James Hoyt Dealt To Marlins

     Pitcher James Hoyt was traded to the Miami Marlins from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations. He pitched in eight games with the Indians and had a 2.16 earned-run-average. 

     Hoyt was with the Houston Astros from 2016 to 2018. He helped that club win their first World Series title in franchise history back in 2017. 

Islanders Defeat Panthers In Game 1

     The Florida Panthers lost to the New York Islanders 2-1 on Saturday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Qualifier Series at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Islanders lead the best-of-five series 1-0.  It was a playoff rematch between both clubs who met each other in the 2016 Eastern Conference first round. 

     The Panthers were outshot by the Islanders 8-1 in the first 11 minutes of the game. New York scored first at the eight-minute mark of the opening period. Riley Stillman turned over the puck in the left corner when he got bumped off by Tom Kuhnhackl. Former Panther Derick Brassard sent a cross-ice pass through the crease and Jean-Gabriel Pageau tapped in a forehand shot from the top of the crease past Sergei Bobrovsky.

     In the second period, New York converted on a power-play goal at 3:39. Josh Bailey reversed the puck back from the left wing. Devon Toews angled a pass from the top of the zone and Anthony Beauvillier blasted a one-time slap shot from the top right circle. 

     Florida struck 23 seconds into the third period and the cut the deficit to 2-1. Jonathan Huberdeau gave a back-and-forth pass with MacKenzie Weegar on the left side in the Islanders zone. Huberdeau skated through the low left circle into the crease and slipped a backhand shot by Semyon Varlamov. Aleksander Barkov was also credited with an assist on the play. 

Marlins Games Rescheduled Against Orioles

     Four games involving the Miami Marlins and Baltimore Orioles have been rescheduled. They will take play in Baltimore from August 4 through August 6. Miami will be designated as the home team for two games.

     Two of the games will be a doubleheader. Both of those contests will go just seven innings each based on the Major League Baseball new rule during the 2020 season.

     The Marlins and Orioles were scheduled to play a four-game, home-and-home series from July 27 until July 30. All games were postponed because Miami personnel came up with positive tests from the coronavirus. 

Heat Top Nuggets As Regular Season Returns

     The Miami Heat restarted the 2019-20 regular season with a 125-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets at HP Field House in Lake Buena Vista on Saturday. Miami will play seven more games outside of Orlando prior to the NBA playoffs to complete the regular season. They entered the contest fourth in the Eastern Conference. 

     It is the first time that the Heat played a regular season game since March 11 against the Charlotte Hornets in Miami. The NBA suspended the season due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

     Miami(42-24) moved out to a 28-26 lead after one quarter. Denver(43-23) got on a 12-4 spurt near the end of the first half and led 57-56 at halftime. The third quarter belonged to the Heat as they outscored the Nuggets by 16 points in the frame to go up 94-79. Miami made it a 22-point margin 117-95 with 4:14 left in the final quarter. 

     Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler both had a team-high 22 points each for the club.  Adebayo fell short of a double-double with game-high nine rebounds. Kelly Olynyk had several three-point shot in the fourth quarter and ended with 20 points. Duncan Robinson dropped in 17 points while Goran Dragic came off the bench with 13. Nikola Jokic and Jerami Grant both had 19 points each for Denver. 

Isan Diaz Opts Out From 2020 Season

     Miami Marlins shortstop Isan Diaz has opted out from playing with the team for the rest of the 2020 season. The Marlins currently have 18 players that have tested positive for the coronavirus and Diaz was not one of them. 

     Diaz was called up to the majors last year by the Marlins as he compiled five home runs and 23 runs batted in during 49 contests. He played in two of the three games that the Fish played this season. 

Marlins Acquire Richard Bleier

     The Miami Marlins have acquired left-handed pitcher Richard Bleier from the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later. Bleier is a local native from Davie. 

     He has played with the Orioles for the past four seasons. Bleier has mainly been used as a middle reliever with that club in 143 games and an 8-1 record. 

Fernando Rodney Signs With Astros

     Former Miami Marlins relief pitcher Fernando Rodney has signed a contract with the Houston Astros. He is expected to play for them very soon in the regular season. 

     Rodney was with the Marlins during the 2016 season and compiled a 2-3 record with eight saves in 39 games pitched. He has played with 11 different clubs during his 17-year MLB career.