Sports Update Monday: Weekly Round-Up Featuring Heat, Marlins & ‘Canes
On this week’s Sports Update Monday, I will be giving you a weekly sports round-up. I will spotlight the major stories or events that happened last week in South Florida sports.
Entering Sunday’s set of games, the Heat was the only team in complete control of its first-round series. In truth, the playoffs haven’t even started for the Heat. Its first-round series was over the second Bobcats center Al Jefferson injured his foot. Down 3-0 and with just one day to rest between Games 3 and 4, Jefferson might not even play tonight, and if he does, he will once again be limited. Like everyone else associated with the Heat, owner Mickey Arison has felt more like a bystander in these first games of the 2014 playoffs than an active participant. While 15 other teams scratch and claw, the Heat has coasted through the first round and can now sweep the Bobcats with a victory tonight at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Marlins Still Looking For First Road Series Victory
The Marlins are heading back home still searching for their first series victory of the season on the road. Mets pitcher Dillon Gee made sure of that. A day after the Marlins rallied from a 5-1 deficit to win only their second road game of the season, the right-hander shut their bats down Sunday afternoon, tossing eight scoreless innings in a 4-0 Mets victory at Citi Field. Sunday’s loss marked only the second time this season the Marlins have been shut out. They were blanked an MLB-high 18 times last season.
The Hurricanes just jumped five spots from No. 15 to No. 10 in the Baseball America rankings — and seven spots from No. 11 to No. 4 in Collegiate Baseball. Unless something very, very strange happens in May, the Canes should host another NCAA regional at Mark Light Field (inside Alex Rodriguez Park). This team is really fun to watch — top to bottom. Freshman catcher Zack Collins, who started the season abysmally, now leads the active UM players with a .306 average, .563 slugging percentage, seven home runs and 39 RBI. He has a .414 on-base percentage. Fellow freshman outfielder Willie Abreu, another phenom, is hitting .302 with a .408 on-base percentage. The Hurricanes are 19-1 in their past 20 games and extended the nation’s longest road winning streak to 12 consecutive games.