Booing Jose Fernandez, Jeff Baker dealing with a bout of food poisoning

One would think that the hometown fans would enjoy wallowing in a 9-0 blowout, and for the most part Tuesday, they did. But twice during the contest, the boobirds emerged to vent their frustration with two of their own: Jose Fernandez and Mike Redmond.

The crowd gave it to Fernandez when he didn't hustle to first on a twice-bobbled ground ball in the third inning, a base running lapse that cost the Marlins a run. And they gave it to Redmond when he refused to send his ace back out to pitch the ninth after Fernandez had thrown just 98 pitches.

Redmond said he spoke with Fernandez on Wednesday about the need to show better effort on the base paths.

"I think the biggest thing is you just keep it consistent," Redmond said of Fernandez's running speed. "Nobody's expecting the pitcher to run full-out down the first base line. But it's just to be consistent every time out of the box. And that's what I told him. We don't need you to run as hard as you can out of the box on a ground ball to second base when you know you're out."

On Tuesday, Fernandez hit an otherwise routine grounder to Andrelton Simmons, perhaps the finest defensive shortstop in the majors. But as Fernandez was taking his sweet time getting to first, figuring he was an easy out, Simmons bobbled the ball not once, but twice. Fernandez would have beaten the throw had he been running at even three-quarters speed. But he was thrown out and Christian Yelich followed immediately with a triple.

Redmond chalked it up as a one-time mistake made by a young player.

"He's fine with it," Redmond said. "I mean, believe me... I don't ever have to worry about the effort Jose's giving us. There's not a lot of guys on this field playing harder than he is. Believe me, it's the least of my worries."

As for Redmond's decision to lift Fernandez after eight innings...

The manager said the primary reason he didn't allow Jose Fernandez to go back out for the ninth Tuesday was because there was little sense in doing so, given the lopsided score (9-0). Fernandez has yet to throw a complete game.

"Had that game maybe been 3-0, we probably would have left him out there," Redmond said. "But 9-0, he's at 98 pitches. He did his job."

Redmond said he also wanted to test Carlos Marmol, who hadn't pitched in six days due to a minor hamstring injury. 

"We needed to get Marmol in there after his sore hamstring to make sure he was okay," Redmond said. "Seemed like the perfect situation to get him in there."

Marmol said he felt fine after pitching a scoreless ninth in which he faced four batters, allowing a base hit and striking out one.

_______________

Jeff Baker ended an 0 for 25 drought with a sharp single in Tuesday's sixth inning, but he wasn't around Wednesday to talk about it. The reason: Redmond said Baker has food poisoning and told him to skip the pre-game workouts in order to get it out of his system.

"That's why I had to take him out last night, because he was throwing up during the game," Redmond said.

Baker was replaced with a pinch-hitter in the seventh.

_______________

After going 3 for 4 in his  first game back from the disabled list, Ed Lucas was back in the starting lineup Wednesday and playing second.

When it comes to penciling in his second baseman, Redmond said he'll "mix and match" from a stable that includes Lucas, Derek Dietrich and Donovan Solano.

"It is kind of a luxury that we have that flexibility and versatility," Redmond said. "We're playing 21 straight games, so there's probably going to be some days off for guys in the infield."

Redmond said he'll try to give the occasional day off to third baseman Casey McGehee, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria and right fielder Giancarlo Stanton over the coming stretch of games.

Meanwhile....Rafael Furcal (hamstring, groin) could begin rehab within a few days at Triple A New Orleans.

___________________

Fernandez threw more changeups than usual Tuesday in his win over the Braves. Keep in mind, Fernandez's changeup isn't exactly a floater, touching 90 most of the time.

"I threw a lot more changeups than ever before last night," Fernandez said. "Maybe 30. I was impressed I threw that many."

Said Redmond: "The beauty is, he can use a lot of changeups and change his approach from start to start. You see what it does to hitters. Guys are geared up for 97, nobody wants a slider, and the next thing you know you get a changeup, and it looks like the bottom just kind of drops off of it. It's a huge weapon."

Greg Dobbs DFA'd, Ed Lucas reinstated from DL; Jacob Turner to start Saturday

The Marlins parted company on Tuesday with Greg Dobbs, designating the veteran pinch-hitter and infielder for assignment, and reinstated infielder Ed Lucas from the disabled list.

Dobbs, who is under contract for $1.7 million after working out a one-year deal with the Marlins last season, had just one hit in his 13 pinch-at bats and had not seen any action in the field. Dobbs' only pinch-hit came in the season-opener against Colorado. He ranks fourth with 32 pinch-hits on the Marlins' all-time list.

Dobbs and his agent negotiated his extension with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, reportedly without the knowledge of then president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and his staff.

Lucas, who landed on the disabled list at the tail end of spring training with a broken hand, had played in three rehab games for Single A Jupiter, going 6 for 14.

Lucas was immediately inserted into the starting lineup. He'll start tonight at second base and bat second.

Marlins general manager Dan Jennings said the decision to designate Dobbs came down to his lack of versatility compared to Lucas.

"We just felt like that, at where he (Dobbs) was at this time in his career, and us needing the versatility to have guys who can play multiple positions, it was important for us to have at this point," Jennings said.

Jennings called Dobbs a "great guy, the best in the league at what he did, which was pinch-hit."

"It's never a good thing when you have to move a player, certainly someone who has meant so much to us as Dobbs has," Jennings said. "But it was time for us as an organization to make that move and Ed was ready to go."

_______________

Jacob Turner will be reinstated from the disabled list on Saturday and start that night against the Dodgers.

Turner, who has been on the DL with a shoulder strain, worked seven strong innings in his final rehab start Monday for Single A Jupiter.

"It all feels normal," Turner said of his shoulder, which he injured while taking practice swings in the batting cage.

With Turner's return to the rotation, Kevin Slowey will move back to the bullpen.

Furcal pulled off rehab assignment with tight groin

NEW YORK – Rafael Furcal doesn’t look like he’s going to be returning to the Marlins anytime soon.

Sunday, the Marlins decided to cut short his rehab assignment, two days after his right groin tightened up on him while running the bases for Double A Jacksonville.

The Marlins paid the 36-year old second baseman $3.5 million to serve as the team’s leadoff hitter. But he injured his left hamstring in the middle of spring training and began the season on the disabled list.

President of Baseball Operations Mike Hill said before Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the Mets that if the Marlins pulled Furcal off his rehab assignment he would likely sit out five, six days and then restart his rehab.

"We were starting to see much more consistent at-bats," Hill said of Furcal. "His hamstring feels great. His defense has been solid. So, it's just a matter of making sure his body is ready what he's going to undergo here."

Salty gets his World Series ring, plans to wear it around Marlins

NEW YORK -- One of the big reasons the Marlins say they signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the off-season was that they wanted his championship-winning experience with the Red Sox to rub off on his new teammates.

Now, he actually has a World Series ring to flaunt in front of their faces.

Sunday morning, the 28-year old catcher received his reward for helping Boston win its third title since 2004. Allard Baird, Red Sox Vice President of Player Personnel, made the trek over to Citi Field to deliver Saltalamacchia's ring in person. And his new teammates all got a good look at it.

"Bigger than I thought it was going to be, but it's nice to actually have it in hand," Saltalamacchia said. "It's really cool. It fits and they got the name right. I had to check it twice to make sure it’s spelled right."

The ring -- studded with red rubies and sapphires -- has several slogans from the Red Sox run to the World Series on it including Beared Brothers and Boston Strong. It represents everything the team went through during the season, Saltalamacchia said. It's also not too gaudy, smaller than the huge rings Saltalamacchia said he's seen the Marlins front-office personnel wearing from the 2003 World Series season.

"A lot of guys play a long time to get one of these or even make it. So I’m pretty fortunate," Saltalamacchia said. "I plan on wearing it for sure."

Mike Hill, Marlins President of Baseball Operations, doesn't mind that at all. He wants the Marlins to see it and be envious.

"You win one of those they're all special," Hill said. "It doesn't matter what the size is. You know a lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into that. 

"We brought him here for that. That pedigree. We talked about what he brings. Casey McGehee won it in Japan. Garrett Jones was part of breaking that historic drought in Pittsburgh. That's what you play for -- to achieve and to win. Every reminder you can give is positive."

> Even though the Marlins are two games under .500 entering Sunday and have sustained quite a few heartbreaking losses late, Hill said he's been encouraged by the team's play coming off a 100-loss season.

"You guys have seen every single one of our games -- lot of mistakes against good teams," Hill said. "If you're going to make 'em, prefer to make them now and hopefully we don't repeat them. But at this point I really believe a lot of mistakes we've made we'll learn from them and it will benefit us come later in the summer. Part of that whole growth and maturation of a roster, we've gotten right out of the box, which you can't always say.

"But this is a resilient team, a tough team that plays hard day-in, day-out, even after tough losses. And we've had our share of tough losses to say the least. But that's what makes a team battle-tested. I think that's what's going to help us in the long run."

Hill said we haven't seen the best from the Marlins.

"There's a lot of talent," he said. "When we consistently minimize the mistakes against good teams you're going to see us on a roll. As long as we pitch we can play with anybody. That was in the case in Atlanta. That was the case with Washington. You minimize the mistakes and execute the pitches. Our defense hasn't been great to this point. Late innings we've had some missteps. But that's all part of the process of a team gelling and coming together. I truly believe we're going to benefit from that as we get later in the summer."

> As tough a run as it has been for the Marlins bullpen to start the season, left-hander Mike Dunn, who picked up the victory Saturday night with two scoreless innings of relief, said he expects himself and others who have been struggling to bounce back. The Marlins have lost four games in walk-off fashion and another three games on the road by allowing big hits in the eighth inning.

"Last year was pretty tough with the way we lost games too," Dunn said. "I think the experience of being a part of it last year makes it easier to move on this year. 

"It’s a six month season, it’s not a spring, it’s a long haul. Over the course of a season everything is going to be ironed out and be fine. We got to see what the bullpen could do last year and what our pitching staff could do on a full season."

> Hill said the Marlins are still waiting on a final evaluation regarding second baseman Rafael Furcal, whose right groin tightened up on him Friday night as he was rehabbing in Double A Jacksonville. In the event the groin is worse than anticipated, the Marlins will pull him off rehab for five, six days and then restart him on it. 

"We were starting to see much more consistent at-bats," Hill said of Furcal. "His hamstring feels great. His defense has been solid. So, it's just a matter of making sure his body is ready what he's going to undergo here."

SUNDAY'S LINEUPS

> Marlins (11-3): 1. Christian Yelich LF, 2. Marcell Ozuna CF, 3. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 4. Casey McGehee 3B, 5. Jarrod Saltalamacchia C, 6. Garrett Jones 1B, 7. Derek Dietrich 2B, 8. Adeiny Hechavarria SS, 9. Tom Koehler RHP

> Mets (13-11): 1. Eric Young Jr. LF, 2. Curtis Granderson RF, 3. David Wright 3B, 4. Daniel Murphy 2B, 5. Chris Young CF, 6. Lucas Duda 1B, 7. Anthony Recker C, 8. Ruben Tejada SS, 9. Dillon Gee RHP.

The latest on Marlins 2B Rafael Furcal

The Marlins are hoping second baseman Rafael Furcal, who left Friday night's rehab game in Double A Jacksonville with tightness in his right groin, won't have to spend any extra time on his rehab assignment.

Furcal went through pregame drills and didn't complain of any soreness according to manager Andy Barkett, who spoke to Suns beat writer Jeff Elliott of the Jacksonville Times-Union. Furcal took ground balls, went through batting practice and did some light running. He was rested "to be on the safe side," Barkett told Elliott.

"It's just kind of in a day-to-day status right now. He's got 9 days left on his rehab assignment. We'll re-evaluate him tomorrow," Barkett said.

Asked if Furcal would be going with the Suns when they leave Tuesday for a 10-day road trip (Mississippi and Montgomery), Barkett said: "It depends on how he responds and how he feels in a couple of days. I don't know the significance of what he did with the groin, and I don't know if he or the trainers know yet either."

"Is it a pulled muscle, a tight muscle that just needs some rest or what? Did he actually pull it worse than what he's letting on and we don't know? It's hard to say," Barkett said. "But he did do some light running, took his normal ground balls and took five rounds of batting practice. If he had a bad pulled muscle, he couldn't have done any of that."

Slowey back to the scene where he won 20-inning marathon; Yelich on hit streak being snapped

NEW YORK -- The last time he was on the mound in this building Kevin Slowey left as the winning pitcher of a 20-inning, 6-hour and 25 minute marathon -- the longest game in Marlins history.

Slowey tossed seven shutout innings in relief, giving up eight hits while striking out eight from the 13th through the 19th innings. Tonight, he's back on the hill at Citi Field, trying to improve the Marlins' road record to 2-9 in his second start of the season.

"That was the longest game I've ever been a part of," Slowey said.

"We had been rained out earlier that series, the day before. They said go throw a bullpen down in the seventh. We'll figure you won't throw today. Obviously I got called back in the 12th. I remember they weren't clean innings. I remember each inning something was going on. It's nice to think back you were in a lot jams and were able to get out of them and were obviously able to win another game. It was neat. It was definitely and experience I'll never forget."

In his career, Slowey has gone 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in four appearances (three starts) against the Mets. Aside from his stellar performance in that 20-inning game back on June 8th, Slowey tossed eight innings of one-run ball in a 2-1 Marlins win back on April 30th of last year.

Slotted to be the team's long reliever this season, Slowey is starting Saturday so the Marlins can rest their young starting rotation.

"For me, anytime I'm out there I want to fill the role they're asking me to fill," said Slowey, who has a 4.15 ERA, 10 strikeouts and four walks allowed over 17 1/3 innings of work this season. "Whether that's starting or relieving, I'm certainly not picky about the times I get to compete. For me every outing is important, every pitch I throw is important."

YELICH TALKS STREAK

Christian Yelich was more bummed about the Marlins' heart-breaking loss Friday night than his career-long 17-game hitting streak getting snapped.

"Now that it's over I'm not really anymore phased by it than when it started," said Yelich, who tied three others in the organization for the eight-longest hitting streak in club history. "Obviously I would have liked to get one [Friday] and help the team win. But I was more focused on getting hits, getting on base, helping my team win. That's the part I cared about more. Baseball is a hard game and it's hard to keep those going. It was a good run."

Yelich said the only time he would have cared about the streak was if he had closed in on Luis Castillo, who has the longest hitting streak in club history at 35 games. Yelich said he hit three balls hard Friday night during his 0-for-4 performance. The first ball, a hard ground ball third baseman David Wright wasn't able to handle, was scored as an error after it bounced off his foot. 

"The first one it's kind of I don't know. I'm not going to say anything about that," Yelich said. "Then you have the fly out and the one I squared up in the last inning [a hard ground to second base] just right at him. That's why it's so hard to keep those thing going.

"I said earlier you could line out four times and there goes your streak. Or you could tap a ball five feet and there's your hit. Baseball is a funny game and that's why those things are so tough."

SATURDAY'S LINEUP

> Marlins (10-13): 1. Christian Yelich LF, 2. Marcell Ozuna CF, 3. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 4. Casey McGehee 3B, 5. Jarrod Saltalamacchia C, 6. Garrett Jones 1B, 7. Derek Dietrich 2B, 8. Adeiny Hechavarria SS, 9. Kevin Slowey RHP.

Furcal leaves rehab game with apparent quad injury

NEW YORK -- As if Friday's heartbreaking loss wasn't enough, it looks like Rafael Furcal could be out longer than anticipated.

According to Jeff Elliott, who covers the Marlins' Double A team the Jacksonville Suns, Furcal left Friday night's game with quad tightness after running the bases. Out since mid-March with a strained hamstring, the 14-year major-league veteran legged out a pair of doubles in Thursday’s game.

But things changed in the bottom of the third inning. After collecting his second hit of the game, Furcal sprinted past second toward third on Danny Black's base hit and eased up. Furcal easily scored moments later on a Brady Shoemaker double. But after receiving high-five slaps once he got to the dugout, Furcal took off his helmet and angrily flung it against the benches. Suns manager Andy Barkett talked to Furcal when the inning was over and elected to replace him at second base.

“I felt tightness in my quad going from second to third,” Furcal told Elliott. “There was no problem with the hamstring. I really think tomorrow it will be better. Life is like that. The only control I have is to keep playing hard and do the best I can. I’ll just wait to hear from the Marlins after that.”

After going hitless in his first two games with the Suns, Furcal had  put together four hits in his last six at-bats.

“My hitting isn’t my concern. I know I can hit,” the three time National League All-Star said. “I want to make sure my legs are in shape. I’ll be working hard at my hitting, and I know I can hit. That doesn’t bother me too much.”

Marlins looking for "somebody to step up and get some big outs" in the eighth inning

NEW YORK -- When it comes to solving his bullpen's late-inning woes this season, Mike Redmond made it  clear Friday the Marlins are just looking for "somebody to step up and get some big outs."

"We've been in a lot of games, been in a lot of close games, but unfortunately we've given up some big hits late in those games to lose," Redmond said. "It really coms down to trying to find those guys that are going to be able to pitch those late inning games. We're really going to try everybody to see what's going to work and see whose going to take those late innings. It's really up for grabs."

While closer Steve Cishek has remained a consistent force in the ninth inning with a franchise-record 33 consecutive saves entering Friday's game, the eighth inning has been a nightmare for the Marlins.

The team's eighth inning ERA entering Friday was 7.36 and opponents were hitting .304 against them in the frame. A year ago, Chad Qualls, Mike Dunn, and A.J. Ramos did a much better job handling the bulk of the eighth inning work as the Marlins combined for a 2.28 ERA and opponents hit just .202 against them.

This year, Qualls is the closer in Houston. Dunn (eight appearances, 11.37 ERA), Ramos (six appearances, 1.93 ERA) and left-hander Dan Jennings (four appearances, 0.00 ERA) have handled the eighth for the Marlins for the most part through the team's first 22 games. Carlos Marmol pitched once in the eighth and gave up a game-winning grand slam to the Nats' Jayson Werth on April 9th.

Right-hander Carter Capps, acquired in the Logan Morrison trade with Seattle, could be a solution, Redmond said.

"We got to get him out there and let him pitch," Redmond said. "I'd love to say maybe he can be the guy to do that with Marmol and Dunn and AJ. But we've got to get him out there in a game and see what he can do.

"Sometimes it just takes them a nice 1-2-3 inning to settle in and then take off. That's what we're hoping for."

> Redmond joked he's happy Major League Baseball decided to wait until Friday to adjust its transfer rule, which occurs when a fielder loses possession of a ball while trying to transfer it from his glove to his throwing hand.

The Marlins won two replay challenges because of the transfer rule over the past week -- April 18 in a win over the Mariners and Monday in a loss to the Braves.

The adjustment to the rule is that it will now be an out whenever a player has complete control over the ball in his glove, and if he drops the ball after opening his glove, it will still be ruled an out. There is no requirement to successfully remove the ball from the glove for it to be an out.

"I think those two plays, the Fish might have sent them over the edge," Redmond said. "... we'll see how it's interpreted going forward. So we'll all be watching to see what a catch is. I think I have an idea of what it is. But we'll see."

> Redmond said right-hander Jacob Turner, who pitched four innings in Single A Jupiter Wednesday, will pitch again Monday and throw between 75-80 pitches.

"The reports I heard from his first outing was that he was fine," Redmond said. "He gave up a couple runs, but he threw a lot of fastballs and everything was good healthwise. He's only been out a couple weeks so he hasn't lost a ton of throwing time. He's still in pretty good shape."

> Utility infielder Ed Lucas, on the disabled list for the past month with a fractured left hand, began his rehab assignment Friday night, batting second and starting at shortstop for the Hammerheads. Redmond said Lucas was going to play every position in the infield.

> Redmond said the Marlins still haven't decided when second baseman Rafael Furcal will be called up from his rehab assignment. Redmond said the team initially wanted Furcal to use up all three weeks of rehab work. Furcal had a pair of doubles and "played good defense," Redmond said, on Thursday night.

> Where does Redmond, a former catcher, stand on the pine tar debate stirred up by the recent suspension of Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda?

"I was thinking about grabbing a little pine tar the other day because the pencil was slipping out of my hands and I wanted to write some stuff down in the cold weather. Maybe that extra grip will help," Redmond joked.

"It didn't surprise me. A lot of guys use sun screen, whatever. You see pitchers all the time going to their wrist out on the mound. You don't see position players out there grabbing their wrist during the game. Come on. That's stuff has been going on for a long time. I think we all know that. But at the same time too you can't take the pine tar rag and just rub it on the side of your face.

"I've seen guys lick the pine tar rag. I'd advise against that. I'm not condoning that at all."

Jose Fernandez visits 9/11 Memorial on day off, pays respects

NEW YORK -- Jose Fernandez spent most of his free time during his rookie season last year hanging out in his hotel room and relaxing. 

This year, though, the 21-year old All-Star and Marlins ace said he wants to start to get to know America's history a little better. Thursday, Fernandez spent the Marlins' day off visiting the World Trade Center Memorial in Manhattan.

"I really wanted to go and pay my respects," Fernandez said. "This country has been amazing to me. So I'm here learning about it, being right there.

"When I was in school, history was my favorite subject. I want to learn a little more. When I go to Washington [next month] I want to see some things."

Although he was only nine years old when the terrorist attacks took place on Sept. 11, 2001, Fernandez said the images he saw on TV back home in his native Cuba stuck with him.

"We didn't see much [in Cuba], and we didn't get a lot of information, but we saw what happened," Fernandez said. "So when I got here obviously I looked into it. It was pretty special to be there [Thursday].

"Being there you imagine how it happened and the people that were in there, the people who ran out. You see the names, other people walking around and looking. It's just a weird feeling. You're not happy. You're just thinking about what people did, throwing themselves down 50-something floors. It's desperate moments. It's tough."

Fernandez said he was in school when the attacks took place that morning, but didn't learn of them until he got home from classes. Even afterward, he said, "they really didn't let us talk about it much in Cuba because it was America."

"We saw what happened, but we couldn't figure it out. Over there there's no internet, no information," Fernandez said. 

"It was just a feeling of shock [in Cuba]. Nobody could believe it or that somebody would do that."

> Reliever Carlos Marmol, who pulled his right hamstring in Wednesday's 3-1 loss in Atlanta, said he felt better Friday, but still didn't know if he would be able to pitch in the series opener against the Mets. He's battled pulled hamstrings before and gone to the disabled list with them in the past.

"I feel a lot better," Marmol said. "I'm going to go outside, play catch on the mound, see how I feel. It felt worse a couple days ago."

FRIDAY'S LINEUPS

> Marlins (10-12): 1. Christian Yelich LF, 2. Marcell Ozuna CF, 3. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 4. Casey McGehee 3B, 5. Jarrod Saltalamacchia C, 6. Garrett Jones 1B, 7. Derek Dietrich 2B, 8. Adeiny Hechavarri SS, 9. Henderson Alvarez RHP.

> Mets (12-10): 1. Eric Young Jr. LF, 2. Curtis Granderson RF, 3. David Wright 3B, 4. Daniel Murphy 2B, 5. Chris Young CF, 6. Lucas Duda 1B, 7. Travis D'Arnaud C, 8. Ruben Tejada SS, 9. Zach Wheeler RHP.

No innings limit yet, but Marlins are being smart with Jose Fernandez, other young starters' workloads

ATLANTA -- With a day off on Thursday and another coming up on Monday, the Marlins had the choice of either going with a four-man rotation this week or starting veteran long-reliever Kevin Slowey in Saturday's open slot against the Mets.

They opted for the latter, a move manager Mike Redmond said Wednesday was all geared toward giving his young rotation an extra day of rest.

"If we can get guys an extra day here it's going to be better for them down the road," Redmond said. "Slowey has pitched well against the Mets. Now we don't rush these guys too much.

"At the end of day, at the end of this year, all these guys are going to be in unchartered territory with all of their innings. It all sounds good at the beginning of the season, but you know how it is at the end of the season. These guys are in unchartered territory. It just made sense to push them back, give them an extra day."

The Marlins haven't discussed putting an innings limit on 21-year old ace Jose Fernandez like they did last year during his National League Rookie of the Year season. But Redmond made it clear the Marlins still have Fernandez's "best interest in mind."

"We showed that last year how we kind of handled him," Redmond said of Fernandez, who was shutdown the second week of September after throwing 172 2/3 innings. "[An innings limit] will be a conversation to have later in the year, end of the year. We'll see how it goes. But we've talked about possibly giving him extra days when we can throughout the year to save him and make sure he's fresh at the end of the year as well."

In Tuesday's masterful 1-0 victory over the Braves, Fernandez matched a career-high with 14 strikeouts and 109 pitches over eight innings. It marked the third time in his career Fernandez had taken a shutout through eight innings, but didn't come out to pitch the ninth.

Redmond reiterated Wednesday he would have let Fernandez pitch the ninth inning on Tuesday had his pitch count after the eighth been closer to 100 pitches. 

"That was the most he's pitched in a game this year, but he was fine," Redmond said. "He really didn't run into [trouble]. His innings were pretty quick, didn't really get into any jams the whole night. I would say those were 109 stress-free pitches.

"Like I said, it just kind of goes from start to start, see how he feels and how effective he is in the zone and how hard he has to work. Sometimes 109 pitches is a max effort for some guys. Sometimes 109 pitches is easy. Last night was an easy 109 pitches. Had he been at around 100 I might have let him go out there to finish the game. We didn't have to make that decision obviously."

Fernandez, by the way, made history again Tuesday. He became the fourth-youngest pitcher since 1900 to record 14-plus strikeouts with no walks in a start, according to Elias. Only Gary Nolan (19 years, 11 days in 1967), Dwight Gooden (19 years, 301 days and 19 years, 306 days in 1984) and Kerry Wood (20 years, 324 days in 1998) were younger than Fernandez when they accomplish the feat.

Within his first 33 starts, Fernandez now has five games of 10-plus strikeouts with one or no walks, the first pitcher to pull off that feat since Mark Prior.

> Redmond said Jacob Turner, on rehab assignment with a right shoulder sprain, will throw 50 to 60 pitches for Single A Jupiter Wednesday night. It's first game action since he strained his shoulder in the batting cages before a game. 

> Infielder Ed Lucas (fractured left hand) still has not begun playing in games, but he is working out in Jupiter.

WEDNESDAY'S LINEUPS

> Marlins (10-11): 1. Christian Yelich LF, 2. Marcell Ozuna CF, 3. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 4. Garrett Jones 1B, 5. Casey McGehee 3B, 6. Derek Dietrich 2B, 7. Adeiny Hechavarria SS, 8. Jeff Mathis C, 9. Nathan Eovaldi RHP.

> Braves (13-7): 1. Jason Heyward RF, 2. Andrelton Simmons SS, 3. Freddie Freeman 1B, 4. Chris Johnson 3B, 5. Ryan Doumit LF, 6. Dan Uggla 2B, 7. Jordan Schafer CF, 8. Gerald Laird C, 9. Aaron Harang RHP.