March 3, 2026

Israel Swims Past Marlins in 1-0 Exhibition Victory

In a slim 1-0 triumph over the Miami Marlins, Justin Alintoff was the mensch off the bullpen bench.

With the tying and winning runs on first and second, Alintoff entered the bottom of the fourth with no outs and a mere 1-0 lead over the Miami Marlins. Settling right away into the pre-World Baseball Classic exhibition, the righty twirled eight strikes on just 10 pitches to stunt the Fish to a lineout, strikeout, and groundout to get Israel out of the jam.

From that point forward, the Blue and White never looked back and kept the short lead for the remainder of the game.

Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium was overall quiet for the first three innings, as Israel starter Robert Stock limited the Marlins to just one hit in his first round through the lineup. Miami pitchers Braxton Garrett and Pete Fairbanks also kept pace, giving up only one walk and no hits in that time.

Israel finally cracked the scoreboard in the fourth. After a single and wild pickoff brought a runner to second, catcher Garrett Stubbs drilled a towering line drive off the right field wall to score the winning run. The ball ricocheted off the wall, empowering the second-time WBC participant to accelerate into a triple.

Stock then got into trouble in the bottom of the inning, leading to Alintoff’s relief heroics.

From there, the Marlins mustered little offense against Sabra pitching. In the bottom of the sixth, a leadoff walk evolved into a stolen base by pinch runner Esmil Rogers. But the newly-inserted speedster then got greedy, and was shortly caught stealing third just several pitches later.

Another scant chance came in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, Cristian Hernandez managed to walk and steal second base. But third baseman Jake Geloff snared a sharp line drive to end the threat.

Israel was also unable to add to the score, with their closest opportunity also coming in the eighth. After a throwing error by the third baseman and a walk brought runners onto first and second, Israel was limited to a popout, strikeout, and lineout to strand the runners.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Marlins managed to advance the leadoff hitter to second after a single and stolen base. But reliever Daniel Federman then fully settled in, striking out each of the remaining three hitters to seal the Israeli victory.

The Blue and White return to action tomorrow, traveling to Port St. Lucie to take on the New York Mets at 1:10 pm EST in their final tuneup before the World Baseball Classic.

By Israel Baseball News Staff, Chase Levitt