JUPITER, Fla. — Marlins southpaws Tanner Scott and Andrew Nardi made one of the more formidable late-inning duos in the Majors last season, but their spring debuts came much earlier in Wednesday’s 6-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Astros at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
The pair combined for four outs, serving as a reminder that Spring Training is meant to prepare for the regular season by building back up and trying out new things.
Scott allowed back-to-back singles off soft contact to open the third before a sun-aided RBI double. After a walk, a sacrifice fly and a strikeout, his 20-pitch outing was done.
Scott, who tied with Orioles closer Félix Bautista for the highest fWAR among MLB relievers in 2023, wants to be better in ’24. A slider/four-seam pitcher, he threw an 0-2 changeup to leadoff batter Dixon Machado. It’s a pitch that was part of Scott’s repertoire when he was selected by the Orioles in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
“Give hitters a worse chance,” as he put it.
