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Things got frightening for Marlins pitcher Ryan Weathers shortly before Saturday’s game.
Just moments before the first inning of Saturday’s 11-10 win over the Rays, Miami catcher Nick Fortes struck Weathers in the head with his throw down to second base.
Weathers, 25, immediately dropped to the ground, with Fortes, 28, looking mortified from behind the plate.
Medical staff attended to Weathers as he stayed on the ground, causing a brief pause in the game ahead of first pitch.
After a moment, the lefty seemingly shook off the blow, standing up and walking around the infield.
Weathers ultimately stayed in, tossing three innings while giving up three earned runs with a walk and a strikeout.
Fortes went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Prior to Saturday’s outing, Weathers had pitched to a 2.49 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 21 ⅔ innings through four starts, proving to be a reliable arm so far in an otherwise spotty Marlins starting rotation.
Former Cy Young award winner and Miami ace Sandy Alcantara has had an abysmal start to the 2025 season, holding a 7.89 ERA while giving up a league-high 50 earned runs through 12 starts.
Despite Alcantara’s early struggles, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough has refused to give up on the two-time All-Star, saying that a comeback is imminent for the righty during a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.
“I’m going to keep saying with Sandy, it’s coming,” McCullough said. “The lack of success right now, at this point, is just kind of attributed to just like the command of the ball and just not throwing and executing as well as he was pre-injury, which is natural and normal for I think everyone who goes through this.
“It’s a time thing. It’s going to come. I think it’s his command and location of pitches is going to be probably the last thing to come. But it’s coming.”
