Marlins' Mattingly calls for September roster reform after bizarre record

In Saturday's game between the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies, the teams combined to use 15 different pitchers.

None of the 15 made a single plate appearance, setting a new record for the "Modern Era" (since 1900) in a game that didn't include a designated hitter, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly blames September's expanded rosters and says it alters the game too much for his liking.

"What we did today and really what they ended up doing, too, is something that really only happens in September and, quite honestly, shouldn’t be able to happen," Mattingly said after the game. "It’s too many guys. It’s not really regular baseball."

Prior to September, teams cannot exceed 25 players at the major-league level. Afterward, they can expand rosters to 40 players. The Marlins have 34 and the Phillies have 39.

Despite a modest 5-4 score, no hurler pitched more than two full innings.

"I think it’s more that the game you play for five months is not the same game you play in September," Mattingly said.

The Marlins skipper did offer a solution, however. He believes the MLB should cap rosters at 25 in September and allow a "taxi squad" between three and five players who can be moved on and off the roster from one day to another. This way, the final month would feature "a normal, regular-style game."