Miami, Florida – The Miami Marlins downed the St. Louis Cardinals 11-5 on their fifth meeting of spring training Sunday afternoon 11 days until Opening Day. Starting right-handed pitcher Cal Quantrill recorded his best appearance thus far tossing three scoreless innings and limiting the red birds to a hit. Quantrill was acquired as a free agent signing on February 12 previously playing for the Colorado Rockies.
Shortstop Xavier Edwards led the way at the plate going 2-for-5 with four RBIs raising his spring average to .333 in 39 at-bats. Jonah Bride went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs including a home run, a rare feat in an otherwise slow preseason. Otto Lopez, meanwhile, finished the day going 2-for-3 knocking in a run.
Otto Lopez ladies and gentlemen 🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/qWPCrHL2HD
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) March 16, 2025
Miami jumped on the Cardinals early in the second inning. Heriberto Hernandez smacked an RBI double driving in Bride. Edwards followed up by hitting a bases-clearing single advancing to second on a throwing error by right-fielder Michael Siani. Up 4-0 in the third, Bride found success in the form of a two-run blast plating Griffin Conine. The Marlins didn’t stop there as Albert Almora Jr. and Edwards manufactured back-t0-back RBI doubles making it 9-0.
St. Louis scratched two runs in the fourth but this was quickly negated with an RBI double from Liam Hicks and a sac fly run courtesy of Lopez. The Cards pushed singular runs across the fifth, eighth, and ninth frames, however, the hole was too deep to dig themselves out of. Josh Simpson gave up three runs on four hits in two innings of work. Jesus Tinoco pitched one and two-thirds allowing one hit. Luken Baker homered off Anthony Veneziano and Josh Ekness allowed a run via a wild pitch.
Quantrill on the two pick offs (both in the same inning) and the importance of controlling the running game. pic.twitter.com/t6vsdTVeUv
— Gabriel Garcia (@Gabewritesports) March 16, 2025
Jesús Sánchez injury offers opportunity in outfield
With a week left of spring training, the Miami Marlins received bad news: One of their key players will start the season on the IL. Jesús Sánchez was diagnosed with a strained left oblique and will be out for four weeks. Sánchez had a slow spring batting .214 in 28-at bats including one home run. As a refresher, he hit .252 with 18 homers and 64 RBIs for 2024. The development opens the door for the battle in the outfield. Kyle Stowers, Griffin Conine, Derek Hill, and Dane Myers should all make the cut given their capacity to play anywhere in the outfield. The question becomes what happens when Sánchez returns? Stowers and Conine bat left while Hill and Myers bat right. Considering Sánchez is a left-handed batter this can go a couple of ways.
Cal on what he likes about his spring development and where he feels the need for improvement. He also compares his first appearance on the mound as a Marlin to the latest.#Marlins pic.twitter.com/AcaDJ7hVe1
— Gabriel Garcia (@Gabewritesports) March 17, 2025
A mixture of performance, roster needs, and options can affect the outcome. Hill is the oldest player in the group (29) and is out of options. Barring a fantastic start to the season he’s likely to be replaced by Sánchez once he returns. Currently slashing .242/.375/.424 through 11 games Derek isn’t swinging a hot bat. However, Hill could avoid getting DFA’d if Stowers continues to struggle. Hitting .186 in 50 games (156 at-bats) last year for the Marlins, Kyle is slashing an anemic .167/.394/.167 through 10 games for spring training. Despite No. 15 prospect Javier Sanoja’s utility and No. 25 prospect Graham Pauley’s experience at the corners, the quartet will be the core of the outfield sans Sánchez. It would be interesting if Myers or Conine gets sent down instead, but it will depend on the aforementioned factors.
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