The Miami Marlins were slated to head south late Wednesday night after their game in Buffalo and will finally have their home opener Friday in Marlins Park against Atlanta.
They were supposed to be on the road for six days. It turned into a harried trip of 21 days thanks to a coronavirus outbreak that drew national attention.
"We're definitely looking forward to getting home," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said prior to Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field.
Mattingly said all of the Marlins' 17 players on the injured list are asymptomatic and some have applied for reinstatement. The team had seven games postponed due to the outbreak.
“They all feel like they’re ready to go. There are a lot of guys who have applied for reinstatement," Mattingly said. "How long that takes, I’m not sure. But they feel like they’re ready to at least get back and start doing something.”
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The Marlins entered Wednesday's game with a 7-4 record and still holding first place in the National League East. Their story thus far is one about perseverance far and above what any standings say now or by the time the season ends next month.
Said Mattingly: "I don't want any more life lessons like this."
Wicked winds of Sahlen
Mattingly said the Marlins had no issues with the temporary clubhouse facilities in the right-field parking lot or with the changes to the lighting and infield in the ballpark.
The biggest thing he saw in Tuesday's home opener here was the impact of the wind, which blew hard across from right field to left. Like we've seen here for 30 years, the three-run homers by Bo Bichette and Francisco Cervelli both got up in the jet stream and carried way out to left.
"It played really small to left and really big to right," Mattingly said. "If the wind is blowing out at all, this is gonna be some kind of bandbox."
By the numbers
Because this is an MLB game, the Statcast system is in use. So we know that Teoscar Hernandez's home run in the third inning went a career-long 466 feet with an exit velocity of 115.9 mph. Rowdy Tellez's two-run bomb to the right-field parking lot in the fourth logged in at 459/111.6.
You don't get that kind of detail in the minor leagues.
Love having MLB statcast here to see how far these babies would go were it not for the net. https://t.co/y0tOd2s0Vf
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) August 13, 2020
Calls himself out
Blue Jays closer Anthony Bass got torched for Cervelli's two-out, three-run homer that tied the opener in the ninth inning.
Tweeted Bass: "I was bad tonight but thankfully my teammates have my back. On to the next."
Onward
The Blue Jays have Thursday off. They open a three-game series with Tampa Bay here Friday night at 6:37. It will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1 using the Rays announcers, including analyst and former Bisons pitcher Brian Anderson.
