Spring Training #GrapefruitGators
On a sunny, warm day in Jupiter, the Miami Marlins (4–11) only needed one run to squeak by the Houston Astros (7–6) on Tuesday.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Avisail Garcia sent the first pitch of his second at-bat over the left-center field wall. He admired the ball before slowly jogging around the bases to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. The ball carried 428 feet and was a rocket off the bat at 113 MPH.
It was all the Marlins pitchers would need, dominating the Astros hitters to propel Miami to its fourth win of Spring Training.
“I was looking for the ball middle in,” Garcia said. “I got the pitch and put a good swing on it.”
RF Avisail Garcia goes yard to give the #Marlins a 1-0 lead. The baseball traveled 428 feet with an exit velocity of 113.1 mph. #MIA 1 – #HOU 0
— Jose Tovar (@Jose___Tovar) March 14, 2023
Pitching Duel at Roger Dean
Daniel Castano got the start on the mound for the Marlins. He threw 66 pitches on the day, pitching the first 2.2 innings before returning to pitch starting in the third inning. His last inning of work came in the fourth, and when he walked off the mound and into the dugout, he had pitched 3.2 innings, striking out five while giving up just two hits.
This was Castano’s third outing of Spring Training after coming back from an injury he sustained in July when he was hit in the head by a line drive against the Cincinnati Reds.
“I made pitches when I needed to,” Castano said. “I’ve been feeling pretty good about this camp, especially after how last year ended. It kind of makes you reevaluate everything, so I’m just thankful to be out here.”
Veteran reliever Matt Barnes came on in the fifth to relieve Castano. Despite giving up a leadoff double to Houston’s Rylan Bannon, Barnes battled back, getting a groundout and two strikeouts to escape the inning unharmed. He would end up getting the win.
“I feel really good with the curveball right now,” Barnes said. “So, we kind of just leaned on that a little bit more. I had a good feel for it today to strike it in and chase it below.”
The Miami bullpen pitched six innings of shutout baseball. Franklin Sanchez, Robert Garcia and Bryan Hoeing closed things out for the team, and Hoeing recorded the save.
Even though the Astros had a runner on third base with two outs in the top of the ninth, Hoeing forced a groundout from Houston’s Dauri Lorenzo to end the game.
Hoeing gets the save by inducing a groundout to second base. Matt Barnes gets the win as the Marlins now improve to 4-11-1 on Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/sGPLgV1Ebe
— Jose Tovar (@Jose___Tovar) March 14, 2023
JT Chargois had one of the more impressive outings on the day. He came in after Barnes and struck out the side in his one inning of work. Chargois said he felt strong about his slider and fastball and manager Skip Schumaker was impressed with his performance.
“He’s got real stuff if we need a strikeout,” Schumaker said. “You can utilize him in different roles. He’s going to be really valuable for us.”
Jayden Murray started on the mound for the Astros. He went four innings, giving up no runs and struck out two Marlins.
Enoli Pareded earned the loss, giving up the sole run to Garcia in the fifth.
Quiet Offenses
Both team’s struggled to put runs across the plate.
Houston recorded just three hits on the day while Miami had seven. Jorge Soler, Joey Wendle and Garrett Cooper were notable Marlins to record hits on the day. Each had one single.
For the Astros, J.J. Matijevic, Rylan Bannon and Kenedy Corona had the three hits for the Stros.
Up Next
The Marlins return to Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday to take on the Washington Nationals. Eury Perez is expected to start on the mound, going up against Washington’s Patrick Corbin. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m.
Houston will travel to North Port to take on the Atlanta Braves Wednesday. Spencer Strider is set to take the mound for Atlanta while Bryan Garcia is expected to start for the Astros. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
