JUPITER, Fla. -- Earlier this week, Marlins outfielder Corey Dickerson was asked to recollect his memory of March 12, 2020. He did so wearing a mask and replying to a screen, as media members -- regardless of location -- participated in a Zoom call and awaited his response.
Friday marked one year since Spring Training shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On that day, the Marlins lost, 3-0, to the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in their 20th Grapefruit League game. At first, Major League Baseball called for the 2020 regular season to be pushed back two weeks. Instead, it began in late July.
"It was crazy," Dickerson said. "... Everybody had a weird mindset going into that game. I think I just got finished with my couple innings and came in and they said they're shutting it all down. And it was kind of like, 'We're getting a break,' you know? It's kind of like, 'Well, this is good, a little break.' But we didn't realize what it was going to turn into, how serious it was. It was a really tough thing for everyone."
During the truncated season, the Marlins experienced a COVID-19 outbreak over the first weekend. Dickerson was one of the players who did not test positive, and he went on to appear in 52 of Miami's 60 games. The franchise would go on to snap a 17-year playoff drought that October.
The latest from López
In the Marlins' 4-2 Grapefruit League win over the Mets on Friday at Clover Park, right-hander Pablo López allowed his first run of the spring on a two-out RBI single to Brandon Drury in the fourth. Across four innings, he scattered four hits and struck out three in his third spring start. Of the 16 batters López faced, five saw an offspeed pitch to begin a plate appearance, including Pete Alonso twice.
"I think one of the main things today was trying to work ahead in the count to give ourselves options, trying to throw the offspeeds for strikes," López said during a Zoom call. "So we mixed in some first-pitch offspeed to make sure to land them in the strike zone, to then expand with them. You want to give yourself options, hit them with your offspeed. You want to throw it for strikes and show that you can expand with it down. We got the breaking pitch expanded down and away, so that was one of the main things."
Prospect watch
• Monte Harrison (Miami's No. 10 prospect) collected an extra-base hit for the second straight game. According to Statcast, his RBI double down the third-base line in the seventh had an exit velocity of 102.3 mph.
• Joe Dunand drove Harrison in with a bloop single.
• Left-hander Daniel Castano, a candidate for the Opening Day roster, pitched 2 2/3 perfect innings of relief.
#PitchersWhoRake
With the universal designated hitter not returning in 2021, the Marlins will begin having their pitchers hit in Grapefruit League games on Wednesday, according to manager Don Mattingly. Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to go five innings and record at least one at-bat.
Testing it out
MLB announced on Thursday it will test a variety of experimental playing rules at various levels of the Minor Leagues during the 2021 season.
• Triple-A: To reduce player injuries and collisions, the size of first, second and third base will be increased from 15 to 18 inches square. It could theoretically lead to more ground balls and bunts getting beat out at first base and more successful stolen-base attempts.
• Double-A: The defensive team must have a minimum of four players on the infield, each of whom must have both feet completely in front of the outer boundary of the infield dirt. The restriction is intended to increase the batting average of balls in play.
• High-A: Pitchers will be required to disengage the rubber prior to throwing to any base, with the penalty of a balk in the event the pitcher fails to comply. In the Atlantic League in 2019, there was a significant increase in stolen-base attempts and an improved success rate.
• All Low-A: Pitchers will be limited to a total of two step-offs or pickoffs per plate appearance while there is at least one runner on base. A pitcher may attempt a third step off or pickoff in the same plate appearance; however, if the runner safely returns to the occupied base, the result is a balk.
• Low-A Southeast: For select games, the Marlins' Jupiter ballclub will see the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) in action, which was used in the Atlantic League and Arizona Fall League. It will be used to assist home-plate umpires with calling balls and strikes, ensure a consistent strike zone is called and determine the optimal strike zone for the system.
Fun fact
Between 1993 (the Marlins' first season) and 2020, no team played four straight ties during Spring Training. In '21, the Mariners (March 3-6) and Marlins (March 7-11) have done so, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Up next
Elieser Hernandez will make his third spring start on Saturday against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET.