were on the slider, one to right-hander Joey Meneses and another to lefty Joey Gallo. He induced six whiffs on 15 swings with that pitch. It was not his first pitching time in loanDepot park, however. Maldonado threw a scoreless inning and struck out two batters for Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Miami in front of 35,399 people. That experience, combined with his solid outing Friday against major league hitters, gave him the confidence that he can compete at this level. “You always picture this moment when you're a young kid,” Maldonado said. “But I think it was better than I imagined...I would say it proves myself right that I do belong here. There's definitely stuff to improve, but I’ll go from here and continue to get better, and work hard and see what happens.” View full article

After being one of the best teams in high-leverage situations last year, the Marlins bullpen continues to be a weak spot in 2024. The Miami Marlins bullpen that was largely responsible for the league-best 33-14 record in one-run games last year suddenly looks, well, human. One day after closer Tanner Scott blew a save in a 9-7 loss to the Atlanta Braves, George Soriano and Andrew Nardi combined to allow three runs in a high-leverage scenario in the seventh inning, blowing Miami's lead. It was a scene that Marlins fans became familiar – and quite frankly comfortable – with in 2023: Nardi enters the game with runners on base while clinging to a small lead. On Monday night in the seventh, after Soriano allowed a run to reduce the Marlins lead to 3-2, it was Nick Ahmed and Mike Yastrzemski on first and second base with two out in the seventh when Nardi entered. Nardi, who allowed just five of 40 inherited runners to score last year, allowed two consecutive RBI singles to turn the 3-2 Marlins lead to a 4-3 deficit. “We have to obviously get the roles figured out in the bullpen. I'm not doing a good job of putting the guys in the right spot, obviously, because we're not completing the game with a win,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said, while noting that a couple of relievers were down for the day after pitching back-to-back games over the weekend (likely referring to Tanner Scott and Anthony Bender). “But that's going to happen, and these guys are going to have to be in roles that maybe they're not used to.” Prior to the bullpen implosion, Edward Cabrera, who was making his season debut after missing the latter half of spring training with a right shoulder impingement, had about as good of a return as he could hoped for. After struggling with command throughout his young Major League career – and even in some of his rehab starts – the 26-year-old allowed one run with only one walk and five hits in six innings on Monday night. He's just the second pitcher besides Max Meyer to finish six innings for the Marlins this year. The Dominican right-hander threw 19 first-pitch strikes to the 22 batters he faced, and had 62 strikes to just 29 balls. "If we get that out of Cabbie (Cabrera), we're going to win a lot more games," said Schumaker postgame. Cabrera notched 10 strikeouts, the first time a Marlins pitcher has hit that mark this season. He used virtually his entire pitch mix to do so: three curveballs, three sliders, two changeups, and two four-seam fastballs. Cabrera using his slider as a put-away pitch is notable, as he only got seven strikeouts on that pitch last year while using it 8.2% of the time. “I've been working on that pitch for a while already,” Cabrera said through a team translator. “But it feels good once you have success in the real game on the mound. Having control of all your pitches is something very, very exciting for any pitcher.” The Marlins’ struggles against left-handed pitchers continued, as Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison kept Miami at bay aside from a three-run second inning that included an Avisail Garcia solo home run and a two-RBI double from Bryan De La Cruz. The Marlins then couldn’t do anything against the Giants bullpen, getting just two hits and zero runs in three innings against San Francisco relievers. Schumaker was ejected in the bottom of the eighth inning. Giants left-hander Taylor Rogers began jogging in from the bullpen even though Bob Melvin had actually signaled for right-hander Camilo Doval. Schumaker was upset because Doval was granted additional time to warm up without being issued a pitch-clock violation, umpire Laz Díaz said after the game (per pool reporter Daniel Álvarez-Montes). After repeatedly arguing, Díaz tossed him, with bench coach Luis Urueta serving as acting manager for the rest of the contest. Miami fell to 3-14, the team's worst 17-game start in franchise history. They will look to earn their fourth win of the year on Tuesday night at loanDepot Park against these same Giants. Ryan Weathers will get the nod against flame-thrower Jordan Hicks. View full article

After tearing his UCL two starts into his MLB career, Max Meyer is ready to take the mound against the Los Angeles Angels. Maybe you can have a second chance at a first impression. Marlins starting pitcher Max Meyer made his major league debut in the middle of 2022. Then ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 3 prospect in the Marlins farm system, Meyer pitched two games before suffering a torn UCL in his throwing elbow. Twenty months after his first taste of the majors, Meyer is set to pitch again on Monday night against the Los Angeles Angels. “I feel good and I'm ready to go," Meyer told reporters Sunday. The 25-year-old wasn’t even originally slated to begin the year in Miami. About two weeks before Opening Day, Meyer was sent down to minor league camp, set to begin the year with Triple-A Jacksonville. When starting pitcher Eury Pérez was shut down due to right elbow inflammation, Meyer was called back up to help shore up an already-depleted rotation that was missing Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera to start the year, along with Sandy Alcantara for all of 2024. Now, Meyer is ready for his second debut, of sorts. He’ll have family at the game just like he did for his first game on July 16, 2022 in which he allowed five runs and struck out five in 5 ⅓ innings. “I feel like it's just gonna be like riding a bike, honestly,” Meyer said. “Just another day. I've been doing this my whole life. And the year off, I don't think it affected me too much. I'll be ready to go.” Although his time in the big leagues was brief in 2022, the Minnesota native thinks the little bit of experience he had will play to his benefit when he gets on the mound Monday. “I was a little nervous, maybe, for my first debut start,” Meyer said. “And after pitching in spring training, I feel like it's just gonna be way easier now.” e1bcb026-789660cc-e97a230f-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Coming into spring training, Meyer said he was a full-go with no limitations to his throwing program. When asked about what he expects from the players that were returning from injury on the first day of camp, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged there’s a balance between wanting to show off for the team versus trying to stay healthy. “It’s probably more mental than physical,” Schumaker said. “Because they are healthy physically and trying to get over that mental hurdle of, what if they throw too hard or throw too much [or] it’s just gonna happen again…but you’re out there to compete. This is the big leagues and nothing’s given to you. So you're gonna have to earn it, especially in that clubhouse, especially from our staff, so I don’t anticipate anybody being in cruise control.” In three appearances (seven innings) of Grapefruit League action this spring, Meyer allowed zero runs, walked one, and struck out five. Meyer will be tasked not only with helping deliver Miami’s first win of the season, but also providing length that most Marlins starters have been unable to give. The combination of inefficient starts along with two extra-inning games has forced the bullpen to throw 24 innings in the first four games of the season, third-highest in the league behind the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, who have played two more games than the Marlins. Whatever the Angels throw at Meyer, he’s confident in his ability to stay in control. “I just feel like not many little things are gonna bug me anymore,” Meyer said. “I'm still gonna be able to lock back in when I need to, and not be so hurt when things happen that I can't control.” When asked what makes him the pitcher that he is, Meyer simply said, “just being competitive and always having an edge." View full article

In his MLB starting debut, A.J. Puk was pulled after just two-plus innings of work. The Marlins had to rely on three of their long relievers to get them through a lost game. MIAMI, FL—Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said before Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates that his bullpen was “crushed.” That's because they had to use six relievers in a 6-5 loss on Opening Day. After Friday’s starting pitcher A.J. Puk was chased from the game in the third inning, the already-taxed bullpen needed to be called upon again. Puk, making his first major league start after being a reliever for the first four years of his major league career, was extremely inefficient. In two innings of work, he allowed four runs on six walks, three hits, and four runs while striking out just one. He did not record an out in the third and exited having thrown 68 pitches (only 33 for strikes). The lanky lefty attributed his poor outing to grip issues on the ball. “That's definitely not who I am, I don’t walk too many guys,” Puk said. “It's just one of those days where the ball just didn’t feel comfortable in my hand today. It kind of felt like everything was a little bit off.” Bryan Hoeing, the man the Marlins used many times as a multi-inning relief pitcher last season, stranded both runners he inherited when he entered in the third. He pitched four innings, with his only blemish coming on a Connor Joe RBI double in his final inning of work in the sixth. Schumaker said they’ll push Hoeing to about 60 to 65 pitches going forward. “He gave us plenty," Schumaker said. “We had a lot of guys that were down today. Four guys that were not going to be used today. So we were pretty light today.” Reliever Burch Smith, who the Marlins just acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on March 27, picked up two innings after Hoeing and allowed two runs on five hits. With Hoeing and Smith having thrown 57 and 37 pitches, respectively, they clearly won't be available to contribute on Saturday afternoon when this series resumes. It's reasonable to assume that George Soriano will be down as well. Although Soriano only threw 11 pitches in the ninth inning, he also threw 24 pitches on Thursday and has never relieved on back-to-back-to-back days. While some teams have a day off after their season openers to accommodate possible rainouts, the Marlins begin their season with eight games in eight days, further necessitating clean games from starting pitchers moving forward. The bullpen's heavy usage thus far may necessitate a roster move to bring up a fresh arm. The Marlins offense didn’t do the 'pen any favors. Aside from a Jake Burger RBI single in the third inning, the Marlins were anemic with the bats. They grounded into four double plays and have grounded into seven double plays in their first 21 innings of 2024. Avi García, who has been the subject of intense booing every time he has come up to the plate in the first two games of the season, grounded into two double plays Friday. View full article

The Marlins played to a 3-3 tie against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. JUPITER, FL—Marlins starting pitcher Trevor Rogers threw four innings against a Phillies lineup that included several regulars. The top half of the Phillies lineup—Brandon Marsh, Whit Merrifield, Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, and Edmundo Sosa—went 3-for-9 with a walk and two strikeouts against Rogers. Overall, he allowed three runs on four hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. Rogers, who said after his last outing against the New York Mets on March 11 that this is the best his body has recovered between starts in a while, averaged just 91.6 miles per hour on his fastball, down from 94.1 mph in his March 11 outing. The 26-year-old lefty said after the game that velocity decrease was due to mechanics and that he “feels great” physically. “I just had to work so hard every pitch to find that consistent release point,” Rogers said. “I think it took a little bit out of me, velo-wise.” The positive from Rogers’ day was his secondary pitches, mostly his slider and changeup. None of his 34 sliders and changeups were hit into play, and he generated 11 whiffs on 17 swings with those pitches. “Feeling really good with those, especially the slider,” Rogers said. “The good takeaway was, I was even kind of disconnected and still my slider was really good today. Still up to like 83, changeup was really good today…still got a lot of good swing-and-miss, lots of weak contact.” T1ExYjRfWGw0TUFRPT1fQndKVFZRVlhVUUlBWEFGUlVBQUFBRk5SQUFCUUFWQUFCVkFFQ0FWVFZRWlZBQVFG.mp4 The Marlins offense has come online this weekend. After putting up eight runs against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, Marlins starters put up three against Philadelphia pitching on Saturday. The starting nine went 8-for-23 with two walks and five strikeouts against Phillies pitchers Kolby Allard and Max Castillo. "I feel like nobody really understands the depth of this lineup and I can't wait till we go out there and show them,” said Chisholm, before shouting out Nick Gordon, Jesús Sánchez, and Jake Burger as key pieces in the offense. The next Marlins game will be at 1:05 pm Sunday against the New York Mets on Sunday. Notes -Chisholm had an RBI single. Four of Chisholm’s nine hits this spring have come against lefties, which he has historically struggled against. -Marlins relievers George Soriano, Tanner Scott, Vladimir Gutierrez (two innings), and Elvis Alvarado all pitched scoreless innings. -Jesús Sánchez had an RBI single off the right field wall and was thrown out trying to leg it into a double. He thought it was a home run and didn’t run out of the box immediately. -Nick Fortes drove in a run on a groundout. View full article