Nate Karzmer

JUPITER—Flight, workout, game, game, flight, start. The week in the life of Sandy Alcantara has been a doozy. "I got here last night at midnight, so my daughter was kicking me out of my bed," Alcantara joked to the media on Thursday afternoon. "A little rest and just get here, go out there and do my best." Lack of sleep or not, Miami's rotation mainstay was certainly at his best in Miami's 2-0 win over Houston. Alcantara retired all nine Astros he faced in order, recording four strikeouts and four groundouts. Outside of a 14-pitch at-bat to Isaac Paredes in the first, Alcantara only threw 29 pitches. The 30-year-old diversified his pitch mix, throwing each of his six offerings at least four times, with the sinker and slider taking center stage with a combined four whiffs. Not to be lost in the fray was Alcantara's new toy, the sweeper, registering a single whiff on five pitches. "The movement—that's what (we've) been looking for since we started throwing it," said Alcantara of the sweeper. "The movement had to be first. Then you got to combine your location. So, I think today, the movement was the first important thing, and the command was good today. So I feel great about it, and just get on, keep getting better." Next for Alcantara—and the reason why his past five days had been so hectic—is the World Baseball Classic. It's his second opportunity to represent the Dominican Republic on such a stage after previously competing in 2023. "Very excited, just to be out there wearing my country's jersey, represent my country. It's (an) amazing opportunity for me. I can't wait to be out there." Alcantara left Marlins camp on Sunday to join Team DR at loanDepot park for workouts, and flew to his home country for two exhibition games against the Tigers. After bearing witness to possibly the most electric baseball one could see, a flight back late Wednesday night set up Alcantara to go on Thursday. "We had an amazing game over in the DR against Detroit," said Alcantara. "Incredible fans, a lot of kids enjoying those moments. Now it's time to work. I think the chemistry, the relationships that we've been creating the first day that we get together is amazing. Everybody seemed happy, happy to win. Tomorrow is the first game, so we're gonna be ready." Notes and Quotes - Robby Snelling did indeed "flush" his previous outing in Clearwater. The southpaw sat down six of his own after Alcantara's departure, including striking out the side of Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Paredes in his first inning of work. "Felt really good," said a visibly happy Snelling. "When you go out and you feel like all your stuff's working for you, you're gonna feel really good. I know that that is what I'm capable of doing every time that I go out, and even though that's not necessarily what's going to happen every time you go out, it's always nice when everything kind of meshes together. Huge bounce bounce back from last week." - Karson Milbrandt tossed another scoreless inning in the ninth, striking out Tommy Sacco Jr. to end the contest. - Xavier Edwards exited Thursday's game with left calf tightness. "I don't think it's anything major," said McCullough of his leadoff man's status. "But, I just felt like that was enough to get him out. Still thinking that he'll plan for him to come back and play tomorrow as part of the back-to-back. We'll just see how he feels after the day and how he comes in tomorrow." - Before his departure, Edwards recorded half of Miami's RBI with an excuse-me single down to the opposite field. The Fish added their second courtesy of an Esteury Ruiz single off of old friend Steven Okert. - Continuing a refreshing trend, Marlins baserunners swiped five bags on the day. "Craig Driver (Miami's new first base coach) has been working since we started spring training," said McCullough. "In the morning with guys and working on their technique and something that we feel like we have an athletic team, and the ability to run and to be aggressive is something that we feel is going to pay dividends for us offensively. No better time than now for players to put some work in on it in the morning, and then when you get chances in the game to go, try to figure out the timing and let your technique play out in a game setting." Up Next The first night game of Miami's spring circuit is on the horizon, as the Fish welcome the Mets to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Friday at 7:10. Max Meyer, with plenty hanging in the balance in 2026, takes the ball for his second appearance of the spring. View full article

CLEARWATER—Robby Snelling is running the gauntlet. On Friday, the 22-year-old left-hander made his second spring training start. He has faced just eleven different batters in that microscopic sample, but those eleven have combined for twenty MLB All-Star appearances. In last Saturday's inaugural game of the Grapefruit League season, Fish On First's #3 prospect went one-two-three against New York's Marcus Semien, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette. Snelling's encore wasn't as easy. Visiting yet another division rival—this go-around, it was the Philadelphia Phillies in a drizzly Clearwater—Snelling surrendered five hits, two walks and four earned runs in 1 ⅓ innings pitched (he was pulled after recording one out in the first, but re-entered for the second). Philadelphia rode the early momentum into a blowout 10-2 victory. Snelling categorized his performance as "not good by (his) standards, or by anybody else's standards." At the same time, he acknowledged that "you've got to kind of take away the good things as much as you can. Realize that it's spring, and there's going to be some growing pains." The southpaw began his outing issuing back-to-back walks before falling into unfavorable counts where the damage was done. Three consecutive RBI knocks from the middle of the Phillies order were enough to send Miami Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough out to get his young arm for a break before re-entering an inning later. "Walking two guys, not excusable at all. It kind of puts you in a hole, blood's in the water, and those types of hitters are gonna sense that and put balls in play, and that's what happened. That's the negative takeaway." Snelling's return in the second was greatly more efficient and clean, racking up two strikeouts of J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber while forfeiting just one unearned run. d2UwckFfWGw0TUFRPT1fVkFOVUJWUU5VZ3NBV2dOWEF3QUhBQTRFQUFBRFdsUUFWbEFDQVFVTVZRRlVWZ0Jm.mp4 "Going back out, getting my feet under me the next inning I went out was good," added Snelling. "Go out and get a couple of punchouts and locate stuff a little bit better, and have a little more conviction and confidence behind everything. Body felt good. Super thankful for that. Time to kind of flush it and move on." McCullough concurred with Snelling's judgment of his second inning, adding he "loved how he finished the outing. The first one, which you see a lot, sometimes as a starter, you come out of there, and it takes a little while to get into a rhythm. He just fell behind too many hitters there early on, and got himself in some tough spots, and they put some good swings on it. But I love how he came out for the second inning." The benefit of getting reps against stout competition outweighs the disappointment of poor results. "It's a good test," McCullough said. "Philly's had a good lineup for several years; there's a lot of really, really good hitters spread throughout, and Toronto yesterday for Thomas (White). But that's what you get in the major leagues. They're good players. And it just continues to emphasize the value of the ability to get ahead, and maintain count leverage." Notes and Quotes - Miami's two runs came off the bats of Heriberto Hernández and Griffin Conine. Additionally, for whatever reason, the latter continues to get challenged by runners rounding third, Trea Turner or not. - Xavier Edwards enjoyed an ideal Xavier Edwards day, recording a hit, walk and two stolen bases. "X, that's what he does" said McCullough. "It's still very early in camp and looks like he's seeing the ball very well; even the first at-bat, he hit the ball hard... It's good to see him on the bases being aggressive this early in camp. It's certainly a major part of his game, and something that we're going to continue to push with him to be aggressive and try to create some some havoc on the basepaths and get himself in scoring position. So, really good day for him." - Sandy Alcantara pitched in a simulated game Friday morning at the Marlins complex in Jupiter. Alcantara faced ten batters, striking out six, and threw 27 of his 36 pitches for strikes. "He was great," noted McCullough, relaying feedback from Marlins personnel who were in attendance. "The sweeper, which is something that he's been working on, sounded like it was great today. Sandy was excited." On Sunday, Alcantara will report to Team Dominican Republic for the World Baseball Classic. - One month from today, Alcantara and the Marlins will be under the lights of loanDepot park for Opening Day 2026. Up Next Returning home after two days in the Tampa suburbs, the Fish square off Saturday against a much more familiar spring opponent in their complex-mate St. Louis Cardinals at 1:10. Filling in for the aforementioned Alcantara on the mound is none other than his protégé, Eury Perez. View full article

DUNEDIN—Back in November, the Miami Marlins began the annual revamp of their social media and marketing approach. While it might have been easy to miss the new fonts, designs, etc., to those who don't pay attention to those sorts of things—unlike some nerds out there— they have fully leaned into one particular phrase for the 2026 season: "Fightin' Fish." The term was popularized decades ago shortly after the team's inception, but it got real legs again a season ago when Kyle Stowers said it to a stadium full of Marlins faithful following his Opening Day walk-off. "Fightin' Fish" picked up more steam as the season rolled on. MLB's youngest roster was projected to finish near the 100-loss mark scratched, only to claw to a 79-83 record on the backs of absurd comeback wins and all-around team performances to take down giants across the league. As observed during Thursday afternoon's 8-7 win in Dunedin against the reigning AL champion Toronto Blue Jays, the mantra indeed carried over from 2025, and it doesn't stop at the big league level. Miami's starting nine combined for only six hits and two runs. The improbable, late-inning rally was fueled by spring training non-roster invitees and even minor league camp players. "The group that came in for the back half of that game for them to come out and play the way, it just shows a lot about not just what we saw a lot at the major league level last year, but also how guys go about it, I think just organizationally," said Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough postgame. "We have a lot of players that just love to compete and play the game the right way." In the top of the eighth inning, a couple of walks, a hit by pitch and a single set the table for Jesús Sánchez trade acquisition Chase Jaworsky, and the 21-year-old delivered with a bases-clearing triple. An inning later, a Bennett Hostetler single and Chris Arroyo RBI groundout put the Marlins on top, and for good, to clinch their third win of the spring. "Fightin' Fish," added McCullough with a smile. "Our guys are proud of the fact that what we get known for is that you just hang in there and you play, you play every game out all the way 'til the end, no matter what. That's your job. But, also it becomes you find yourself in some situations like today, where you do enough to find a way win games that didn't look so so great there towards the end." Brax is Back It would be common practice to assume that once you've done anything 65 times, you would be quite comfortable doing said action. Alas, when said task is stepping on a major league mound and going opposite the best players in the world for the first time in nearly two years, it's not that easy. "I was definitely a little nervous," said southpaw Braxton Garrett minutes after his first big league outing since June of 2024 and spring training appearance since 2023. "Adrenaline was going. I say nervous, but I'm really excited. It's been a long time pitching on the big league mounds, where I've dreamed of my whole life. It's been a long time, so I definitely felt some nerves getting back out there for the first time." The first-round pick from a decade ago enjoyed a sound 2023 campaign, making 31 starts while boasting a 3.66 ERA. Then the injury bug bit him repeatedly, just as he began to find his footing. Garrett didn't make a start in the spring of 2024 due to a shoulder impingement before being sidelined a few months later with what ended up turning into his second Tommy John surgery in December 2024. Although Garrett allowed two runs to pass due to shaky defense and back-to-back walks to kick off his start, there was much more gratitude than frustration once removed. The southpaw ended up going just one inning, allowing two hits and notching one strikeout looking. "It felt awesome. It was really cool," Garrett added. "Getting in front of the fans again, facing big league hitters. It's a lot of fun, a lot of adrenaline—stuff I haven't been used to in the last year. I was trying to get aggressive in the zone. I wasn't very successful with that early. I'm not happy about that, but trying to keep good perspective. It's been a long time since I've been out there. We got some stuff to work on, but we have a lot of time to do it." Notes and Quotes - Fish On First's #1 and #13 prospects in Thomas White and Karson Milbrandt, respectively, made their spring debuts following Garrett's departure. Like Garrett, White allowed two runs to score in contrast to Milbrandt's two-strikeout, one-hit frame. A visibly frustrated White told the media his "mechanics felt off" with his four-seam, but something that will be focused on and corrected. - Continuing a trend from a year ago, Liam Hicks produced with two outs and runners in scoring position in the third, plating Miami's first run of the afternoon. "He had a great offseason," said McCullough. "Right now, Liam just looks physically different, and we're seeing the great early signs with he is getting some balls, and the authority which he's hitting them to the pull side is a great sign that's going to give us a chance to see Liam tap into some more power and some more slug to go along with already what is a really good ability to discern the strike zone and put the ball in play. And I think now he's just gaining more confidence." - Stowers recorded his first Grapefruit League hit of 2026, a single up the middle against two-time All-Star Kevin Gausman in the first. - Joe Mack picked up his third hit of the spring with a knock to right. The backstop is up to .429 with a grand slam in three games. - Thursday's matchup between Miami and Toronto was the first time the two have met in spring since 2009, and the first since at least 2003 that the Fish have traveled to TD Ballpark. Up Next The Fish wrap up their once-a-year west coast trip down the road in Clearwater on Friday afternoon against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. Robby Snelling is lined up to make his second start of the spring, coming off a 1-2-3 inning in game one against the New York Mets. First pitch from BayCare Ballpark is slated for 1:05. View full article

An important step in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett speaks with the media after starting Thursday's spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays. View full video

The Miami Marlins swung a trade with the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday for right-handed starting pitcher Bradley Blalock, as first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Rockies received minor league arm Jake Brooks in exchange, according to Francys Romero. In a corresponding roster move, the Marlins designated Osvaldo Bido for assignment. Blalock, 25, posted a 9.36 ERA in Denver a season ago throughout 14 appearances, 12 of which were starts. In a similar workload with Triple-A Albuquerque, his strikeout rate was nearly doubled, but his results were also dreadful (8.60 ERA). The 32nd-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft made his debut in Milwaukee in 2024 before being shipped to the Mile High City in late July of that year. In terms of a reclamation project, the Loganville, GA, native has appeal. Blalock boasts a five-pitch arsenal—four-seam, slider, splitter, curveball, cutter—and one of the highest arm angles in all of MLB at 62 degrees. With Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers off to the North Side of Chicago and the Bronx, respectively, Blalock will be an interesting follow in spring training. Daniel Moskos and Co. are tasked with tapping into what they did a year ago with low-profile pitching acquisitions like Tyler Phillips, Janson Junk, etc. Blalock has one minor league option remaining. Departing the organization is Brooks, who despite being around six months younger than Blalock, just arrived at the Double-A level in 2025. Selected in the 11th round of the 2023 draft, the former UCLA Bruin was stellar to begin his pro career in Low-A Jupiter, assuming the role as the team's ace while boasting for a 2.28 ERA on the season. A bump in competition to High-A Beloit and AA Pensacola was unfriendly to Brooks, as evidenced by a ERA spike and opponents batting .274 between both levels, though he continues to show great command of his sinker/slider/changeup mix. Bido had just been claimed by Miami on Friday. View full article

Sandy Alcantara's seventh consecutive start completing six or more innings pushed the Marlins to a sweep-clinching victory against the Rockies on Thursday from Coors Field. A few months or even weeks ago, that sentence would've come across to some as unbelievable. Now, with the Marlins playing some of their best ball all season, it's just another day as they try to complete a miraculous ride to the postseason. Alcantara and the Fish avenged the embarrassing sweep they suffered three months ago in Miami at the hands of these same Rockies, capped off by a 9-7 victory that was much more one-sided than the score suggests. Alcantara, who has done a complete 180 since the middle of August, was indeed the tone-setter. After stumbling in the second, Miami's ace was spectacular for the remaining 4 ⅔ innings he pitched. In his 30th start of the season, the 30-year-old punched out eight, relying mostly on his changeup and four-seam. His ERA continues to fall, now sitting at 5.48 on the season—that is more than a full run lower than it had been seven starts ago. h6t6h9.mp4 Alcantara is projected to pitch only once more in 2025 (likely during next week's series in Philadelphia). Liam Hicks was the ringleader at the plate for Clayton McCullough's bunch, collecting four RBI and his sixth long ball of the season. Otto Lopez went back-to-back with Hicks in the third and Heriberto Hernández added what ended up being a key two runs on his ninth blast of the year. Valente Bellozo's struggles in the ninth inning (0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K) brought the potential tying run to the plate, but Calvin Faucher induced a grounder back to the mound for the final out and earned his 14th save in the process. Now sitting at 73-80 with still a minuscule chance to sneak into the postseason, the Fish embark east to Texas where a weekend matchup with the Rangers awaits. Friday's series opener is set for 8:05 ET. View full article

MIAMI—Two short years ago, the pitching matchup in Saturday afternoon's middle game between the Marlins and division-rival Phillies would have struck many as unimaginable. Sandy Alcantara and Jesús Luzardo were the respective ace and number two atop a stellar Miami rotation during their 2023 playoff campaign. Alas, following a calamitous 2024 season, the club decided to ship Luzardo north. Saturday was a solid showing from both flamethrowers, who twirled six frames apiece, although Luzardo and the Phillies prevailed, 4-2. "He did great today," Alcantara said of his teammate of three seasons. "He won the battle, so I don't feel good about it, but I feel good for him, because I have had him for a couple of years. I know the way he competes. Tremendous job by Luzardo today." Plagued by soft contact all afternoon, Alcantara persevered to his fourth consecutive outing reaching the sixth. Outside of a first-inning long ball off the bat of Phillie superstar Bryce Harper, Alcantara only ran into trouble in the fourth, where three of the base hits he forfeited were all struck below 85 mph. When asked by manager Clayton McCullough how he felt with 94 pitches following the fifth, Miami's ace gave as on-brand of a response as you'd expect. "Always, always I feel good. It doesn't matter how many pitches I got. He gave me the opportunity to go back out there in the sixth and I was executing my best stuff out there." "For him to still be able to get through six innings and have the baseball game where it was when he went out, we needed that start today to get that type of length," said his manager. "So for me, it's another really good outing from from Sandy." Alcantara utilized his five-pitch arsenal fairly evenly, throwing each offering at least fifteen times, while leaning on his changeup and curveball the most. He registered ten whiffs, with his four-seam responsible for four. During this outing, Alcantara surpassed 900 strikeouts in his Marlins career, which only Ricky Nolasco had previously done. Sunday will be his 30th birthday. In contrast to the man he once played second fiddle to, Luzardo relied heavily on his revamped sweeper all day—and for good reason. The southpaw tossed the spinner a remarkable 48% of the time, collecting ten of his fourteen whiffs with the pitch in addition to six of his eight punchouts. Miami was only able to get to the hometown kid in the aforementioned fourth, courtesy of an Eric Wagaman double and Javier Sanoja infield single. When Luzardo previously pitched against the Fish this season, the opposing starters were Connor Gillispie and Cal Quantrill, neither of whom overlapped with him in South Florida. Postgame, Luzardo had high praise for his former teammate. "Sandy is a great leader and a great pitcher over there, so it was great," he said when asked what going opposite Alcantara was like. "I like going to battle. So, just my hat's off to him. It was fun." McCullough's group aims to avoid a sweep on Sunday afternoon at 1:40. Miami has yet to announce a starting pitcher for what will be a bullpen game. View full article