Nate Karzmer

Unlike most sports, baseball is a game where a one or two-player effort won't push a team to victory, no matter how impressive it is. The Marlins were reminded of that the hard way on Wednesday afternoon. All-Star level performances from Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez put their club in prime position to secure back-to-back series victories for the first time since Opening Week and creep back to four games under .500, but a dreadful four outs on the bases and a 2-11 showing with runners in scoring position was too much to overcome. Miami dropped an upsetting series finale to Toronto and two-time All-Star Kevin Gausman by a score of 2-1 while clinching the fourth series loss of their past five. A team reliant on small-ball, the Marlins completely fell apart on the base paths in the later innings. A caught stealing of Jakob Marsee and mental gaffe by Heriberto Hernandez ended the sixth while a strike to nab Esteury Ruiz at second stopped Miami in their tracks an inning later. The most critical mishap, though, came in the eighth with runners on first and third, one out, facing a one-run deficit with Connor Norby at the plate. Needing at the bare minimum a sacrifice fly to tie, Norby watched a hanging slider for strike three while Marsee bolted to second where he was dead to rights. The strike 'em out, throw 'em out took all the remaining wind out of Miami's sails as they were sat down in order by Tyler Rogers in the top of the ninth. Beyond baserunning, the Fish squandered multiple opportunities to put runs on the board early. Leading 1-0. with the bases loaded and one out in the third, Kyle Stowers grounded into an inning ending double play. A frame later, Christopher Morel and Graham Pauley couldn't cash in their first chance with one away and runners on the corners. Taking credit for over half of Miami's hits was the budding star duo of Lopez and Edwards. The two combined for seven hits, four stolen bases and the lone RBI opposite Gausman and a trio of Blue Jay relievers. The two now sit alone atop the hit lead in all of MLB, with Lopez at 75 and Edwards close behind at 67. Now over fifty games into 2026, there should be little to no doubt where the best middle-infield in the league resides. Lost in the late-game malaise was the success and sudden worry for Marlins starter Eury Perez. Perez, who dazzled in his previous outing last Friday against New York, showed more of the same promise that he became renowned for as a top prospect. "Baby Goat" punched out seven through just three innings on his way to a season-high nine. It's a number that had the potential to be even higher if not for a bizarre situation in the middle of the fifth. The 23-year-old right-hander was shown on the broadcast to be writhing in pain out of seemingly nowhere before being helped to the clubhouse by team doctors and his mentor Sandy Alcantara. Shortly after, the team announced it was a right hamstring spasm. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reported postgame that Perez noted he would be getting imaging and the initial pain was a 10/10, but was a 7 during his scrum. Should the injury lead to an IL stint, it would sting that much more knowing Perez's recent adjustments have proved to be quite effective against formidable lineups. The incorporation of a two-seam pitch with sinking action has kept hitters off balance from a strong, but at times predictable four-seam offering. Increased command—Perez walked zero for the second consecutive outing—and trust in secondary offerings has been key as well. Toronto was able to grab the lead following the youngster's departure, capitalizing in back-to-back frames off Michael Peterson and Andrew Nardi, the latter surrendering his fourth homer of the season. The good news for Miami? A trip to Queens is on deck. Having just swept the Mets and enjoying success against their division foe dating back to 2025, the Fish enter Citi Field with confidence knowing they can mirror what happened at loanDepot park. Max Meyer, having dominated yet again against New York last Saturday with seven innings of scoreless ball looks to continue his sensational early-season campaign on Friday night opposite Freddy Peralta. First pitch is slated for 7:10 pm EST. View full article

MIAMI—"Trust yourself, because you know the tools are there, the talent is there, it's just a matter of trusting what you got and what you can do." That was the heartfelt message relayed from Miami's coaching staff to the struggling Heriberto Hernández before being sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville in late April. Coming off an encouraging 2025, the second-year outfielder wasn't all the way there at the plate, requiring tune-ups both mechanically and mentally to regain what Miami and Hernandez alike knew he had. Less than a month later, it's safe to say the 26-year-old's confidence has never been higher. Hernandez delivered the moment of the season for Miami thus far in the bottom of the ninth in Sunday's series finale over the Mets, blasting a walk-off grand slam to the roar of 23,018 screaming spectators at loanDepot park in a thrilling 4-0 victory. With the win, Hernández's club secures a sweep over their division rival climbs back to 25-29. New York did not lead at any point in the series after the second inning of Friday's game one. "Really happy for Bert," said Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough postgame over a raucous clubhouse. "We saw him do a lot of fantastic things for us last year—the big homer he had in Philly off [Jhoan] Duran. He's come through in moments for us in the past, and for him just to hang in there, and come back up, he's been ready to go every time his name has been called, he hadn't got a whole lot of starts to get into a rhythm, but I think he's always ready to come off the bench and hit. I couldn't be happier for him to have that moment there." "Amazing," responded Hernández with a smile when asked of his emotions. "It feels good that the team is winning and then the way that we've been fighting out there, it feels good." Deadlocked at 0-0 in the bottom of the ninth, the slumping Christopher Morel doubled to kick off what would be the game-winning rally. A sacrifice bunt from Javier Sanoja and back-to-back walks to Liam Hicks and Xavier Edwards—the latter being intentional—set the scene for Hernández, who didn't even enter the contest until the seventh. "I wasn't trying to do much—just trying to put the ball in play," said Hernández. "I knew that if I put the ball in play, we were going to get that run." Hernández still owns an ugly .193/.287/.284 slash line in 32 total MLB games, though his wRC+ spiked from 48 to 65 in this contest. One attribute of the Dominican's game that has never wavered is his attitude. Consistently, Hernández takes pride in any way he can assist in Miami winning ballgames. With the bat returning to rookie-year form, there's no reason why he shouldn't play a part in the coming weeks. "Just trying to help the team." said Hernández when asked what's been working since his return. "I know that I'm not playing every day, but in my heart that's what I want, just being able to help the team and contribute every time I'm out there." If It Ain't Broke... For as intense and stern as Tyler Phillips looks most times, Miami's standout second-year reliever has a simple approach to breaking the ice. "Go out there and relieve in the first inning. I guess they call that starting." Phillips stuck to his routine, coming out of the bullpen before taking the mound in the first while slapping himself in his patented pre-outing ritual. It worked. Phillips was impressive yet again, getting through 3 ⅔ innings scoreless innings before turning things over to his buddies in the bullpen. "I've started my whole career. Last year was my first year relieving," said Phillips. "The mentality that (Daniel) Moskos, Clayton (Brandon) Mann, everyone's been pushing to me is just go out there, do the same thing you've been doing, treat it like you're relieving in the first inning. Coming out of the 'pen has been kind of working for me. I get my little alter ego going and you're just attacking from pitch one. So instead of coming in in the sixth inning, I just did it from the first inning." Following Phillips, a sensational group effort from Calvin Faucher, John King, Anthony Bender, Michael Petersen and Pete Fairbanks kept New York quiet and things scoreless. The staff as a whole surrendered just three hits all afternoon. Notes and Quotes - Connor Norby was removed from Sunday's game with left elbow discomfort. Norby wore a 95 mph heater from Christian Scott in the fourth and stayed in the game for a half inning before Graham Pauley entered in his place. "He's sore," said McCullough of the injury. "I hadn't really got a check, got him in a tough spot there, around the elbow area, was able to play another inning of defense, but wasn't gonna be able to swing the bat, and it was starting to stiffen up. Probably have more on that tomorrow." - This was the Marlins' first series sweep of the Mets since May 17-19, 2019. - Hernandez's walk-off grand slam was Miami's first since Kyle Stowers hit his infamous blast off Mason Miller on May 4, 2025. - Miami improves to 1-9 in games when the fourth rotation spot makes a start this season. Chris Paddack, Robby Snelling and Braxton Garrett couldn't get it done, but a sensational effort from Phillips and Co. finally lifts the hex. On Deck Now riding sudden momentum, Miami embarks on a three-city road trip beginning north of the border in Toronto against the defending American League champions. Janson Junk toes the slab for Miami in Monday night's series opener against postseason hero Trey Yesavage. First pitch from the Rogers Centre is set for 7:07. View full article

Early Thursday afternoon, the Marlins announced the acquisition of 25-year-old outfielder Rece Hinds from Cincinnati in exchange for right-hander Zach McCambley. Hinds will report to Triple-A Jacksonville and was added to the 40-man roster following the additional transaction transferring Robby Snelling (Tommy John surgery) to the 60-day IL. Hinds has one minor league option remaining. Selected with the 49th overall pick in the 2019 Draft out of IMG Academy, Hinds hit his peak as a prospect in 2020 and 2021, reaching heights as the eighth-best in the Reds system in both years as evaluated by MLB Pipeline. The industry was enamored by Hinds' stellar exit velocities, bat speed and strength, which resulted in a 60-grade for both power and his arm from the corner outfield. Those tools haven't faded yet as his exit velo got up to 115 mph with Triple-A Louisville this season. A lack of bat-to-ball ability continues to plague Hinds. His first campaign at the Triple-A level in 2024 was especially alarming, as the slugger owned the thirteenth-highest strikeout rate in all of Minor League Baseball at 37.9%. Hinds has had brief stints with the Reds in each of the past three years. The vast majority of his highlights were crammed into his first week, when Hinds homered five times and drove in 11 runs from July 8-13, 2024. Three of those long balls came at the Marlins' expense. In 51 total games and 131 plate appearances at the major league level, Hinds is slashing .172/.221/.426 with seven homers, three doubles and a grueling 6/55 BB/K ratio. The 6'3'', 215-pound, Niceville, Florida, native was designated for assignment on Sunday. Adding a right-handed bat became more of a priority for the Marlins recently. Their most promising Triple-A option, Kemp Alderman, just landed on the injured list earlier this week. Infielder Leo Jiménez suffered a concussion on Wednesday while Christopher Morel and Heriberto Hernández continue to provide sub-replacement-level production. With consistent playing time and a more analytical approach from Miami's hitting staff in Jacksonville, it's obvious that the front office believes they can shrink Hinds' swing-and-miss and tap into his trademark pop. It's a move that resembles the acquisition of Joey Wiemer a year ago, and perhaps this time around the project comes to fruition for a team desperately needing the slug that Hinds possesses. As for McCambley, the 27-year-old right-hander leaves the Marlins for the second time in a six-month span. A third-round pick in Miami's infamous all-pitcher 2020 MLB Draft class, McCambley was selected by Philadelphia this past December in the Rule 5 draft, but was returned prior to Opening Day. McCambley was impressive for the Jumbo Shrimp in 2026, utilizing his five-pitch mix effectively to the tune of a 2.36 ERA in 26 ⅔ innings pitched. However, he's walking 15.7% of opposing batters and projects to work in a relief-only role moving forward. View full article

MIAMI-Tuesday afternoon wasn't your average Marlins-Braves game. While most matchups between these division foes find Atlanta simply overwhelming the team they have 'owned' for the better part of eight years, game two of four from loanDepot park saw Miami beat themselves in a frustrating 8-4 loss. Footnoted by starter Braxton Garrett's three-walk first inning that saw Atlanta capitalize, multi-walk outings from Michael Peterson and Calvin Faucher set an already mighty Braves offense up perfectly to take back control. Notably, a one-out walk to a heavily slumping Ha-Seong Kim and a pair of two-out walks loaded the bases for Mauricio Dubon in the eighth with things knotted at three and two outs. Dubon rolled a ground ball to Christopher Morel at first, who got pulled away from the base. Morel looked to second to get Ronald Acuna Jr., but neither Otto Lopez nor Xavier Edwards were there. Any chance Morel had to make a miraculous play back at first were stifled by Faucher being late to cover the bag. The back-breaking lapse was one-upped by two more insurance runs from Matt Olson, shifting all momentum to Atlanta and their tomahawk-chopping fans while draining their opponent. Lopez took the blame for not covering second postgame, saying " I couldn't get there on time, but that was the way that it should have been done... it's tough to anticipate those plays because he's had a good hitting the ball that way, and he actually pulled the ball (earlier in the at-bat), so it's difficult to cover both sides." "Watching it live, how far Morel had to go, the play at first was going to be difficult, just with the angle and how well Dubon can run and get out of the box." Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough said of the play. 'I think him going to look to second he felt moving that way was probably his best chance. We just weren't able to beat Acuna to the base." An early deficit didn't deter the Marlins' offense, who responded with three runs on three hits, including Xavier Edwards' sixth homer of his 2026 campaign and second in as many days. The remaining eight innings, though, were mostly quiet. Outside of Esteury Ruiz' s sacrifice fly in the fourth and MLB hit leader Otto Lopez adding to his total with three more, the bats were lulled to sleep by the three-headed monster of Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias. Excluding Kyle Stowers' first-inning double, Miami was 0-7 with RISP, including in the seventh with runners on second and third with one away. Déjà Vu? Desperately searching for a bounce-back outing after a sideways return to the bigs, Braxton Garrett was tormented by the same uncharacteristic issues that showed their head a week ago in Minneapolis. Just like his previous outing, Garrett instantly found himself in a bases-loaded, no-out jam following free passes to two of the first three batters he saw. Atlanta cashed in to grab the early 2-0 lead, but that would be all. Although Garrett was only able to get through three innings, improved location and conviction were enough to navigate them scoreless. "A little bit better, still not good enough, obviously," said the southpaw of his afternoon. "I just went back to thinking like my old self, pushing towards first a little bit to keep my front side closed, because that's kind of been the problem," Garrett said of his adjustment after the tumultuous first inning. "Just the body wanted to go, go, go, go very fast, and just pushing out towards first cleans that up, and it felt natural. So, I can definitely take that away and build on it". Shortly after the final out, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reported that Garrett would be optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Garrett's spot in the rotation would not come up again until the finale of the Mets series on Sunday. Ryan Gusto and Bradley Blalock come to mind as the two likely options, but a splash call-up of FOF #1 prospect Thomas White is not completely out of the cards. For the time being, a relief arm is all but certain to take a short flight from Duvall County and join the bullpen. Notes and (Non)-Quotes - Anthony Bender became the first Marlin in franchise history to record a 'hidden perfect game' following his clean top of the fourth. Bender retired his past 27 hitters in order, showcasing a tremendous leap from his early-season woes. - Miami tried their hand at an unconventional 4:10 weekday first pitch in hopes of drawing an after-work and after-school crowd. The experiment drew 7,521, a step down from the 6:40 average of 7,989. - Morel and Faucher both declined to address the media postgame. On Deck The Fish have another chance to secure a crucial series split against their league-leading rival on Wednesday evening. In that one, 2024 Cy Young winner and nine-time All-Star Chris Sale goes opposite Janson Junk at the traditional 6:40 start time. View full article

"Walks will kill you." There's a reason that baseballism has become so infamous: because it is true. Even when Braxton Garrett has struggled in the past, walks have rarely been to blame. Thursday afternoon, starting his first MLB game in nearly 700 days, Garrett and Miami succumbed to a quick death in what was ultimately a 9-1 waxing at the hands of the Twins. In his first major league appearance since recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, Garrett was visibly off from the jump. A tightrope act got through a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the bottom of the first inning. He found himself in the exact same situation in the second, though. A total of five free passes and four hits were enough to chase the southpaw after just an inning and a third. By the time Garrett walked off the mound with his glove over his mouth, he had allowed four runs to cross and walked more Twins than he retired. Although Garrett's calling card is his command and ability to spot pitches, walks were an issue in the veteran's six starts in Triple-A Jacksonville, with all but one outing being a multi-walk effort. Positively, all of Garrett's five offerings featured an uptick in velocity. The sinker, most notably, rose from an average of 90 to 91.3 mph. Following Garrett's departure, the burden fell on Miami's bullpen to get outs and get the team out of Target Field as they continue their brutal 16-game, no off-day stretch through May 28. Low-leverage but nonetheless scoreless multi-inning efforts from Calvin Faucher, Anthony Bender and Lake Bachar did what they could before Miami enters a brutal stretch going opposite the two best teams in the league. In uncharacteristic fashion, the usually steady John King forfeited three runs in the eighth, easily his most in any outing as a Marlin. If these Fish want any chance against said the increased competition ahead of them, the offense-specifically the middle and bottom of the order-must perform better. Outside of the consistent top three of Xavier Edwards, Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez, Miami's bats collected two hits whilst striking out eight times on Thursday. It was Lopez that ensured Miami wasn't shut out for the second time this set with a run-scoring single in the top of the eighth. On Deck Miami heads to the west coast of Florida, returning to Tropicana Field for a date with the AL-best Tampa Bay Rays and the first edition of the 2026 Citrus Series. Friday's opener featuring Janson Junk and Jesse Scholtens is set for 7:10. View full article

Outside of the teams that won World Series championships in 1997 and 2003, the 2023 edition of the Miami Marlins was perhaps the most adored in franchise history. Following consecutive seasons of 90-plus losses in 2021 and 2022, '23 was a breath of fresh air. Those fiery, resilient Fish blended both veterans and young stars with formidable pitching and hitting to clinch just Miami's third-ever playoff berth in a full season. You cannot tell the story of that team without a certain 5-foot-10 second baseman with fewer than forty career homers. Luis Arraez was the 2023 Marlins. Acquired from the Minnesota Twins a little less than a month away from spring training, "La Regadera" etched himself in team lore while simultaneously becoming a fan favorite. He achieved the first cycle in franchise history...in just his twelfth game. He proceeded to flirt with a .400 average deep into the season and set a franchise single-season record with his final .354 mark. Arraez was an All-Star, Silver Slugger and top-10 finisher in National League MVP balloting, the leader and face of a scrappy lineup that had Miami in the spotlight like they haven't been in years, with what seemed to be a promising future. On the heels of that prosperous season, Marlins ownership opted for a bold shake-up. General manager Kim Ng was out, replaced by new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. There were wholesale changes to front office personnel, but Bendix largely kept the club's major league roster intact—the most notable departures were letting Jorge Soler and his 36 homers walk in free agency and flipping super utility man Jon Berti on the eve of Opening Day. Given the dire state of Miami's farm system, a rebuild seemingly loomed, but not imminently. To reference Murphy's Law, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. On May 3, just 33 games into their 2024 campaign, the Marlins entered their cross-country trip to Oakland sitting at 9-24, set up by a brutal season-opening 0-9 skid. But hey, maybe this core could do the impossible again. Jesús Sánchez said it himself not even 24 hours ago following his walk-off that "Miami was back" and there were signs of stabilization with a 6-4 record in their last ten. Then, just like that, it was all over. Minutes before first pitch from the Coliseum, news broke that Arraez was headed to San Diego in exchange for a quartet of minor league talent. The reported blockbuster was met with shock and outrage, not just from Marlins faithful, but from all corners of the baseball world. Bendix had gutted the soul from his organization barely one month into his first regular season in Miami. He confirmed in the subsequent media session that this was waving the white flag on 2024, saying "we are unlikely to make the playoffs this year." Many more moves followed and the Marlins endured 100 losses that year. At the time of this article, two players that Bendix inherited from the 26-man postseason roster remain on the major league squad. Although the Marlins are not yet perennial contenders like Bendix aspires to be, their outlook is considerably brighter than it was two years ago. We now have the necessary context to evaluate the Arraez deal more fairly. It's fair to start with the man himself, whom after collecting another batting title in 2024 with San Diego, saw his name and what he brings to the table get more criticized amongst the general baseball population. The "one-tool player" label gained serious wheels following Arraez's first season as a Padre and a 2025 campaign that featured a league-lead in hits with 181, but an OPS of .719. Despite hitting free agency in the theoretical prime of his career (entering his age-29 season), Arraez lingered on the market until February. He ultimately moved north in to the division rival San Francisco Giants on a modest one-year, $12 million deal that literally any MLB team could've afforded (yes, even the frugal Fish). His first quarter of a season in the Bay has been mostly a continuation of his Padres tenure offensively—tons of singles and fewer strikeouts than any other qualified hitter. Interestingly, his defense has graded out brilliantly. Arraez still plays his role and does it better than anybody...except for one guy. We'll get to him later. The package sent to Miami included OF Jakob Marsee, RHP Woo-Suk Go, 1B Nathan Martorella and OF Dillon Head, with the final being considered the headliner. Thus far, Miami gets a 1.5/4. Go was the least desirable at the time of the swap and his stock only lowered since joining the Marlins organization. The Korean right-hander struggled as a low-leverage reliever in the minors and was cut 13 months after being acquired without ever tasting the majors. Martorella's hit tool had been a question mark when he came over and it's looking as questionable as ever now. He is OPS'ing .520 with a .135 average in Triple-A Jacksonville, a step down from an already discouraging .630 OPS a year ago. I'm giving Miami a generous half point for Dillon Head, the 70-grade speedster who was just 19 at the time of the deal. Head has been absolutely hampered by injuries ever since, including a season-ending hip injury a little over a month after joining the organization and has appeared in a limited nine games in 2026 after nursing a hand injury. It is entirely too early to write Head off, but this season in High-A will play a huge role when evaluating his future with the club. Finally-and most notably-Jakob Marsee, who was the first of the four to receive a call-up and did not miss his opportunity. The Dearborn, MI native went scorched earth in his debut month in the bigs, being honored with NL Rookie of the Month for August after posting a sensational .352/.430/.629 with eighteen extra-base hits and above-average defense. It's been a mixed bag since, most notably the start to Marsee's sophomore season—he currently holds a 67 wRC+ (league average is 100). What we do understand is that Bendix and the Marlins front office has supreme confidence in their potential franchise center fielder to figure things out, and there's reason to believe. Marsee boasts incredible plate discipline, still possessing an OBP over .307 with an average of .182. If you choose to view the trade simply based off the four players Miami received in return, it appears Bendix still won his first blockbuster, but not by a landslide. However, the true value of the deal can be seen when analyzing the other guy I was referring to earlier. Xavier Edwards, who had no way of finding consistent playing time with Arraez and Tim Anderson up the middle in 2024, was called up shortly after the departure of his predecessor. Instantly, the former first-round pick proved Bendix was right to deal Arraez in favor of his former Rays farmhand. While Edwards and Arraez both have elite hit tools, the former's value extends far beyond. An elite runner despite not swiping as many bags as one would expect, Edwards can take extra bases and keep balls in the infield at second base. In addition, since transitioning to the position full-time just halfway into 2025, Edwards proved to be elite, even being named a Gold Glove finalist. Perhaps most important to Bendix and Co., the switch-hitting Edwards is three years younger than Arraez and doesn't hit free agency until 2030. Edwards' production and future value chalks this trade up as a win for Miami already. Couple that with a potential franchise center fielder and an uber-athletic 21-year-old that simply needs to stay healthy? While Bendix took plenty of heat for getting rid of the fan favorite, he was just setting the tone for what was to come. View full article

Fish Unfiltered discusses the development of Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards, catcher Liam Hicks and shortstop Otto Lopez, who are all on pace for career years. View full video

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