Marlins not counting out Marte despite broken hand
The Marlins original lineup for Game 2 had Magneuris Sierra starting in center field, but manager Don Mattingly said he expected to have Starling Marte available in some capacity.
Marte was hit on the left hand by a Dan Winkler pitch in the ninth inning of Game 1. He was later diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of his fifth metacarpal, the bone that leads into the pinkie finger. The team said he was being fitted for a protective brace.
"We're looking at it as something that there is a possibility of him getting back fairly quickly," Mattingly said Thursday before Game 2 was postponed. "So we'll just kind of play that by ear. They'll keep treating him today."
Marte was traded to Miami from Arizona on Aug. 31 and batted .245 in 28 games for the Marlins. Marte has eight games of playoff experience from his days with the Pirates, including the 2015 loss to the Cubs in the Wild Card Game.
Mattingly said Marte had been hit in the hand three times since joining the team and talked about why it keeps happening.
"He is a guy they try to pitch in," Mattingly said. "You can see they try to get in there pretty good on him. Today's game, a lot of guys kind of lead with the hands and that's a change we've seen over the last number of years and it does expose the hands. That style and that approach with how guys are doing it now puts them at a little bit of a risk.
"Guys are throwing hard, it's hard to get out of the way, a lot of run from those righties that are trying to get velo (velocity). The ball will run in there and that thing chases you, if your hands are in that position, it's hard to get out of the way."