Earning Their Stripes: 5/7/21

The Miami Marlins have a full cupboard in the minor leagues. All four of their top affiliates were in action on Friday night.

Triple-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 3, Norfolk Tides 5

Four games into the minor league season and the Jumbo Shrimp lost for the first time with 3,455 in attendance at 121 Financial Ballpark. The Shrimp got on the board first with a first inning Jesús Sánchez home run, his third long-ball of the season.

In the fourth inning, the Tides crossed the plate three times with unearned runs against Nick Neidert, making his first Triple-A start of the season. Neidert got 48-of-77 pitches over the plate, walked three, struck out three, and gave up three hits along with the three unearned runs. The Shrimp tied it in the sixth on a Luis Marte sacrifice fly, scoring Eddy Alvarez.

Preston Guilmet came in to pitch two innings of relief, and surrendered a pair of solo homers to take the loss. He whiffed four. Steven Okert struck out two in as many innings, allowing a hit. Offensively, Jacksonville was held to only four hits, including a pair by Sánchez, who now has a 1.961 OPS.

Double-A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3, Mississippi Braves 2

Despite only collecting three hits in the game, the Blue Wahoos remained undefeated with 2,299 on hand at Trustmark Park. Brandon Leibrandt made his first start, walking five and allowing three hits in three innings for two runs. He also struck out three. Brian McKenna got the win with three strikeouts in three perfect innings of relief. Colton Hock struck out a pair in two relief innings, and Anthony Maldonado earned the save with a perfect ninth.

Nick Fortes drove in Victor Victor Mesa in the first inning to get the Wahoos on the board. Leibrandt allowed both runs in the second, allowing the Tides to lead by a 2-1 score until the sixth inning. Mesa drove Lazaro Alonso home in the sixth to tie the score with a sacrifice fly. The winning run crossed the plate on an unconventional play. JJ Bleday struck out, and Connor Justus was caught stealing on a 2-4 double play, but Riley Mahan scored from third on the play.

High-A

Beloit Snappers 0, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9

With 938 in the house at Fox Cities Stadium, Rattlers pitching limited the Snappers to two hits, singles from Luis Acarena and Marcos Rivera. Zach King was charged with the loss after allowing four runs in 4 ²⁄₃ innings. He walked three, allowed five hits, and struck out four.

Joey Steele pitched two scoreless innings of relief, but the Fish simply couldn’t break through against starter Reese Olsen and three relief pitchers.

Single-A

Jupiter Hammerheads 4, St. Lucie Mets 7

Matt Givin made his first start since pitching to a 2.74 ERA in 46 innings at the rookie level in 2019. Last night, he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and three walks in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings. He struck out two.

Javeon Cody opened the game with a triple and scored on an error moments later. Osiris Johnson crossed the plate on a Dalvy Rosario single to give Jupiter a 2-0 lead. In the sixth, trailing 4-2, Diowill Burgos cranked one for his second homer of the season to tie the game. Brito allowed three runs in the seventh and was charged with the loss.

No Jupiter player finished with more than one hit, and the team combined to strike out 14 times, including four by number two Marlins prospect J.J. Bleday with 729 in attendance.

Checking in with the Top 30

1. Sixto Sánchez
2. J.J. Bleday (PEN) 1-for-5, 4 SO, .698 OPS
3. Max Meyer
4. Edward Cabrera
5. Lewin Díaz (JAX) 0-for-4, 1 SO, 1.038 OPS
6. Jesús Sánchez (JAX) 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SO, 1 HR, 1.961 OPS
7. Braxton Garrett (JAX)
8. José Devers (MIA) 0-for-1, 1 K, .320 OPS
9. Dax Fulton (JUP)
10. Nick Neidert (JAX) 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 48-for-77 pitches over the plate
11. Victor Mesa Jr. (JUP) 1-for-3, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 SO
12. Peyton Burdick (PEN) 0-for-2, 3 BB, 2 SO, .912 OPS
13. Nasim Nuñez (JUP)
14. Monte Harrison (JAX) 0-for-4, 3 SO, .857 OPS
15. Kameron Misner (BEL)
16. Connor Scott (BEL) 0-for-4, 2 SO, 1.000 OPS
17. Kyle Nicolas (BEL)
18. Griffin Conine (BEL) 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 SO, .517 OPS
19. José Salas
20. Yiddi Cappe
21. Jerar Encarnación (PEN) 0-for-4, 1 BB, 2 SO, .720 OPS
22. Jordan Holloway (MIA)
23. Zach McCambley (BEL)
24. Jake Eder
25. Eury Pérez
26. Evan Fitterer
27. Paul Campbell
28. Will Banfield (BEL) 0-for-4, 3 SO, .392 OPS
29. Jorge Guzman
30. Osiris Johnson (JUP) 0-for-4, 1 run, 2 SO, .873 OPS

5/8/21 Schedule

All four of Miami’s top affiliates will be playing in the respective fifth games of their six game series.

2:05 PM: Snappers at Wisconsin

6:10 PM: Hammerheads at St. Lucie, M.D. Johnson starting

6:35 PM: Tides at Jacksonville, Josh A. Smith starting

7:05 PM: Blue Wahoos at Mississippi, Jeff Lindgren starting

Follow our new @FishProspects Twitter account for in-game updates throughout the MiLB season.