Nate Karzmer

Another rough day at the office for Marlins pitching put a damper on Kyle Stowers' incredible afternoon. Kyle Stowers put together the best performance of his MLB career, Liam Hicks had 3 RBI of his own with a double in the ninth to cap off a four-run final inning, and the Marlins racked up nine hits as a team in Tony Gonsolin's return from Tommy John surgery. Sounds like the recipe for a Marlins win, right? Alas, for the sixth time in six games on the West Coast, a Marlins starter allowed four or more runs before being relieved. This time, Cal Quantrill was the culprit, letting up four runs before being pulled in the middle of the fourth inning. Miami chipped away all day, but their bullpen and defense couldn't keep them in it. If it wasn't for the aforementioned big ninth inning, it would've been much uglier, but the result was the same, with the Dodgers cruising to a 12-7 win and series sweep. Miami's premier free agent signing continues to struggle, posting a .345 batting average against with his new club. The Dodgers feasted on Quantrill's fastball all day, with the pitch being responsible for four of his six hits. With yet another subpar performance from a starting pitcher, the bad news for Miami gets worse. Clayton McCullough's staff now sits dead last when looking at ERA as a collective and second to last in earned runs. In all fairness to Quantrill, the bullpen wasn't much better behind him. Anthony Bender and even Lake Bachar allowed a single run, while Jesús Tinoco and Luarbert Arias let up three apiece. Both Tinoco and Arias were victims of brutal misplays in center field by Jesús Sánchez, continuing innings and allowing extra bases. Stowers Puts on a Show Four at-bats, four hits, two home runs and four RBI. If you want to talk about finishing what you started, look no further than Kyle Stowers' performance on Wednesday. Stowers OPS'd a measly .540 in spring training and struck out 18 times. Impressively, he wiped the slate clean as soon as the regular season began. An Opening Day walk-off hit springboarded the 27-year-old into what ended up being a magnificent March and April, emphatically ending in this series finale. Stowers enjoyed his first multi-homer and four-hit game back home in California, with the former traveling to dead center and the latter heading to right-center. The lefty has made tremendous strides with pitch recognition and discipline. As the calendar flips to May, Stowers boasts a .323 average, .906 OPS and a .396 OBP, good enough for eighth in the National League. Due to injuries and platoon concerns, the Marlins' outfield alignment has constantly changed through the first 30 games of the season. Stowers has been the lone constant. He has deservedly earned an everyday role for the foreseeable future. Up Next Miami, thankfully, heads back to the east coast to take on the Athletics starting on Friday. Neither team has announced a starter for the 7:10 matchup. View full article

For the second time in four games, Javier Sanoja pitched for the Marlins. That should tell you all you need to know. Sandy Alcantara has been among MLB's best starting pitchers since he debuted in 2017. A career WAR of 19.4, an ERA of 3.46 and a Cy Young award in 2022 highlight a long list of accolades and dominance for Miami's ace and face of the franchise. No matter the time or place, the Marlins know he gives them the best chance to win...omitting Dodger Stadium. Before taking the ball in Tuesday night's middle game between his Marlins and the defending World Series champion Dodgers, Sandy owned an eye-popping 12.94 ERA in four starts at baseball's third-oldest stadium. That was by far his worst mark at one venue and over five runs higher than his second-worst, a 7.56 at Coors Field. It's fair to say the only highlight of Sandy's illustrious career in Los Angeles was a scoreless inning in the 2022 All-Star Game, a memorable moment from his aforementioned Cy Young season. Dane Myers' fifth RBI in two games even gave Alcantara a cushion heading into the bottom of the first inning. One pitch into the frame, though, it vanished. An inside sinker to Shohei Ohtani ended up in the seats and set the tone for another rough night in Hollywood. Alcantara's blowup performance (2.2 IP, 7 ER, 5 BB) put Miami in a deep hole against the most talented team in the sport. It didn't help that Matt Sauer and the Dodger bullpen put the clamps on the Marlins offense until an Ronny Simon RBI single in the top of the eighth. For the second time on their road trip out west, the Fish got completely dismantled, 15-2, falling to 12-17 on the young season in the process. Succeeding what was a consensus step forward a short six days ago against Cincinnati, the wheels came off the bus early for Alcantara following Ohtani's solo shot. Doubles from Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tommy Edman capped off the first. The most alarming development was the four walks let up in the second and third, amounting to five by the time he was removed. It is only the tenth time in Alcantara's career that he allowed five or more free passes. Command inside the zone remained a concern as well, with an excess of pitches leaking over the plate. Below is a graphic of all seven pitches the Dodgers recorded hits on: As for pitch selection, Alcantara avoided throwing both his fastball and sinker, instead relying heavily on his changeup, as seen in his last start as well. The changeup was only responsible for two of the hits and was accountable for four of Sandy's nine swings-and-misses. Zooming out, Tuesday's start caps off Sandy's first full month following Tommy John surgery, a stretch that just so happens to be the worst of his career. While it is entirely too early to jump to any conclusions, it is clear that "vintage" Sandy is not as close to coming back as most thought despite a fantastic spring. Of Note - Myers was good for two more base hits in addition to his run-scoring single in the first. While still not receiving consistent playing time, even after the unfortunate injury to Griffin Conine, Myers remains a bright spot in Miami's order. In 21 games, the veteran outfielder is slashing .351/.373/.491. He would rank second the NL batting title race if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. - For the second night in a row, Otto Lopez enjoyed a multi-hit day. Following a forgettable run from April 4-27 which featured a .159/.227/.232 slash line, Lopez appears to be heating back up. - George Soriano capped off a rough month with three more earned runs, spiraling his ERA up to 10.32 in April. Opponents are hitting .308 off of Soriano thus far. - Poor Javier Sanoja, man. Up Next Wednesday afternoon's matinee sees the return of Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin to an MLB mound for the first time since August 18, 2023, when a then playoff hopeful Marlins team threw up ten runs, including five homers in just over three innings. Ten days later, it was announced that Gonsolin would need Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for a year and a half. In four rehab starts this season in Triple-A Oklahoma City, the righty maintained a 3.21 ERA and 16/6 K/BB ratio. Cal Quantrill takes the bump for Clayton McCullough's squad with hopes of avoiding their second sweep of 2025. Quantrill, like Alcantara, took a couple steps forward in his previous start against Seattle, nearly completing six innings for the first time this season. View full article

More so than any other game during the first month of the 2025 season, Miami was thoroughly outplayed from start to finish. Marlins starter Connor Gillispie had been doing a so-so job as a stop-gap in Miami's rotation as Ryan Weathers recovers from injury. Entering Saturday's middle game between Gillispie's Marlins and the home team Mariners, Gillispie owned a 6.75 ERA and 4.57 FIP across five starts. Following Saturday, those numbers have certainly inflated. Back-to-back homers from the first two batters Gillispie faced, Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco, set the tone for Seattle, as their offense rattled off an additional four runs to bury Miami early. The Mariners kept tacking on by scoring in five of the next seven innings, culminating in an emphatic 14-0 thumping. It was the most lopsided loss that the Marlins have suffered this season. Gillispie finished his outing allowing six hits and seven earned runs in just two innings—the shortest start of his young career. Mariners hitters teed off on the 27-year-old's entire arsenal, excluding his sweeper, which was responsible for four of the six outs recorded. Gillispie's season ERA now sits at 8.65. With Adam Mazur dominating a couple of hours north in Jacksonville and already on Miami's 40-man roster, it begs the question of whether they should swap places in the near future. Conversely, former Marlins farmhand Luis Castillo continued to flex on his ex-employer, one-hitting Miami's offense for six innings. Including his start Saturday, Castillo owns a 1.96 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. Dane Myers was the only Marlin to record a hit off of Castillo with a single in the third. Myers, Graham Pauley and Kyle Stowers (x2) recorded Miami's only hits of the night, just 24 hours after an all-around ten-hit effort. Of Note - If there was any more evidence needed to prove that it simply wasn't Miami's day, take a look at this incredible play from Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford to get Eric Wagaman at first: - George Soriano, Tyler Phillips and Javier Sanoja—in his second outing of the season—all allowed runs to cross in their relief appearances, while Anthony Veneziano and Lake Bachar combined for a clean inning and two-thirds. - For the first time, Agustín Ramírez looked human at the big league level. Ramírez went 0-for-4 and finally struck out, dropping his OPS from 2.150 to 1.563. Up Next Max Meyer, coming off one of the best strikeout performances in Marlins franchise history, takes the ball for Clayton McCullough on Sunday, going for Miami's second straight series win. Opposing Meyer is Logan Evans, Seattle's #8 prospect, according to Baseball America. Evans pitched to the tune of a 3.86 ERA through five starts at Triple-A Tacoma with his sinker/sweeper combination. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 ET. View full article

The Marlins will have to wait a little while longer to break out the brooms. MIAMI—As Matt Mervis rounded the bases in the bottom of the first on Wednesday afternoon following his two-run, go-ahead blast, it was looking like the Marlins would carry enough momentum from an exhilarating first two games against Cincinnati to notch their first sweep of the 2025 season. Reds starter Brady Singer had other ideas, though. While his offense chipped away, the former Florida Gator and Leesburg native bested Sandy Alcantara and silenced the Marlins’ hot bats for the rest of the day. Singer allowed just two hits, including zero from innings two to four, until he was relieved following the sixth. Contrary to Monday and Tuesday, Terry Francona’s bullpen followed suit, allowing just two singles in the final three innings as his Reds salvaged game three by a score of 5-2, dropping the Marlins to 11-13 in the process. “Brady settled in well, and really located his sinker and secondaries today,” said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. “(We) weren't really ever able to mount much in the middle innings or stress him at that point. So hats off to him, he threw a good ball game today”. Mervis, Eric Wagaman and Ronny Simon were the only Marlins with extra-base hits the entire day, with Mervis' and Wagaman's coming in the first frame. Mervis is tied for third in the National League with seven homers this season. Sandy gets through six Alcantara didn’t necessarily need a bounce-back start, but he certainly wanted one, and the precedent was set. In day games at loanDepot park throughout his career, he possessed a 3.22 ERA with four complete games entering Wednesday. “I was getting tired of being here, talking (about) a lot of negative things…I just put it in my mind, my last start, that I gotta be on ‘Sandy Mode' and I think I did a little bit of Sandy Mode today,” he told reporters postgame. The results were as mixed as they could be. Miami’s ace looked like his former self in innings two, four, and six—rolling ground balls and demonstrating great pace and efficiency—but allowed runs and flashed inconsistencies in innings one, three, and five. Similar to his blowup start last Friday, command was a minor issue. While he only walked two, he struggled to put hitters away when ahead, throwing 34 pitches when he had two strikes, driving up his pitch count early. Looking positively, Sandy’s velocity on both his sinker and fastball were up a tick when compared to said previous start. The sinker's average velo improved from 96.1 mph to 97.3 mph while the fastball jumped from 97.2 to 97.8. Another encouraging sign was Sandy’s patented changeup, which got thrown 34% of the time while racking up nine of his sixteen whiffs. Reds batters chased it outside the zone at a 40% rate. All in all, it’s a step forward for Alcantara, who is still finding a groove after Tommy John surgery. “He had a lot of count leverage today, and got through six (and) gave us a quality start…It was a good start. Very, very encouraging” said McCullough. Of Note - In the seventh, Jeimer Candelario grounded a ball to Otto Lopez at second with runners on first and third and the Reds up by a run. Instead of attempting to turn a double play on the slower Candelario, Lopez threw home to try and nab Elly De La Cruz at home due to the infield playing in. The throw was on time, but De La Cruz snuck a hand by Liam Hicks. Postgame, McCullough said "it was the right play. He didn't really hesitate. He got it, made an accurate throw to the plate, and Elly just outran it and barely beat it." - After making history in his first two games as a big leaguer, Agustín Ramírez got the day off. - With a paid attendance of 6,575, Wednesday's game was the least-attended Marlins game of 2025 thus far. Up Next The Fish depart for a cross-country trip to the Pacific Northwest for a three-game set against the Mariners. Friday's series opener features Cal Quantrill on the bump for the Marlins, looking to rebound after allowing seven earned runs a week ago in Philadelphia. Seattle has yet to announce a starter for the contest. First pitch is slated for 9:40 ET. View full article

Another start, another brilliant outing from Max Meyer, who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Almost a full year ago on April 15, 2024, Marlins starter Max Meyer was sent down to Triple-A in a stunning move. Two days prior, Meyer tossed six innings of one-run ball and earned a win over the Braves, continuing a phenomenal start to his 2024 season. At the time of his demotion, the then 25-year-old carried a 2.12 ERA and picked up two wins, a stat that is particularly relevant because…the team only had three in total. Halfway into April. Meyer wouldn’t return to the bigs until July, where the remainder of his starts from then on were up and down, generating concern and even more questions as to why the front office would halt the former third overall pick's enticing progress in the first place. Fast forward 359 days and now three starts into his 2025 campaign, Meyer is one-upping himself. Coming off a six-inning, three-earned run start last Friday that got overshadowed by a blowup performance from his bullpen, Meyer took the mound on a chilly day at Citi Field against another division rival, the Mets on Wednesday afternoon. With his ballclub looking to avoid a sweep and get back to .500, Max delivered, and then some. A lineup that racked up 10 runs in the previous game was held hitless by Meyer through five innings. He finished his day allowing just two before being pulled with one out in the seventh—that made it the longest start by any Marlins pitcher so far in 2025. With a steady dose of offense, good outings from the relievers behind him and a jaw-dropping catch from Dane Myers to put a bow on it, the Marlins salvaged the series and shut out New York, 5-0. “It was a terrific start for him. To be as effective as he was, efficient like that, to get us really deep into that game, (he) kept giving us cracks at it to get on the scoreboard” said manager Clayton McCullough following the game. “On a day where it’s nice to come here and get a win and get back home, that was just what the doctor ordered. That was a great start.” Meyer, as he usually does, relied on his infamous slider, throwing the pitch 41% of the time. The wipeout pitch picked up five of Meyer’s nine whiffs. Besides that, he used his four-seamer and sinker a combined 48%, showing great command of both pitches, even if his velocity was a tick down from his last start. The third-year starter now owns a 2.00 ERA through three starts, and this time around, there's no concern about him being sent down. If Meyer can show poise and command like he did against one of the most talented lineups in baseball, there’s serious reason to believe that 2025 could be the breakout year Miami has been waiting for. As McCullough mentioned, Meyer gave his offense plenty of opportunities to score against Tylor Megill, and the heart of the order capitalized in the fifth and the ninth for insurance. Singles from Matt Mervis and Nick Fortes gave Miami a 2-0 lead halfway through before impressive at-bats up and down the order against Edwin Díaz in the ninth pushed across three more. It was Mervis coming up big again in the ninth with his third homer in four games, a two-run wall scraper that just carried out. “Anytime you can add to the lead in the ninth inning against one of the game's best closers, I think I naturally get amped up a little bit. So just felt good to execute and score some runs” Mervis noted. With the two-RBI day, Mervis ties Otto Lopez with a team-leading seven RBI’s on the season. “I think we're maybe earlier on some of those pitches where he was fouling off or just missing” added McCullough. “He's moving them forward now, so I think he's still finding the right pitches, and he's getting some that he's getting to and ending in the at-bat on some pitches that he can drive”. Of Note - Myers’ catch in the ninth was another installment of Marlins outfielders making spectacular plays just two weeks into the season. qltk5v.mp4 - Xavier Edwards finished his strong series back home in New York with another hit and two walks. - Just before Mervis’ homer, Jonah Bride, who got the chance to hit in the three-hole even while amid a 2-for-28 slump, came through with a frozen-rope single through to the opposite field. It was Bride’s first RBI of 2025. Up Next Miami begins their second homestand of the year this weekend against the Nationals. The Marlins have yet to announce a starter for Friday night’s contest at 7:10 pm. View full article

The trio of offseason acquisitions led the way on Saturday night. Friday night’s series opener between Atlanta and Miami was the first time the Marlins were victims of a blowout loss in the young 2025 season, falling 10-0 to a previously winless Braves team. Bats went cold while the bullpen imploded for seven earned runs following Max Meyer’s departure. Instead of letting the shutout loss snowball, the youth-led Marlins flipped the script from the night before, delivering a shutout of their own and a 4-0 series-tying win. “So proud of just how they were able to come back and somewhat flush yesterday” said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough postgame. “It all kind of started with Cal being able to do what he did and throw five shutout. Really put us in a good position to finish it out today.” As his manager said, Marlins starter Cal Quantrill rebounded after a tough Marlins debut which saw him go just four innings while allowing six earned runs to cross. The 30-year-old displayed incredible command all night, as evidenced by twelve called strikes—two were strikeouts—and zero walks. Quantrill lived heavily off his fastball, splitter and curveball, combining to throw the three pitches 81% of the time. “Cal worked really hard in between outings to be more in command with the count, and I think he was really focusing today on getting ahead and then also winning some of those one-one counts, so I thought he did an excellent job of that,” added McCullough. When it was all said and done, Quantrill only threw 66 pitches before being removed following the fifth inning. Contrary to Friday, Miami’s bullpen was lights out following their starter. Ronny Henriquez, Anthony Veneziano, Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender all delivered scoreless appearances facing a treacherous Braves lineup. The other two-thirds of Miami’s three-headed monster were Matt Mervis and Liam Hicks, both of whom combined to drive in all four runs of the night for their club. We’ll start with Mervis, who pushed the momentum to the Marlins’ side from the onset with a two-run blast in the top of the first. The roundtripper was Mervis’ first in the bigs since 2023, something that Mervis wanted to get off his back. “Struggled a little bit last year, didn't hit a home run when I was up and kind of been wanting the first one to just get it out of the way. So it felt good.” 6234b0e7-f0acfe3f-5112a724-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 The feeling must’ve been great, because six innings later, needing insurance, Mervis doubled down with a towering 421-foot blast deep into the Atlanta night. “I had a feeling they were going to go soft. I ambushed the fastball first at bat, didn't get anything hard the second at-bat…and just got the changeup again that stayed over the middle”. 995b0c3f-5b3b2d39-107e1ebd-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Following Saturday’s power surge, Mervis’ OPS is up to .823 after a rocky first week in Miami. Finally, Liam Hicks enjoyed a day of many "firsts." Hicks notched his first career double in the second, a shot high off the brick wall in right field that would’ve been gone in every ballpark in MLB except, you guessed it, Truist Park. He added his first career caught stealing in the third and first career RBI in the fourth, a single to plate Derek Hill. “We've been touting the at-bat quality since we acquired Liam…He elevated a couple balls to the pull side, he had a nice two-out RBI to left, he got a sac bunt down, so really good offensive (day)” said McCullough. Coupled with Nick Fortes’ team-leading .972 OPS, the two Marlins catchers have been pleasant surprises a little over a week into 2025. Of Note - Fortes was scratched before the game with neck stiffness, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. - Xavier Edwards and Graham Pauley added doubles of their own in the first and sixth, respectively. Up Next Ace Sandy Alcantara looks to lock up the Marlins’ second series win of the season in Sunday afternoon’s rubber match. In 13 career starts against his division rival, Alcantara boasts a 2.94 ERA with 75 strikeouts. Opposing him is Grant Holmes, making his third appearance and second start. First pitch is lined up for 1:35. View full article

His entire career, Cabrera has had the makings of a star talent on the mound, but the Marlins are still waiting on him to "take the next step." FORT MYERS, FL—Just over an hour before first pitch against a Red Sox team playing plenty of their stars, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough discussed with the media what he'd like to see out of Edward Cabrera, who was making his third start of the spring. "Get in the strike zone, especially early, ability to spin the ball in some in some counts, to get guys off of his fastball and changeup some. So, I think today, I'm hoping that he's gonna build on that, continue that aggressive mentality, pound the strike zone, especially early, give yourself a chance to gain some count leverage where you're not having to then have let the hitter suck you back into the strike zone." A little later, when speaking on the righty's inconsistencies in years past and what the new staff has done to "crack the code" on Cabrera, McCullough added, “The talent hasn't changed any…We’re gonna continue to love on Cabby, challenge Cabby. Every player gets to a point where it’s time to take the next step, so how are we gonna be able to be here to support you in that?” Following another blowup start on Friday, "the next step" is still yet to be seen. While it is, of course, still spring training, the same issues that have been plaguing Cabrera his entire career were as apparent as ever, as the 26-year-old was only able to complete 1 ⅔ innings, while allowing four hits—three of which were home runs—two hit by pitches and two walks. Cabrera did note postgame that the home runs he allowed were on a new slider grip he was trying out and that he "has to continue working on (his) stuff." "He was out of sync from the start, a lot of arm-side misses today. Just had a tough time there throughout the three innings. He had to really make an adjustment and get some stuff glove side, so I think we'll talk up to that" said his manager postgame. "I thought just right from the beginning, just didn't seem like he was kind of in rhythm, and then you're falling behind and trying to get the ball in the zone. He just didn't seem to have that good rhythm." Overall this spring, Cabrera has allowed ten earned runs in just over four innings on ten hits. Again, it is spring, but it is safe to assume the clock is ticking on Cabrera as the talent in Miami's farm continues to impress. Of Note - Boston's offense put on a show, throwing up 20 runs on 20 hits, including six homers. Trevor Story put out two of the blasts while newly acquired Alex Bregman added one of his own. - The first two Marlins runs of the contest were both courtesy of Javier Sanoja groundouts, one being in the second, the other being in the fourth. - Jack Winkler put a three-run homer out to left in the top of the ninth. It was Winkler's second homer of the spring, making him the first Marlin to accomplish the feat. - Outside of Sanoja and Winkler, the only Marlin with a noteworthy day at the plate was Kyle Stowers. Leading off for Miami, Stowers poked a single, walked and stole a base. "Kyle's at-bats have been very impressive...His at-bat quality has been impressive. Seems that he's firing at the right pitches and he's getting off some great swings," said McCullough. Up Next Max Meyer, making his third start of the spring, takes the ball for Miami on Saturday night against the Mets. Meyer has been lights out in his first two starts, flashing higher velocity on his fastball and slider with good location. First pitch from Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium is scheduled for 6:40 pm. View full article

Miami's young catcher showed why he's one of the best prospects in baseball on Thursday night. NORTH PORT, FL—It took eight and a third innings and nearly two and a half hours for the Marlins to get a run on the board on Thursday night against their division-rival Braves, but it was worth the wait. Down 0-1 in the count with just two outs to work with, Fish On First #3 prospect Agustín Ramírez got a 94 mph fastball from Angel Perdomo...and he didn't miss it. Ramírez belted a 113 mph rope onto the berm at CoolToday Park for his first homer of the spring, an eventual tie-clincher, as the contest ended at 1-1, Miami's third 1-1 tie of the spring and second of the week. "We're really high on Agustín and what that potential looks like" said manager Clayton McCullough postgame. "Really good presence in the box. He sees the ball very well, the ability to make the type of quality, hard contact that he does, that's signs of a really special offensive player." With the homer, Ramírez continues what has been an impressive couple of weeks in his first spring training as a member of the organization on both sides of the ball. Offensively, while his .182 average doesn't show it, Ramírez has consistently worked long counts and made hard contact plenty. So far this spring, Ramírez is OPS'ing .812. He's drawn three walks while only striking out once. Last week against Houston, Ramírez ripped a staggering 115.1 mph single that caught eyes all across baseball. Most know, though, that the concern with Ramírez is behind the plate, something that the 23-year-old has clearly worked to improve at, as evidenced by his work this spring. In his five games at catcher, Ramírez has converted 22 of his 24 putout opportunities while allowing zero passed balls. On Thursday, Ramírez caught the final three innings following Liam Hicks' departure. If Ramírez continues to swing the stick the way that he has and make strides on defense, fans and the Marlins alike shouldn't have to wait long reap the rewards of the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade last July. Of Note - Ryan Weathers made his second start of the spring for Miami. While the southpaw did walk the first three batters of the night, he was able to settle in during the second and third innings, retiring all six Braves in order, three of them via strikeout. Weathers joked after his start, “I watch Ted Lasso, and he says have a memory like a goldfish, so I just flushed (the first inning).” Weathers' slider was his best pitch of the night, accounting for two of his punchouts. - Adam Mazur followed Weathers, pitching scoreless two innings of his own. "I felt sharp as I wanted today, was living more on the offspeed. I was happy with the way we were able to execute first inning. Just want to eliminate the two-out walk. Just had to get out of that inning and then just kind of carry that over to the next one and keep getting outs." - Miami carried a no-hitter into the seventh, before Eli White ripped a solo blast to right-center. It was one of only two hits from a usually powerful Braves offense. - Nigel Belgrave put out the fire in the first inning before Weathers re-entered the game. The young reliever inherited the bases loaded with one out and rolled a double play to escape unscathed. Up Next The Fish conclude their two-day trip to the west coast of Florida on Friday, taking on the Red Sox in Fort Myers at 1:05 pm. Edward Cabrera is lined up to make his third start of the spring for Miami, while the newly acquired Walker Buehler toes the slab for Boston. View full article

Miami's lesser-known pitchers discuss what made them so effective on Monday night. PORT ST. LUCIE, FL—If I told you just a couple of hours ago that Max Meyer and Dax Fulton wouldn't be the most impressive pitching duo from Monday's Marlins split squad, you would have every right not to believe me. Max 'n' Dax tossed a combined four innings of two-hit, four-strikeout ball against plenty of Astros regulars, while reliever Connor Gillispie had the pleasure of facing Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso back-to-back-to-back to start things in the nightcap. Instead of letting the loud ovations from the Clover Park crowd get to him, the 27-year-old "fell back on (his) training", making quick work of the Mets' big three in the first and the middle of the order in the second. In doing so, Gillispie keeps his hitless streak this spring alive and his campaign to be in Miami's bullpen strong. Janson Junk, another reliever vying for a spot on the Opening Day roster, was lights out in his two innings of work as well, striking out four of the six Mets he faced. In total, the two tossed four hitless innings against half of New York's best lineup. "I've just been trying to get my rhythm, throw a lot of strikes, get ahead, working on new sweeper. It's been working pretty good... my fastball has got some life to it." said Gillispie. "Just do what I can, fill up the zone and see what happens." Gillispie threw his aforementioned sweeper—which Statcast still interprets as a slider—eight times on Monday. The pitch collected two of his three whiffs and got Lindor to fly out after falling behind early. According to Gillispie, the pitch was something Miami's staff wanted to see as soon as he took the mound. "They came in probably first day at camp, and we're like, let me check out that sweeper grip, and we tweaked it just a little bit, and it's been working really well for me." As for Junk, this is also his third appearance of the spring, all coming against New York. "It's fun. This is my third time facing them this spring, so it's like, I'm kind of building the scouting report, so by now I'm comfortable...All my pitches were working. I really felt like I could dominate them." And dominate he did, striking out the side in the third with a curveball, sweeper and four-seam, then using the heater again to sit down Juan Soto looking the inning after. Postgame, Junk joked that he made the sweeper a point of emphasis on Monday because Marlins coaches were disappointed that he didn't throw it in his last outing. "They kind of got mad at me for not throwing it. So I was like, today, I'm going to throw it more so and got heck of results. And, you know, it gives me more more confidence moving forward, being able to execute it at a high level." Of Note - Miami's only run of the contest came courtesy of Griffin Conine, who followed two infield singles with a flare shot of his own into left in the sixth. - An error from Derek Hill in center allowed the Mets to tie things later in the frame, and the score stayed knotted all the way to the end at 1-1. - Xzavion Curry, Lake Bachar, Matt Pushard and Christian Roa followed Gillispie and Junk. Curry was on the mound when the Mets lone run came across, however it was unearned. - Otto Lopez started the game at shortstop. "I worked at short this offseason because that's the position that's more difficult in the infield...I work there to feel comfortable at every position". - Over half a year after being swapped for each other, Wilfredo Lara and Huascar Brazoban matched up in the seventh. Lara reached on an infield single, officially making the Marlins winners of the trade. Next Up For the first time this spring, Miami will enjoy their day off on Tuesday before getting back out to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Wednesday to host the Nationals. First pitch comes your way at 1:10 pm, with ace Sandy Alcantara slated to make his third start of the spring. View full article

Which players are on pace to make the active roster when the Marlins host the Pirates later this month? Through their first 10 games of the 2025 spring training slate, the Miami Marlins have checked plenty of boxes. Ace Sandy Alcantara returned to the mound for the first time since 2023 and their young talent has shined all over the diamond. There have also been several minor injuries and discouraging performances that make it easier to anticipate who'll be selected to be on rookie manager's Clayton McCullough initial 26-man roster. Since Ely Sussman gave us his projection on February 10, Miami has made the following moves: Cal Quantrill was signed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal Janson Junk was signed to a minor league contract Brett de Geus was claimed off of waivers from the Pirates, while Ronny Henriquez was claimed from the Twins My updated projection is below as we inch closer to Opening Day. Position Players Default starting lineup: C Liam Hicks, 1B Matt Mervis, 2B Otto Lopez, 3B Connor Norby, SS Xavier Edwards, LF Griffin Conine, CF Dane Myers, RF Jesus Sanchez, DH Jonah Bride Bench: C Nick Fortes, OF Kyle Stowers, OF Derek Hill, INF Javier Sanoja Few players have made as good of an impression as Liam Hicks has this spring on defense. It's no longer a question of whether the Marlins will hold onto their Rule 5 selection into the regular season, but how large his role will be. Hicks has caught both of Alcantara's starts thus far, giving him the inside edge to be behind the plate when he returns to Miami. In the outfield, multiple position battles demand attention. Griffin Conine and Kyle Stowers, two eerily similar players, appear to be going head to head for the job in left field, while Dane Myers and Derek Hill aim to roam center. If the season started tomorrow, I believe Conine and Myers would join Jesús Sánchez in starting roles, however there is plenty of time for Stowers and Hill to make up ground. Pitchers Starting rotation: RHP Sandy Alcantara, RHP Cal Quantrill, LHP Ryan Weathers, RHP Max Meyer, RHP Edward Cabrera Bullpen: RHP Calvin Faucher, RHP Jesús Tinoco, RHP Anthony Bender, RHP Declan Cronin, RHP Lake Bachar, RHP Ronny Henriquez, LHP Anthony Veneziano, LHP Josh Simpson As Ely predicted last month, the Marlins did indeed bring in a veteran starter in the form of Cal Quantrill. The righty is coming off an inconsistent 2024 in Colorado, though he is expected to get every possible opportunity to bounce back. An impressive spring has removed any doubt about Max Meyer being included in the rotation as he demonstrates an improved fastball and new sweeper to complement his trademark slider. I have him overtaking Edward Cabrera on the depth chart. However, with Cabrera being out of minor league options, his roster spot is secure as well. Woefully, that does leave Valente Bellozo on the outside looking in. The Marlins could utilize him as a multi-inning reliever in the majors or see more value in keeping him stretched out in Jacksonville as the next man up in case another starter gets hurt—I'm going with the latter scenario. New Marlin Ronny Henriquez, who is also out of options, projects to get a middle relief role. Andrew Nardi (lower back inflammation) is playing catch and could potentially be ready for Opening Day, but there's no reason to rush the high-leverage lefty. Assuming the Marlins place him on the injured list initially, that'd create room for Veneziano and Simpson as the team's two southpaw relievers. View full article

You're familiar with "The Curse of the Bambino" and the infamous billy goat, but likely not the twenty-year hex on this number. Happy 2/5/25 to all. Out in the bay, the Giants are celebrating "Barry Bonds Day" to honor the greatest player ever to play the game as Bonds rocked the number 25 throughout his otherworldly 15-year tenure in the orange and black. All the way across the country in Miami, though, the number has been stigmatized. That's a shame considering how well things started. Al Leiter contributed to the Marlins' first World Series title in 1997 while donning #25. Derrek Lee wore it for most of his tenure with the team, culminating in the 2003 championship. During his lone, memorable season with the Fish, Carlos Delgado crushed 33 homers, drove in 115 and OPS'ed .981 in 2005. Delgado was shipped to the division rival Mets the following November. Since then, between Miami Gardens and Little Havana, the Marlins have tried over and over and over again (18 different wearers) to put the #25 in capable hands. Instead, it has come to represent disappointment, plenty of failed expectations and downright bad baseball. Let's reflect on a few notable names from this list. Brett Carroll, 2007-2010 Carroll had the honor of being the first to wear the number post-Delgado, and while the homegrown outfielder did manage to stick around in Miami for four years, lackluster numbers were a constant. The righty slashed .205/.284/.325 through 283 at-bats. Carroll's calling card was in the outfield. In 2009, Carroll led the NL with 15 Total Zone Runs, a stat that tracks "the number of runs above or below average the player was worth based on the number of plays made." Junichi Tazawa, 2017-2018 A key piece of the 2013 World Series champion Red Sox bullpen, Tazawa came to Miami with the assumption he would do the same for a contending Marlins squad. Tazawa left Boston with a career 3.58 ERA, a number that immediately inflated as a Marlin. Three blown saves in 2017 and a 9.00 ERA in 2018 got Tazawa chased out of town pretty quickly, as his Marlins tenure ended with a 60 ERA+ and zero saves. Lewis Brinson, 2020-2021 The most infamous name on this list, "Sweet Lew" called an audible to #25 after his first two years in Miami with #9 went sideways. Unfortunately for the ex-top prospect and potential face of the franchise, the issues turned out to be deeper than just a number change. Brinson did perform better, but when the standard is set at a .189/.238/.294 slash line, that's not too difficult. In 25, Brinson elevated to .226/.264/.374, still facing the same issues as before when it came to poor swing decisions and high strikeout numbers. In 2021, Brinson gave Marlins fans one of the best hot streaks in recent history with the infamous "Brinsanity" run. From August 2-15, he put on full display what Marlins fans had been begging to see since he was the headliner in the Christian Yelich deal. The South Florida native OPS'd an astounding 1.192 with four long balls in 13 games. The peak of Brinsanity was a series finale in San Diego, where Brinson enjoyed a three-hit, two-homer day (both coming off future Marlin Ryan Weathers). Christian Bethancourt, 2024 Finally, we arrive at Christian Bethancourt, the first of two players to wear the number a season ago. Bethancourt came to Miami with a solid track record and hopes of making an impact in a department that was in need—the bar was set so low by how much other Marlins catchers had struggled in recent years. Notoriously, though, Bethancourt got off on the wrong foot. Through 12 games, Bethancourt did not record a single hit in 27 at-bats. After the slump, Bethancourt was serviceable, slashing .232/.271/.393 while splitting time with Nick Fortes. On July 21, Bethancourt was DFA'd and signed by the Cubs, where, of course, he found his swing again. In 24 games on the Northside, Bethancourt OPS'd .814. The cursed number has temporarily been taken out of circulation for Marlins players as new bench coach Carson Vitale took it for the 2025 season. It's anyone's guess how long Vitale will stick around or keep #25, but by the time another player tries it on, fans will have waited at least two full decades to see it restored to glory. View full article

Two ex-highly regarded prospects are getting a change of scenery. A week to the day that they sent fan-favorite Jesús Luzardo to division rival Philadelphia, Peter Bendix and the Marlins front office struck again on Sunday afternoon. 1B Matt Mervis is headed to Miami in exchange for utility man Vidal Bruján, as Jeff Passan of ESPN reported, with the Marlins also receiving cash considerations. The trade has been made official. Mervis, 26, was signed by Chicago as an undrafted free agent in 2020. After struggling in 2021, the former Duke Blue Devil delivered great seasons at the plate in 2022 and 2023 between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. Notably, in Triple-A in 2023, Mervis finished with an OPS of .932, mashed 22 home runs, and drove in 78. Baseball America described Mervis as having "excellent bat speed and natural timing, which allows him to crush fastballs over the plate." Defensively, Mervis is average and defensively limited to first base, but possesses a plus arm as a former college pitcher. Unfortunately for Mervis and Chicago, that level of production was not seen at the big league level. In 116 at-bats in MLB, Mervis has slashed a lowly .155/.222/.259 with an alarming 9/40 BB/K ratio. It is worth noting that Mervis has had a very short leash in the majors, only being called up for a week-and-a-half in 2024 before being sent back down. Mervis suffered a hamate injury in early July. Upon returning from the IL, he struck out 40% of the time in his final 26 Triple-A games. It is a prototypical buy-low deal that Bendix has gravitated to in his short time leading the ship in Miami. Mervis is set to receive plenty of opportunities to find his footing against major league pitching and hopefully translate his upper-minors production to a Marlins team that is going to be lacking power. The left-handed hitter is a potential platoon partner for the likes of Jonah Bride and Eric Wagaman. In case there isn't a clear fit for him on the Opening Day roster, he does have one minor league option remaining. For Bruján, his time in Miami comes to an end after just one season. Once regarded as a consensus top-100 MLB prospect, Bendix's first trade as POBO last November was landing the switch-hitting Swiss Army knife from the Rays along with Calvin Faucher. In 102 games as a Marlin, though, it was much of the same. Bruján slashed .222/.303/.319 in 248 at-bats with two triples and two long balls while displaying mediocre defense all over the diamond. On the bases, Bruján was caught stealing more times (6) than bases he swiped (5). The Marlins designated him for assignment last week. Bruján is expected to be a bench bat in the Windy City. Miami is set to visit Chicago from May 12-14. View full article