Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto is in the starting lineup for the second straight day, batting seventh in his team's game against the Mets.
Realmuto drew his first start of the season Wednesday and responded by going 2 for 3 with a double, a walk and two runs scored. He's getting rewarded with another start Thursday, so Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be available off the bench for a second straight game.
"There’s no doubt Salty’s been grinding, the idea is to give him a couple of days just to kind of regroup and we’ll go from there," manager Mike Redmond said, per the Palm Beach Post. "J.T. is a guy that has played a lot in the minor leagues. With young guys you want to be careful not to sit them on the bench for an extended period of time. So we’ll try to get him in there as much as we can. We’ll see how we go from there."
The Marlins are slight underdogs (-102) against the Mets Thursday.