Marlins-Twins postponed; they'll play two on Tuesday
MINNEAPOLIS -- Chalk up another first for Marlins rookie Jose Fernandez. At age 20, the hard-throwing right-hander has already made the leap from Class A to the big leagues. Now, the Cuban-born and Tampa, Fla.-raised Fernandez is getting his first experience of snow.
"My mom is like, 'Send me pictures!'" Fernandez said.
Fernandez and the rest of his teammates will have plenty of time to take in the wintry conditions, because Miami's game against Minnesota on Monday at Target Field was postponed due to blustery conditions.
The Marlins' two-game series at Target Field will be made up in a day-night doubleheader on Tuesday. The start times are 2:10 p.m. ET and 8:10 p.m. FS Florida will only televise the afternoon game.
Actually, the hope is the field will be ready by 2:10 p.m. If there is substantial snowfall, the game would be pushed back until the field is cleared.
"It all depends how long it [takes to get] that stuff off the field," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "They're going to try to start it on time, but who knows?"
Ricky Nolasco, who was initially set to start on Monday, will start Game 1 on Tuesday. Fernandez gets the starting nod for the night game.
The threat of heavy snow caused a quick call, as the game was cancelled early in the afternoon. Temperatures also were expected to dip to 34 degrees, which would have matched the second-coldest game-time temperature in club history.
"I've heard anywhere from three to eight inches of snow," Redmond said.
The Marlins have an off-day Wednesday before opening up a series against the Cubs at Marlins Park on Thursday. The rotation for the Cubs' series will feature Kevin Slowey (Thursday), Wade LeBlanc (Friday), Alex Sanabia (Saturday) and Nolasco in the series finale on Sunday.
Miami outfielder Juan Pierre was on his way to Target Field at about noon when he was informed the game was postponed.
"It must be going to come down pretty good to call it early," Pierre said.
The 35-year-old broke in with Colorado, and he remembers snow impacting games early in his career. And in 2011 when Pierre was with the White Sox, he dealt with snow in Cleveland. White Sox players that day, led by Mark Buehrle, built a snowman on the field.
"I didn't know how to build one," Pierre said. "Buehrle showed me how to do it, how you had to roll it. I didn't know how it got that big."
It's been unseasonably cold all April, dating back to the Opening Day at Washington and early in the month in New York. All-Star right fielder Giancarlo Stanton wore a ski mask a couple of days ago at Cincinnati.
"I'll be wearing that, it looks like, all day tomorrow," Stanton said. "This is by far the coldest [month] I've ever played in. New York was the coldest because of the wind. Cincinnati was cold, but I prepared more. It still wasn't as cold as New York. Tomorrow, I will be well prepared."
Fernandez doesn't own a winter coat, but he planned on walking to the mall near the team hotel on Monday to purchase one. He'll be making his fourth big league start and seeks his first win. Fernandez is coming off a rough 11-1 loss at Cincinnati, on a night he gave up five runs, with four coming in the fourth inning.
"This game humbles you real fast," Fernandez said. "It's incredible. I'm learning a lot."
After that outing against the Reds, Fernandez received some encouragement from veterans Pierre, Placido Polanco and Miguel Olivo.
"They told me, 'Papi, welcome to the big leagues. It's going to happen many times. It's how you react to it. How you get ready for five days after it,'" Fernandez said. "If this would have happened to me last year, today I would have still been like going crazy about it. Now, it was just a bad day. I talked to some people, and the next day I was there getting ready to do what I do to prepare for the next game. I'm pretty happy about that."