MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:
MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins today play the second of three games at Citi Field after dropping Friday’s series opener. Is the first stop on a a six-game road trip – the team’s first road trip of the season – whih concludes with three games in Philadelphia from Monday-Wednesday. Are coming off their season-opening homestand inwhich they went 1-3 vs. the Mets and took two of three from the Twins.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Miami fell to the Mets, 9-3 at Citi Field in the Mets’ home opener. 1B Garrett Cooper (2×4) provided all the runs with an eighth-inning three-run homer, his second HR of the year. Marlins pitchers combined to walk 12 batters, matching a club record for a nine-inning game (fourth time). Five of those walked batters came around to score. RHP Edward Cabrera started and did not allow a hit for 2.2 innings, but walked 7 and allowed 2 runs.
JACKIE ROBINSON CLASSIC RETURNS
The Marlins and the Miami Marlins Foundation will host the second annual Jackie Robinson Classic on Wednesday, April 12at loanDepot park. Presented by NIKE, this year’s Classic will pit two Broward County teams – Piper High and South Broward High – against each other for a regular season game. The Classic will celebrate Jackie’s legacy as each student-athlete will wear a customized Marlins shirt with the number 42 on the back along with one of Jackie’s nine values. The South Florida community is invited to cheer on the teams at the complimentary event and jam along with the high school bands! Courtesy of JP Morgan, the students and bands from each school will enjoy a ballpark hot dog, chips and drink.
RIDIN’ THE COOP IN THE CITI
1B Garrett Cooper is a career. 280 hitter with 9 home runs aginst the Mets. Marks his most homers against any team. He has hit safely in all four games against the Mets this season and eight straight dating back to 2022, batting .433 (13-30) over the eight-game stretch.
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
INF Luis Arraez has 12 hits in his first 8 games of the year, tied for second most hits in the National League trailing only Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds (13). His .444 avg. (12×27) ranks 3rd in the NL and 5th in the Majors.
• Became just the second player in Marlins history to reach base safely as the starting leadoff hitter in each of the first four games to start a season, joining Hanley Ramirez in 2006 (credit: Elias Sports Bureau).
HOMER TIME
The Marlins have scored 15 of their 18 runs this season via home runs – hitting eight homers total over the first eight games.
SOLER POWER
DH/OF Jorge Soler has homered three times in his first eight games this season. He has driven in 6 of the Marlins 18 runs this season.
NOBODY MESSES WITH THE JESUS
LHP Jesus Luzardo held the Twins to 1 run over 7.0 innings of work in Wednesday’s win. Dating back to last season, has limited opponents to 1 run or noruns in each of his last 4 starts at loanDepot park. Over the stretch, owns a 0.73 ERA (24.2/2) in his home starts, striking out 38 batters.
RING THE BELL
Marlins General Manager Kim Ng and President of Business Operations Caroline O’Connor were joined by ADT Executive Vice President and CMO DeLu Jackson at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning to ring the Opening Bell. The opportunity was extended in recognition of the Marlins’ patch partnership with ADT and to highlight the Marlins organization as the first to be entirely women-led. Marked the first time the Marlins franchise recieved the honor.
THE SANDY SHOW
The 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner RHP Sandy Alcantara tossed his fourth career shutout and 10th career complete game on Tuesday vs. Minnesota in his second start of 2023.
• Marked the fourth time in club history that a Marlins pitcher has thrown a complete game shutout in the first six team games of the season and the first since Dontrelle Willis and Josh Beckett in 2005 in games four and six,respectively. Brad Penny threw a complete game shutout in game three of the 2002 season.
• Is the least amount of games by the club before a complete game since Josh Johnson’s CG on April 12, 2009 vs. NYM (Game 6) and marked the first time in MLB a pitcher has thrown a complete game within the first six games of the season since 2020, when the Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks pitched a complete game shutout on Opening Day (credit: Elias).
• His 6 complete games last year led all of MLB and were the most in a single season since Chris Sale’s 6 CG in 2016.
• Dating back to the start of the 2022 season, Alcantara owns a 2.01 ERA (161.0 IP/36 ER) in games following a loss.
STEALING THE APPLE
The Marlins were successful in 14 of 15 stolen base attempts at Citi Field last year. In fact, the Marlins have been successful in 32 of their 40 stolen base attempts at Citi Field since the start of the 2020 season. Over that same span, since the start of 2020, the Marlins have stolen 150 bases on the road, the most for any team over the stretch (St. Louis, 2nd, 144).
HOME OF EVERYTHING
loanDepot park was once again in the national spotlight earlier today when the Drone Racing League 2023 Championship aired on NBC. The event was filmed at loanDepot park back in February and featured drones flying more than 150 mph through an obstacle course around the ballpark. DRL Rookie pilot MCKFPV from South Korea took home the 2022-23 DRL World Champion title.
TURNING THE TRENDING TIDE
The Marlins are 2-0 in one-run games this season, including Tuesday’s 1-0 victory vs. the Twins.
• Miami played 64 games decided by one run in 2022, the most such games in the Majors last season. Miami’s 40 one-run losses were the most such losses in a season in club history, the most since the 1975 Houston Astros (41), and just three shy of the single-season record for one-run losses during the Live Ball Era (since 1920) held by the 1968 White Sox (44)
TODAY’S STARTER – #28 Trevor Rogers
Walked 2 batters and allowed 3 runs in 4.1 innings on his first start of the season vs. New York Mets.
• Trevor Rogers, 25, made 23 starts in his sophomore campaign coming off a runner-up ROTY season in 2021. Made two separate IL stints, including a season-ending lat strain.
• Recorded his 200th career strikeout against the first batter he faced on April 16, 2022. This made him the first left-hander in MLB history to strikeout 200 hitters in his first 34 games (all coming as starts) while maintaining a career ERA under 3.25. He is just the 12th pitcher to accomplish this feat (All 11 others were right-handed).
• Made 19 starts from the start of the season until July 25 when he was placedon the IL with low back spasms. Allowed three runs or more in 11 of those outings. Pitched to a 5.85 ERA, going 5-14 with 41 walks and 83 strikeouts.
• Held lefties to a .194 batting avg, .296 slugging pct., .584 OPS and just 1 home run (111 BF). Right handed batters hit .299 with a .520 slugging pct., .886 OPS and had 14 home runs (366 BF).
• Struck out a season-high nine batters vs. Texas on Sept. 12. Went 6.1 innings, also a seasonhigh.
• Missed 31 games with low back spasms (July 26 to August 31).
• Has allowed 14 home runs in 106.2 IP in 2022 after allowing 6 in 133.0 IP in 2021.
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Marlins, 9-3, yesterday to snap a season-long three-game losing streak…The Mets continue their six game homestand against the Marlins (1-0) and Padres (three games).
THE AWARD GOES TO: Prior to today’s game, McNeil will be presented his 2022 Silver Slugger Award by Mets coaches Eric Chavez, Jeremy Barnes and Eric Hinske…Last season, McNeil earned his first Silver Slugger Award from Louisville Slugger…He became the first Met in franchise history to lead the majors in batting average and only the second Met ever to win the Tony Gwynn National League Batting Title when he hit .326…In addition, the Mets second baseman was named to his second All-Star team and set career highs with 39 doubles and 62 RBI and finished fourth in the NL with a .382 OBP.
HOBIE LANDRITH: The Mets first-round pick in the 1961 Expansion Draft, Hobie Landrith, passed away on Thursday at age 93…Landrith, a left-handed hitting catcher batted .289 in 23 games for the 1962 Mets… He spent parts of 14 years in the majors with the Reds, Giants, Orioles, Cardinals, Senators, Cubs and Mets from 1950-1963…Landrith belted a two-run walk-off homer off Hall of Famer Warren Spahn in the bottom of
the ninth on May 12, 1962 to beat the Milwaukee Braves, 3-2…Manager Casey Stengel when asked why the Mets took Landrith with the first pick (second overall) in the Expansion Draft, famously quipped, “You gotta have a catcher or you’re gonna have a lot of passed balls.”
THE KID: Gary Carter was born on this day in 1954…Carter spent five seasons with the Mets and hit .249/.319/.412 with 89 home runs and 349 RBI in 600 games…He was a member of the 1986 World Champion New York Mets and was an 11-time All-Star, including four appearances with the Mets…Carter was inducted in the Mets Hall-of-Fame in 2001 and the Baseball Hall-of-Fame in 2003…Sadly, Carter passed away in 2012 at the age of 57.
TYLOR THE CREATOR: Tylor Megill tossed 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, two walks and struck out three yesterday…He moved to 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA (8 ER/39.0 IP) in seven career April starts…He is the only pitcher in the majors to win each of his first two starts of the season over the last two years…His six wins in April since 2022 are the most in the majors during that span…His 1.44 ERA in April is the sixth-best among qualifiers since 2022…He joined Tom Seaver (April 5, 1983) as the only other pitcher in franchise history to throw 6.0 shutout innings and allow three hits or fewer in a home opener…Courtesy of Elias.
8 DAYS A WEEK: The Mets have yet to commit an error this season… This sets a franchise record for the longest the team has gone without committing an error…The previous high was the 1985 Mets, who did not commit an error in their first seven games…Last year, the San Diego Padres did not commit an error in their first 17 games to start the season, which was the longest time since 1900.
LET’S GO FISHING: The Mets are 4-1 against the Marlins this season… Tommy Pham is a .305/.382/.500 hitter with 29 runs, eight doubles, a triple, 21 RBI and 13 walks in 27 career games against the Marlins…Starling Marte has hit .288/.341/.424 with 34 runs, 12 doubles, two triples, four homers and 15 RBI in 52 career games against the Fish…Francisco Lindor has socked 10 home runs against the club, while Brandon Nimmo has hit nine…Alonso has smashed 24 home runs in his career against Miami, the third-most among active players and the 13th-most all-time…Is the most in the majors against any one single opponent since 2019.
WALKING THE WALK: The Mets drew 12 walks yesterday, tied for the fourth-most in franchise history in a nine-inning game…The last time was on May 18, 1997 vs. Colorado…The Mets rank second in the majors with 40 free passes this season…Brandon Nimmo ranks second in the majors with 10 walks, while Francisco Lindor is tied for fourth with seven…Yesterday, Nimmo recorded his first career four-walk game and the first by a Met since J.D. Davis drew four walks on September 18, 2020 vs. Atlanta.
KODAI, THE FRIENDLY GHOST: On April 2 in Miami, Kodai Senga became the 64th pitcher whose major league debut came in a start for the Mets…He joined Masato Yoshii as the only two Japanese-born pitchers to make his MLB debut in a start for the Mets…Including Senga, 16 Mets have started and earned a win in their major league debut (eight Mets have won in relief in their MLB debut).
TODAY’S STARTING PTICHER – KODAI SENGA RHP #34
SENGA’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 36.4% 35.0% 37.5% 96.8 mph
Forkball 29.5% 35.0% 25.0% 84.6 mph
Sweeper 20.5% 22.5% 31.3% 82.7 mph
Cutter 13.6% 7.5% 6.3% 90.2 mph
SENGA NEWS & NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: In his major league debut, Senga earned the win on April 2 against the Marlins at loanDepot park…Senga allowed one run over 5.1 innings on three hits, three walks and eight strikeouts…His eight strikeouts were tied for the fourth-most by a Japanese-born pitcher in their major league debut and tied for the third-most by a Mets pitcher in their major league debut.
CITI FIELD DEBUT: Senga is making his Citi Field Debut today against the Miami Marlins after making his MLB debut against the club on April 2…Senga spent the first 11 seasons of his pro career with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball…His desire to play in MLB came from his experience playing against major league stars in the 2017 World Baseball Classic…He enters the season as the 16th-best prospect in baseball according to Baseball America.
MLB DEBUT NOTES: Senga became the 64th pitcher whose major league debut came in a start for the Mets…New York has had one pitcher make his MLB debut as a starter in each of the previous three seasons: José Butto in 2022, Tylor Megill in 2021 and David Peterson in 2020 (the Mets won each of those three games)…Prior to Senga’s debut win, Peterson was the most recent Mets hurler to win as a starter in his major league debut…Overall, 16 Mets have started and earned a win in their major league debut (eight Mets have won in relief in their MLB debut)…Matt Harvey (2012) is the only pitcher in Mets history to record a double-digit strikeout game in his major league debut.
NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON’T: Included in Senga’s pitching repertoire is a unique pitch called the ‘ghost fork’…The pitch is so named because its break gives the appearance that it disappears out of the strike zone….All eight of Senga’s strikeouts on April 2 came via the ‘ghost fork.’
METS-JAPAN CONNECTION: Senga is the 14th Japanese-born player to appear in at least one game for the Mets, the most by any major league team…Prior to Senga, the last Japanese-born player to appear in a game for the Mets was OF Norichika Aoki in 2017.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Prior to joining the Mets, Senga spent 11 seasons in Japan’s NPB with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks…During his NPB career he posted a 87-44 record with a 2.59 ERA (313 ER/1,089.0 IP) and 1,252 strikeouts (10.3 K/9.0)…He was also a three-time NPB All-Star (2013, 2017 and 2019), a two-time Pacific League Best Nine Award winner (2019 and 2020) and a two-time Mitsui Golden Glove Award winner (2019 and 2020).
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: Senga appeared in four games in the 2017 World Baseball Classic for Team Japan…He posted a 0.82 ERA, throwing 11.0 innings and allowing one run on seven hits with 16 strikeouts and one walk…He also pitched in two games during the Tokyo Summer Olympics, throwing a total of 3.0 scoreless innings as Japan won the gold medal on its home turf.
2022: Last season, Senga went 11-6 with a 1.94 ERA (31 ER/144.0 IP), 156 strikeouts, a 1.06 WHIP and a 0.4 HR/9 rate over 22 appearances.
