MIAMI — San Francisco Giants rookie left-hander Andrew Suarez will celebrate a homecoming on Wednesday night when he faces the Miami Marlins for the first time.

Suarez Clark Harris Jersey , who was a local star at Columbus High as well as the University of Miami, said he will try to approach the game as a business trip.

“I will probably cherish the moment while I’m warming up,” Suarez told the Sun-Sentinel. “But once I step on the mound, it’s game time.”

The 25-year-old is 2-4 with a 5.06 ERA in nine starts this season. His slider eats up lefty batters, holding them to a .208 batting average with one homer and a .562 OPS. Righty batters are hitting .303 with seven homers and an .870 OPS, however.

Suarez was the Giants’ second-round pick in 2015. He started this season as the Giants’ No. 10 prospect overall and No. 2 among lefties. Some scouts had projected him as a two-pitch reliever with his fastball-slider mix. But, largely due to injuries to Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, Suarez is getting his shot in the rotation.

So far, the Giants are 3-6 when Suarez starts, but they have won two in a row with him on the mound.

Suarez has two quality starts this year — both of them at home. In five road starts this year, Suarez is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA.

The Marlins will counter Suarez with another rookie left-hander, Caleb Smith (5-6, 3.70 ERA), who made his major league debut last year on July 17 with the New York Yankees.

This will be the 16th major league start for Smith, 26, who leads National League rookies with 79 strikeouts. In his 13 starts this season, he is averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings, which is improved from his 8.7 stat line of 2017. His walk rate of 4.1 is high but yet improved from his 4.8 figure of last year.

But perhaps the biggest improvement for Smith has been cutting his hits per nine innings from 10.1 to 6.6.

The Marlins are 6-7 when they hand the ball to Smith, who has four quality starts this season. In addition, the Marlins have won three of the past four Smith starts. Smith has pitched well at Marlins Park, going 2-2 with a 2.90 ERA in six starts. That compares well to his 3-4 Jessie Bates III Jersey , 4.41 mark on the road.

Over his past seven starts, Smith — who has never faced the Giants — is 4-3 with a 3.16 ERA.

Neither Suarez (92.1 mph) or Smith (92.7 mph) is overpowering in terms of their average velocity. But Suarez, with plus control and a plus slider, distinguished himself in the minors, going 10-10 with a 3.21 ERA last year between Double A and Triple A.

That success helped earn him a shot at the majors, and now he gets to pitch in front of his home crowd.

“Being able to pitch against the Marlins should be fun,” Suarez said. “I’ve been watching the Marlins since I was little.”

Suarez will be trying to stop the Giants’ two-game losing streak. Miami has won the first two games of this series, including Tuesday’s 3-1 victory in which four Marlins pitchers held the Giants to three hits.

Marlins shortstop JT Riddle had the go-ahead hit, a two-run double, and second baseman Starlin Castro went 2-for-4 with one RBI.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, who entered this series red hot, has gone 0-for-6 with two RBIs in the two games. He is still hitting an impressive .329.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady missed practice with a right hand injury a day after being limited by the same issue as New England prepared for its AFC championship game matchup with Jacksonville.

Brady was present and wore a glove on the injured hand during the stretching portion of practice open to reporters. But he was listed as a non-participant on the injury report. He usually only wears a glove on his non-throwing hand.

His scheduled news conference was also postponed until Friday.

Brady appeared on the Patriots’ weekly injury report several times during the latter half of the regular season with both an Achilles tendon and left shoulder injury. But the 40-year-old has never missed a playoff start during his 18-year career. He hasn’t missed any start because of an injury since he sat out the final 15 games of the 2008 season with a knee injury.

GYMNASTICS

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – U.S. Olympian McKayla Maroney said being sexually assaulted by a Michigan sports doctor who molested her and other gymnasts scarred her mind in ways that may never heal.

Dr. Larry Nassar won’t be sentenced until next week to accommodate the many victims who want to speak. Since Tuesday, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina has listened to more than 60 who were molested after seeking his help for injuries, including a statement from Maroney that was read by a prosecutor.

”Dr. Nassar was not a doctor,” said the 2012 Olympic gold and silver medalist. ”He left scars on my psyche that may never go away.”

USA Gymnastics in 2016 reached a financial settlement with Maroney that barred her from making disparaging remarks. But the organization this week said it would not seek any money for her ”brave statements.”

As the hearing was happening, USA Gymnastics announced that it was ending its long relationship with the Karolyi Ranch, the Huntsville, Texas, home of former national team coordinator Martha Karolyi and her husband, Bela. The announcement came three days after Olympic champion Simone Biles expressed dismay at having to attend camps there, where she says Nassar sexually abused her.

BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) – The players’ association rejected Major League Baseball’s proposal to institute 20-second pitch clocks and limits on mound visits Alex Erickson Jersey , a move that dares management to unilaterally impose the changes designed to speed pace of games.

Union head Tony Clark and deputy general counsel Matt Nussbaum informed MLB of the decision during a telephone call to deputy commissioner Dan Halem, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no statements were authorized.

Management has the right to implement the rules changes it proposed last year. Under baseball’s labor contract, management can change on-field rules on its own with one season of advance notice.

MLB does not intend to make any decision before its next owners’ meetings, scheduled for Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 in Beverly Hills, California. Spring training games start Feb. 23 and the season opens March 29.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield says one of his top priorities as he prepares for the NFL draft is to allay concerns about his character.

”People will have their guesses and their opinions on my character, but anyone that’s actually sat down and talked to me knows that I don’t have any character issues, any off-the-field issues,” Mayfield said during a conference call after being selected the 2017 Manning Award winner.

Mayfield, who passed for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns, is the first Sooner and first former walk-on to win the Manning Award, which is given to the nation’s top college quarterback. It is the only award to consider postseason performances in voting by a national media panel as well as Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.

Mayfield also won the Heisman Trophy this season. And after racking up prestigious accolades for his performances during live snaps, Mayfield said he’s eager to meet with NFL coaches and front-office personnel and explain why some of his antics after the whistle and his behavior off the field won’t be an issue going forward.

AUTO RACING

The original ”GoDaddy Girl” is back with sponsorship intact to push forward with her ”Danica Double.”

Danica Patrick has secured the money needed to race in both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. Now she just needs to find the rides to get her back on racing’s two biggest stages. GoDaddy reunited with Patrick on Thursday for the final two races of her career, even though she still has to close deals with teams to make it happen.

She’s not worried about pulling it off, either.

”Power of positive thinking,” she told The Associated Press from Scottsdale, Arizona.

Patrick announced in November she would end her driving career at Daytona and Indy, but still doesn’t have rides. Yet Patrick always figures a way to get what she wants. When talks ended with Chip Ganassi Racing about seats for both races, Patrick said, she called former GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons late last month and asked about a reunion.

SOCCER

The Washington Spirit selected midfielder Andi Sullivan out of Stanford with the first pick in the National Women’s Soccer League draft. Draft day also featured a high-profile three-team trade involving U.S. national team star Carli Lloyd.

A person familiar with the deal said Sky Blue FC acquired Lloyd in a trade that sent Christen Press to the Houston Dash and Australian Sam Kerr to the Chicago Red Stars. The person s