The verdict on Alex Fernandez came quickly. Deliberations took only two innings and 29 pitches.
“I couldn’t get over how good he was,” Florida Marlins manager John Boles said. “It’s official: He’s back.”
Fernandez, returning from shoulder surgery, pitched two scoreless innings Friday to help Florida beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 8-1 in Melbourne, Fla. The game was his first since October 1997, when the former White Sox was sidelined by a torn rotator cuff.
“Awesome,” Fernandez said. “I felt really good. I was able to locate my pitches.”
Fernandez is slated to start the Marlins’ opener April 5 against the New York Mets.
“The way I’m going,” he said, “there’s no reason I shouldn’t be ready.”
The news was not so good for Mark Wohlers. The Atlanta reliever faced eight batters in the third inning of a 7-4 loss to Houston in Kissimmee, Fla., allowing four earned runs, three hits and two walks with a wild pitch.
