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Marlins 4, Rockies 3
AB R H BI
Caissie PH-RF 2 1 1 2 HR
Owen Caissie wasn’t in the Marlins’ Opening Night lineup until Christopher Morel pulled up lame hours before the first pitch. Dropped into the DH slot, Caissie had an RBI double off lefty Kyle Freeland in a 2-1 Marlins win. He followed that up with three hits Sunday before once again being sent to the bench against a lefty Sunday. Caissie grounded out hitting for Austin Slater in the eighth, then came up with the tying run on second and two outs in the ninth and walked it off. (That’s a great shot of the moment Caissie transitions from “run!” into his home-run trot.)
But for the Morel injury, Caissie might not have started two of the first three games, which is a terrible way to handle a young player. Come to think of it, so is watching him get hits off lefties in his first two games and then sitting him against the next one anyway. We’re seeing this around the league, where Jac Caglianone and Marcelo Mayer were both platooned with fringe veterans in the season’s first weekend. Slater has his uses, but there is no reason for the 2026 Miami Marlins to be getting cute with a player who can become a core piece for them. No left-handed hitter ever learned to hit lefties while watching waiver bait from the bench.
