Jose Fernandez looked ready for his Opening Night assignment after 3.1 scoreless innings on Wednesday in the Miami Marlins' 5-2 victory over the New York Mets.
The exhibition game, which lasted 10 innings, featured a blown save by Michael Brady in the ninth that cost Fernandez a win. The Marlins' ace likely won't dwell on that at this time of year but it's something he and the team will hope to avoid when the games start to count. In 2013, Fernandez ended up with only a dozen wins partly due to an unreliable bullpen on days he started.
The reigning Rookie of the Year struck out two and had his fastball in the upper 90s in this one. The Mets managed two hits against the young righthander, who was originally set to exit after three innings. With his pitch count at only 35, manager Mike Redmond sent Fernandez back out for one more out in the fourth before ending his day.
Rotation hopeful Kevin Slowey also saw some time on the mound according to the official box score. Slowey has now thrown 4.2 innings this spring and has yet to allow a run while striking out five. Despite the early success, Slowey is likely still on the outside looking in for a rotation spot.
Offensively, Reed Johnson continued to solidify his chances of winning a bench job as he picked up a RBI double. That was the fourth run batted in already for Johnson, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee. It was mostly quiet for Miami outside of that hit with three of their runs coming in the 10th. Those runs in the extra frame were courtesy of Mark Canha and Brent Keys who both are likely destined for minor league camp by the middle of this month.
On Thursday, the Marlins will look to improve on their 5-2 Grapefruit League record when they take on the Boston Red Sox. Nathan Eovaldi is scheduled to take the ball for Miami against Allen Webster.