Pablo Lopez Returns to Marlins

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Prior to tonight’s game, the Marlins activated RHP Pablo Lopez from the 10-Day IL and optioned LHP Jose Quijada to Triple-A New Orleans. Lopez has been on the injured list since June 19th with a right shoulder strain. Tonight, he finally makes his return after more than two months out of Major League action.

Before being put on the injured list, Lopez accumulated a 5-5 record with a 4.23 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 76.2 innings pitched. Those are not terrible numbers, in fact, he would have a sub-4 ERA if it weren’t for his disastrous start against the Mets back in May where he allowed 10 earned runs in three innings of work.

Pablo’s time rehabbing in the minors was definitely rough. In five games started, he has an 8.79 ERA and only 14.1 innings pitched. However, he did finish his time in the minors on a positive note. His last start, he logged six innings, allowing one earned run with five strikeouts.

Shoulder injuries are one of the toughest injuries to come back from. Pitchers have to get a feel for their pitches again and have to make sure their mechanics are in sync. It’s definitely a tedious journey but Pablo can definitely bounce back from this injury, he done it before.

In order to make room for Pablo on the roster, Jose Quijada had to be optioned to Triple-A New Orleans. Quijada has been struggling lately at the Major League level. In his last seven games, he’s pitched five innings of relief and allowed 8 earned runs with 7 walks. His last appearance against the Phillies didn’t do him any favors. He pitched 0.2 innings, walked four and allowed two earned runs. He has good stuff, just needs to work on his control, like many young pitchers.

Let’s see if we see the same Pablo Lopez tonight who throws pitches like this… (via @IanPostPL)

Starlin Castro comes through for Marlins

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Starlin Castro came through in the clutch with a two-run double off Aaron Nola in the bottom of the sixth to give the Miami Marlins a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Castro was set up by shortstop Jon Berti, who got the Marlins on the board with a base hit, driving in catcher Bryan Holaday, who reached on his lone hit of the day. The third baseman is batting .322 with five home runs and 22 RBI through the month of August.

Elieser Hernandez gave the Marlins their first quality performance from a starting pitcher in the weekend series. The 24-year-old gave up only three hits and two runs with five strikeouts in six innings. His lone blemish came from a two-run home runs by Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins in the top of the sixth inning. After the Marlins gave up 10 walks in each of the last two games, Hernandez didn’t allow a single walk.

“That’s the goal,” Hernandez said. “That’s what we work for.”

Starlin Castro and the meerting before the game

“We had a meeting before the game,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said, “and said, `Let’s throw the ball over the plate. It’s got to start there. You can’t defend the walk. Let’s get it in the strike zone, and don’t be afraid if they hit it. Every one is not going to be a home run.”

Ryne Stanek, who was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay, gave up a leadoff walk but retired the side for his first career save. The game last 2 hours, 38 minutes, which is a big contrast to the first two games of the series, which each lasted more than 3 1/2 hours.

“Super efficient,” Stanek said. “I didn’t realize how fast the game was moving until I looked up and it was the fifth inning and they both had like 55 pitches.”

The last place Marlins are 9-7 against the Phillies, who are within two games from the wildcard.

Pablo Lopez to return Monday

Marlins manager Don Mattingly announced before the game that staring pitcher Pablo López is returning from the injured list to make his first start since June 15 on Monday against the Cincinnati Reds. He has been out with a right shoulder strain.

“We’re going to fit him in tomorrow, and that way it gives everybody an extra day,” Mattingly said. “He’s ready to go. We were happy with his last outing.”

The move will push Caleb Smith to Tuesday and Sandy Alcantara to Wednesday. Lopez is 5-5 with a 4.23 ERA in 15 starts.

“It feels like forever since I’ve been on this mound,” Lopez said. “I’m really excited. I’ve been working on some things.”

The Marlins never transferred Lopez from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL, which means his status does not impact the 40-man roster, which currently is at 39. It’s unclear what move will be made to make room for Lopez. The Marlins optioned reliever Tyler Kinley to Triple-A New Orleans to bring up Kyle Keller.

“This move is all about having to have pitching today,” Mattingly said.

Rakitic fue el gran ausente de la gran goleada culé ante el Betis

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Ivan Rakitic pasó de ser el mas utilizado la campaña pasada por Ernesto Valverde a jugar solamente 45 minutos en los dos primeros partidos oficiales del Barcelona esta temporada, partiendo como suplente en ambos.

El Barcelona comenzó perdiendo con gol de Fakir ante el Betis, y parecía que se venía la noche en el Camp Nou, tras la derrota con la que inició el campeonato el equipo blaugrana en Bilbao.

Poco antes de completarse la primera mitad Antoine Griezmann puso tablas en el marcador gracias a un pase bombeado de Sergi Roberto, uno de los escogidos por Valverde para tomar una de las posiciones en las que puede jugar Rakitic.

https://youtu.be/pd0ORuez-fM

A priori parecía que Roberto sería la sexta o séptima opción en el mediocampo, especialmente con una nómina que cuenta con Arthur, Vidal, Busquets, Frank De Jong, el propio Rakitic y que tenía a Coutinho hace par de semanas.

Sin embargo, Valverde le ha dado un espaldarazo a Sergi Roberto, y el que ha pagado los platos rotos ha sido Rakitic, pues tanto el español como el holandés De Jong han sido titulares en los dos primeros encuentros.

Vendaval blaugrana y Rakitic ni por asomo

El FC Barcelona le pasó como una aplanadora al Betis en la segunda mitad con el segundo golazo de Griezmann en la noche, el primero del canterano Carles Perez, uno de Alba que por fin se animó a pegarle al arco y un golazo del chileno Arturo Vidal para cerrar la cuenta goleadora azulgranada, y hasta el debut del canterano Ansu Fati.

Además de Fati, y el chileno Vidal que entró activo y marcó, también hizo su debut oficial esta temporada el lateral izquierdo Junior Firpo, ante su ex equipo, y nos permitió ver a Jordi Alba de interior por izquierda, una variante mas que Valverde podría usar durante la temporada en ciertos momentos del curso.

Iván Rakitic fue suplente en dos juegos consecutivos por primera vez como azulgrana, y vio los noventa minutos y la goleada del FC Barcelona desde el banquillo, lo que hace preguntarnos si Rakitic sigue siendo negociado por el Barça con varios equipos de Europa.

¿Dejó de contar el croata para Valverde?

Ya veremos…

 

La próxima semana se prevé que debute Lionel Messi, y Leandro Soto de Cinco Razones Deportes Network no aguanta la emoción. Ya quiere ver al argentino vestido de cuadritos… 

Jarren Williams Miami Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes: The Good, Bad, and Ugly vs Gators

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An early chance to prove they are “back” escapes the Hurricanes.

The Miami Hurricanes kicked off the 2019 season like their nickname implies, with ferocity and chaos.

With an in-state game against the hated Gators, an animal that lurks in the swamp beneath the surface.

Two teams engaged in high drama without aesthetic pleasantry or grace.

On the national stage, just like it should be.

Miami wasn’t expected to win by most or make a game of it by many.

But that is exactly what they did.

We can explore the coulda-woulda-shoulda all day, Canes fans have seen these game slip away too many times.

The Hurricanes had their chances but the game unraveled by their own hand.

There was some good.

Quite a bit of bad.

And holy shit was there a lot of ugly.

The Good

Jarren Williams took control of the starting quarterback position in fall camp and the decision looks like a home run.

The redshirt freshman looked ready and poised under the bright lights and under heavy fire.

He took 10 sacks behind an offensive line that was exploited against a barrage from the Gator front seven.

Time and time again he got up off the canvas, and had the team in position to win.

Williams avoided the big mistake, although he did put the ball on the ground late under duress.

He finished 19 for 30 for 214 yards with one touchdown and looked more calm and collected as the game progressed.

DeeJay Dallas had a solid game (12 carries, 95 yards, one touchdown) and his physical running style brutalized the Florida defense.

Overall however the rushing game struggled, only gaining 87 yards on a measly 2.7 YPC after sack yards on Williams factored in.

Brevin Jordan (five receptions, 88 yards, TD)  also had a breakout night and there are plenty of encouraging pieces on offense.

Cam Harris looks like a perfect compliment to Dallas and had a game changing run called back by penalty.

 

Another bright spot was the run defense which held Florida to just 52 yards on the ground.

Oh, and Turnover Chain 3.0, or 305, made its debut and Miami rocked the new ice on four occasions.

 

The Bad

A lot to cover here.

Mistakes riddled the opening game for Manny Diaz and his new coaching staff.

Delays of game and false starts took the life out of drives that weren’t killed by sacks.

Williams was running for his life against a constant barrage of blitzes.

Both teams were sloppy, combining for over 200 yards in penalties on the night.

Diaz was not pleased.

“There were a couple major blunders on special teams and the short fields right there really ended up being telling in a very low scoring game where everything mattered. I thought our guys played with a lot of courage. I think they played with a lot of effort. But it doesn’t matter because we lost the game. We did not come here to play with courage and effort. We came here to win the game and it’s not OK at the University of Miami ever to lose to the University of Florida. Everybody in that locker room feels the pain of that right now.”

Mistakes should be expected with a mostly new coaching staff and quarterback, but the mental lapses compiled at an alarming rate.

The players were not the only ones making mental mistakes though.

 

Officials cannot be blamed for the result but it definitely was not a stellar night for the zebras.

That being said the calls went for and against both teams so the impact is moot.

The Ugly

The big uglies lived up to that monicker in resounding fashion Saturday night.

Allowing double-digit sacks at this level is uncommon, a performance like this raises many questions.

Florida is an elite defense but the Miami front five looked like matadors out there.

Part of that has to also fall on Dan Enos and the play calling.

In the first half Williams got rid of the ball quickly but in the third quarter is when things started to get sideways.

A fumble by Jeff Thomas on a punt with Miami up 13-1o started to signal the beginning of the end. Florida took it the rest of the way and reclaimed a 17-13 advantage.

Florida outscored Miami 10-0 in that 15 minutes which segued into the fourth quarter from hell.

That quarter started out with a bang for the Hurricanes.

 

The Hurricanes missed their shot at the end

That power move put the Hurricanes back on top 20-17 but was ultimately false hope.

The next three drives ended with a missed field goal and two failures on fourth down,

Miami pulled out some tricks when Bubba Baxa ran for a first down on a fake field goal.

The play had offsetting penalties with a hold by Miami, but an unnecessary roughness penalty on Florida gave the Hurricanes new life.

Which ended quickly.

Baxa missed a chip shot from 27 yards which proved costly as the Gators marched 80 yards in just four plays to retake the lead, one they would not relinquish.

Williams was sacked three times on the final drive, which also included a 15-yard chop block penalty.

Miami was gifted one last opportunity when the Gators were flagged for pass interference on 4th and 34.

How do you get to 4th and 34?

Illegal block penalty for 15 yards makes it 1st and 25

Pass to DeeJay loses one, 2nd and 26.

Williams sacked and fumbles, Dallas picks it up and gains four.

Third and 22, why not take a delay of game for five?

Third and 27, we like even numbers so give us a sack and a seven-yard loss.

There you have it, the night for the Hurricanes in a nutshell.

Follow us on Twitter for more Miami Hurricanes @SportsWaveDave and @5ReasonsSports.

Check out the 5 Rings Canes podcast for exclusive coverage of the Hurricanes.

Logan Morrison returned to Miami as a rival

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Former Miami Marlin Logan Morrison returned to his old stomping grounds to find the place completely redone. He returned as a member of the rival Philadelphia Phillies during a Players’ Weekend series.

“It looks great,” Morrison said of the new-look Marlins Park, “more uniform, classy. I like it.”

Morrison was the Austin Dean of a previous era, a fan favorite who played both left field and first base. He was on the 2012 Opening Day lineup when the Marlins open the new ballpark against the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

“A couple of things I remember fondly enough was the awesome energy, the electricity, sold-out crowd,” Morrison said, “being able to get a hit in that game was cool. It was fun, man.”

Morrison played on the Marlins during their first two seasons at Marlins Park (2012-13), a time when the record books were being established. At one time he hit the second furthest home run in Marlins Park, but he played with a certain slugger named Giancarlo Stanton, so it was only a matter of time before that changed.

“Now he has like 18 of the farthest 19 home runs and I’m like 19th or 20th,” Morrison said with a chuckle.

Logan Morrison and his Marlin moments

Logan Morrison was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Carter Capps in the offseason leading up to the 2014 season. He hit a career-high 38 home runs and 85 RBI for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017 but a disappointing, injury-riddled 2018 season with the Minnesota Twins that ended with hip surgery in August found him out of the loop throughout the offseason.

“The thing was I was healthy and I was playing every day,” Morrison said. “I had the opportunity to do it and I was healthy. Last year I was hurt, probably shouldn’t have been playing, didn’t have the year I wanted to have.”

The New York Yankees signed Morrison to a minor league contract after spring training and his season didn’t begin until May in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He slashed .289/.341/.658 with 15 home runs in 43 games and was picked up by the Phillies after the Yankees granted his release on the fourth of July.

Morrison said he started to, “feel like himself” in Triple-A prior to making it back to the big leagues with the Phillies. The role he has there now is similar to what fellow former Marlins Justin Bour had a year ago, a first base bat off the bench. Even if Morrison was back to his 2017 form, we wouldn’t know with his current role.

“At the end of the day, you’re not going to be putting up those kind of numbers without 500 at-bats,” Morrison said.

Morrison has gone 3-for-12 since being called up to Philadelphia. His lone appearance in this series came as a pinch hitter and resulted in a strikeout.

 

Visit the voices or news section for more Marlins coverage.

The Dolphins’ best blocker on the block?

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We know the Dolphins are rebuilding. They’ve loaded up on draft picks and salary cap money for next offseason, and they’re still contemplating starting Ryan Fitzpatrick over Josh Rosen, apparently, as clear a sign of tanking as any we’ve seen.

So naturally, they would be looking to offload some veterans for additional draft capital. Kiko Alonso? Sure. Reshad Jones? They’ve signaled that for a while. Kenny Stills? Well, that relationship seems to have soured for all the wrong reasons.

But Laremy Tunsil?

The only guy on this offensive line with a chance of keeping a passer alive?

Entering his prime?

All because he will be expensive — as elite left tackles should be?

Didn’t we just hear this about Xavien Howard, prior to the Dolphins’ top defensive player signing an extension? And isn’t Tunsil the Dolphins’ top offensive player?

But here we are, sort of….

Pro Football Network has some quality people, and they’ve been right on some things before. So this isn’t meant to say they’re making up this report.

I don’t believe they are. And trying to break news can suck. Trust us. You get played all the time. And sometimes you can’t report everything you want to. But it seems like a leverage play by someone, which is what happens in this business.

Trading Tunsil makes little to no sense, unless he’s engaging in an extended holdout, which he’s not. And our people shot it down pretty quickly.

Then the great Barry Jackson — we’re contractually obligated to say that — weighed in.

Jackson says that other teams have inquired about Tunsil, but that the Dolphins aren’t shopping him in any way. This is an important distinction that fans often forget. Just because another team asks about a player doesn’t mean the player will be moved, or that there’s even a chance he is moved. It means the player is good.

I’d expect Laremy Tunsil to be here a long time, to make sure that Dolphins quarterbacks live a long life.

 

Read more Dolphins news visiting our news and voices sections or visiting DolphinsMaven.com 

Three Matchups the Hurricanes can Exploit vs Gators

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Week Zero is fast approaching as the Miami Hurricanes prepare to face the Florida Gators Saturday in Orlando.

The oddsmakers don’t love the Hurricanes in a neutral setting, but we all know how in-state rivalry games go.

Hurricanes – Gators: Game of the week

 

Here are three ways the Hurricanes can not only make a game of it, but steal a huge early season win.

The Hurricanes Pass Defense vs Felipe Franks

A once maligned position for the Gators has found some stability finally with Felipe Franks under center.

Franks made huge strides between his freshman and sophomore seasons and is expected to build on that again this year.

Where he has struggled historically is with accuracy, completing less than 57% of his passes for his career.

Franks does take care of the ball, only throwing six interceptions last year against 24 touchdowns.

On the other side of the coin is the Hurricanes pass defense, which last year was a major strength.

Manny Diaz’s defensive group was the best in college football in yards allowed per game in 2018.

They also led the nation in third down defense.

If the Miami defense can have some success on early downs, the pass rush should be able to generate pressure on Franks when it counts.

We all know what that means.

 

Gators Offensive Line is Suspect

That pass rush may have some success against a retooled Gators front five.

Florida lost four starters from last season and they will be put to the test right away.

The Gators only allowed 18 sacks last year, however with a lot of new moving parts there could be some early communication issues.

Miami will give Franks a lot of looks and you can bet there will be pressure on all levels, led by Jonathan Garvin on the defensive line.

Garvin comes off a breakout sophomore season with career bests in tackles (60) and sacks (5.5) along with two fumble recoveries.

We all know about the experienced and talented linebacker group, expect them to cause some confusion among the Gator front five.

Enos has a Plan for Jordan and Mallory

Another matchup the Hurricanes can exploit is the dual threats at tight end in Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory.

Dan Enos has brought in a system that gives the tight end group a lot of opportunities from multiple formations.

Florida has an excellent secondary led by cornerbacks CJ Henderson, Jr. and Marco Wilson, so Williams will have to be careful with the ball on the outside.

Thankfully for a new starting quarterback, the tight end combo of Jordan and Mallory are a nice safety net.

The Hurricanes will have to play a near perfect game to pull of the upset.

If Miami can keep the game close in the first half in a rivalry game, anything can happen.

Follow me on Twitter @SportsWaveDave. Tweet and at me saying who will win. Hurricanes or Gators?

Make sure to check out the 5 Rings Canes Podcast for exclusive Miami Hurricanes content.

 

 

It’s Jarren Williams’ Hurricanes now

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Jarren Williams is the chosen one. For now…

For the past couple weeks, Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz made it seem like picking his first starting quarterback was like picking his first Pokemon.

He’s got three: Tate Martell (Charmander), N’Kosi Perry (Bulbasaur) and Jarren Williams (Squirtle). Each of them have different talents yet each of them can get you eight gym badges an into the Elite Four.

After the second scrimmage of fall camp, Diaz chose Williams and made it public through the team’s social media channel. This in turn vaulted Williams to the top of the pecking order and elevated him into the position of leader of the locker room.

“It’s the natural thing of having the confidence of the coaching staff and the team to know you’re the guy,” Diaz said. “Which is why we made the decision, it’s why we made it public, because we just felt that would far more superseded any value in making it a surprise on Saturday.”

Williams always had the confidence in himself necessary to become a starting quarterback. However being the starting quarterback didn’t automatically make him the leader of the team.

“Jarren has always been a leader,” Donaldson said. “Ever since he came in he’s been a vocal guy, trying to communicate with the whole offense, even the whole team, trying to get us on the same page. That’s what [offensive coordinator Dan Enos]  saw, I guess and he just took that stuff further now.”

“I feel like it’s a gradual process,” Williams said, “because throughout the summer and spring, my thing was I’m gonna show these guys that I’m gonna work and give everything I got for them. I go out there every day and I would give everything I had, empty the tank for them just to show them I’m gonna be a guy that you can rely on. So I feel like doing that time after time gradually built that leadership so that when I had the opportunity to be named starting quarterback, I was already in that leadership role.”

It almost didn’t came to be. Before the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl, Williams nearly transferred out of Miami. He chose to remain and even with extra competition coming in through the transfer portal and recruiting, he rose above it all and has earned his chance to lead the Hurricanes against the No. 8 Florida Gators.

“It’s very rewarding,” Williams said. “That really comes with me trusting God. I prayed about it and I know he would never lead me wrong.”

Williams said the turning point came when the team returned from an embarrassing bowl loss and Diaz quickly became the new head coach after Mark Richt announced his retirement.

“I feel like the whole mindset just started to change for everybody,” Williams said. 

Williams has received texts messages from former Miami quarterbacks Stephen Morris and Brad Kaaya encouraging him going into the biggest matchup of the season.

“They really just told me to be confident and be you,” Williams said. “This is the moment you prepared your whole life for. Don’t let the moment get too big for you.”

Navaughn Donaldson’s advice to Zion Nelson vs. Florida: “You’re not going to be as tired.”

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Freshman offensive lineman Zion Nelson will be making his first career start at tackle when the Miami Hurricanes take on the No. 8 Florida Gators on Saturday in Orlando.

Nelson was rated by ESPN as a three-star prospect at the time he was recruited out of South Carolina. He was the No. 39th ranked player in the state by 247sports.com.

As a senior, Nelson was a key part of a 10-1 team at Sumter High School that finished the 2018 season in the Class 5A regional semifinals. Sun Belt Conference schools like Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina were among others to have sent Nelson recruiting offers before signing with the Canes.

Nelson graduated high school early and enrolled at the University of Miami in January at the start of the spring semester. He got an early jump on learning offensive coordinator Dan Enos’ system and said back in fall camp that he, “probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if I hadn’t been here in the spring.

His first test will likely be his biggest of the season. Fellow offensive lineman, Navaughn Donaldson, also started as a true freshman and offered sound advice during his media availability on Wednesday.

“I told Zion myself, the game is going to be slower than practice,” Donaldson said. “You’re not going to be as tired. I mean, there are going to be drives where you do get tired but it’s not going to be where you’re hellishly exhausted, like your have to hurry up. The game is a little slower than practice and I just told him to take your time and communicate. You’re gonna communicants and we’re going to work this out and it’s going to be a good game.”

Hurricanes’ Scott Patchan embodies father with jersey number

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Miami defensive end Scott Patchan is entering his redshirt season looking to build on a junior year that saw him on the field for 12 of the team’s 13 games.

In honor of his Hurricane legacy, Patchan changed his jersey number from 19 to 71, which was worn by his father, Matt Patchan, who won two national championships at UM as an offensive tackle from 1983-87.

“It’s a great way to show him how much I appreciate him and respect him and I thank him for everything he’s done for me,” Patchan said. “I figured it’d be a good idea so I went ahead and did it. it was on my heart for a while but I’m glad I did.”

Patchan expects a big year in 2019 but he in fact did not become bigger to in order to reach his goals.

“I leaned out but stayed the same body weight,” Patchan said. “It’s nice because I don’t like carrying bad weight. I like to carry positive weight, a lot of muscle, not much fat.”

He credit his improvements to first year strength and conditioning coach David Feeley, who head coach Manny Diaz brought over from Temple.

“What Scott Patchan does do on a daily basis is he monitors his weight,” Miami strength and conditioning coach David Feeley said, “and he’s not a 225-pound D-end and he’s not a 275-pound D-end. He’s kind of right in the middle. He’s a 250-pound guy and his motor is what makes him the athlete that he is.”

“The guy, first of all, has the most energy in the room every day on any given day of the week,” Patchan said. “He’s gonna push you each and every day. I love it because there’s a lot of name calling, getting you motivated, it’s just a great atmosphere to be in.”

Despite of the strides Patchan made in the weight room, he’s still miniature compared to his old man.

“He was like 300 pounds,” Patchan said. “He was only 6-4 but he’s a lot bigger than me. He was an offensive lineman so he had to be bigger.”

The Hurricanes will need a big game from Patchan if they’re going to upset the No. 8 Florida Gators on Saturday in Orlando.