Report: Marlins’ Urena tests positive
Urena a late scratch; Cooper, Ramirez also sit out win as specter of COVID-19 looms
Miami Marlins starter Jose Urena was a late scratch against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday amid a report he tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
According to MLB Network, Urena tested positive for COVID-19 and is one of four Marlins, along with first baseman Garrett Cooper, outfielder Harold Ramirez and catcher Jorge Alfaro to have tested positive.
Urena was bumped from his start about 90 minutes before the first pitch, and the Marlins did not disclose the reason for the scratch. He was Miami’s opening day starter in 2018 and 2019.
While not confirming the reports, manager Don Mattingly said after the game that any player who tests positive for the coronavirus would stay in Philadelphia until they are negative for the virus.
“The guys that tested positive are quarantined here in Philly,” Mattingly said.
Cooper and Ramirez also were out of the lineup after playing in the first two games of the season-opening, threegame set against the Phillies. Again, the Marlins did not immediately say why the players were not in the lineup.
On Friday, Alfaro went on the injured list before Miami’s season opener at Philadelphia. The Marlins didn’t give a reason but said they expected Alfaro to return this season.
The Marlins, who did not make a roster move Sunday, stayed in Philadelphia instead of flying back to Miami after the game, and will fly back on Monday before their home opener against the Baltimore Orioles while the team awaits COVID-19 test results.
“We were more comfortable flying as a group later,” Mattingly said.
Mattingly said the Marlins never considered sitting out the game as health concerns rattled the clubhouse.
“We’re taking risks every day,” Mattingly said. “That’s what the players all around the league are doing. You travel all the time … it’s a risk that we take. We’re going to have to be adjustable, we’re going to have to be flexible, we’re going to have to be patient.”
The Atlanta Braves have been without their top two catchers, Tyler Flowers and Travis d’Arnaud, after both players showed symptoms of the coronavirus. The
Marlins played exhibition games at Atlanta last Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Marlins started right-hander Robert Dugger, a long reliever/spot starter, in their 11-6 series finale win over the Phillies behind strong outings from Miguel Rojas and Brian Anderson.
Anderson and Rojas each hit three-run homers as the Marlins overcame the late scratch of their starting pitcher and the looming health scare to beat the Phillies.
With the specter of the coronavirus hanging over the franchise, the Marlins refused to wilt and helped turn a steamy Sunday in front of another empty ballpark into a wild one and take two of three in Philly.
Yelling encouragement from the dugout all game, the Marlins rallied from 4-0 and 5-4 holes to rough up embattled Phillies starter Vince Velasquez and four relievers.
Bryce Harper’s first homer of the year, a three-run shot in the first, helped stake the Phillies to a 4-0 lead. The ball rattled around the right field seats where Harper again took a customary bow to open a game without a fan in sight.
Jesus Aguilar hit a solo shot off Velasquez in the second and Rojas followed with a three-run blast that tied it, 4-all. Velasquez, who picked off two runners, lasted only three innings.
Down, 5-4, in the fourth, the Marlins again rallied, sparked by Rojas’ RBI single against Cole Irvin and Magneuris Sierra’s go-ahead single against a drawn-in infield for a 6-5 lead.
Anderson hit his threerun homer in the fifth to make it, 9-5, and give the Marlins, who lost 105 games last season, a needed cushion.
Miami’s largely untested bullpen handled the rest.
The Marlins pitched out of bases-loaded jams in the fifth and sixth to preserve the lead. Jeff Brigham held the 9-5 lead in the fifth when he retired Jean Segura on a popup and Jay Bruce flied out to right.
Yimi Garcia, wearing No. 93 and in his second big league appearance, came on in relief in the sixth in a 10-6 game. He walked Harper to load the bases, then retired J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius to escape the jam.
Miami’s good vibes from taking the series were surely dampened by the potential health scare that could keep key players out of the lineup for an undetermined length.