■ Former Marlin Ozuna enjoys Florida return to see family,

Former Marlin visits with his dad, meets with ex-teammates.

TODAY’S GAME

Cardinals at Marlins, 7 p.m., FSN, 1230-AM

MIAMI — A few hours before the first pitch, a man in a Marcell Ozuna jersey wandered into the Marlins’ dugout Monday afternoon.

“There he is!” shouted former Marlins’ teammate Derek Dietrich playfully.

But as Dietrich knew, it wasn’t Ozuna, whom the Marlins affectionately nicknamed “Big Bear” visiting his old stomping grounds.

It was the Big Bear’s own “Papa.”

Ozuna’s father, Marcelino, flew in a day earlier from the Dominican Republic to see his son play his first game in Miami since joining the St. Louis Cardinals.

Later Monday, Ozuna went 3 for 4 but the Cards fell to the Marlins 2-1 behind lefthander Wei-Yin Chen, whose start was pushed back so he could start at home where his ERA fell to 1.94.

Talking to reporters before the game, Ozuna joked that his father “got a little confused,” walking into the Marlins dugout.

“It’s great. Family is everything to me,” the younger Ozuna said. “The first thing he said to me was I want to see you play.”

Ozuna first signed with the Marlins in 2008, and went on to become a two-time All-Star outfielder, putting up career numbers during his final season in Miami last year when he hit .312 with 37 home runs and 124 RBI.

Ozuna, 27, has had a tougher go-around this season in his first year in St. Louis. He entered Monday’s game hitting .265 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs in 423 at-bats (108 games).

Ozuna, who was traded by the Marlins to the Cardinals in December as one of the major moves in Miami’s roster overhaul under its new ownership, caught up with several of his teammates and coaches on the field.

“I saw a lot of my teammates and they said they miss me,” Ozuna said. “I miss them, too. It’s emotional. We had good times and some difficult times.”

One of the most difficult times for Ozuna was losing his teammate and good friend Jose Fernandez, who was killed in a boating accident in September 2016.

“All the time I think of Jose,” Ozuna said. “On his birthday the other day I thought about all the good times I spent with him. I hope God has him in that beautiful place and allows me to feel his presence always.”

Alcantara sent down: The Marlins reinstated pitcher Sandy Alcantara on Monday and optioned him to Triple A New Orleans.

Alcantara landed on the disabled list July 4 with a right axillary (armpit) infection and has not pitched since he made his Marlins’ debut on June 29.

Alcantara, 22, pitched three rehab outings in Jupiter and allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits, five walks and one hit batter while striking out eight for a 3.97 ERA.

“I don’t think anybody was happy with (his) fastball command and what they’ve seen out of him in three outings he’s had,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We just felt like we want him to have that progression to keep going and let him get in rhythm.”

Alcantara threw 84 pitches in his most recent outing and touched 95 mph on his four-seam fastball, which is lower than the 97-98 mph he’s thrown in the minors earlier this season.