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Jose Fernandez returns from Tommy John surgery, hits homer, wins at life

The afternoon dubbed #JoseDay didn't start out as the Miami Marlins hoped, but by the end of it, Jose Fernandez had his first MLB win in more than a year, six strikeouts and he managed to hit a baseball over the fence.

So, #JoseDay, as it turned out, was pretty excellent.

Fernandez, the 22-year-old Marlins ace, made his return from Tommy John surgery on Thursday, but let's just skip the pitching stuff for now and focus on the video above. Yep, that's Fernandez going yard off San Francisco Giants starter Matt Cain. The bar for pitcher's hitting has gotten higher recently, but Fernandez homering in his first game back should at least be bulletin board material for division rival Max Scherzer.

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The homer by Fernandez was part of a four-run fifth inning by the Marlins and that's what eventually — just as much as his pitching — contributed to the Marlins' 5-4 win over the Giants.

(AP)
(AP)

Things actually starting rocky for Fernandez, who allowed two hits to start the game and left the first inning trailing 2-0. Fernandez gained more control as the game went on, but wasn't the menacing ace that we'd seen before his surgery. He showed flashes though, like when he K'd Matt Duffy in the first on a 99 mph fastball or when he whiffed Justin Maxwell and Gregor Blanco with his curve.

He finished the game after six innings, throwing 89 pitches and allowing seven hits and three runs.

You don't come back from Tommy John and dominate right away. Matt Harvey might have, but he was close to 18 months removed from surgery, while Fernandez is pitching in the big leagues 13 1/2 months after surgery.

Credit to Fernandez, even though he wasn't at his absolute best on the mound, he figured out a way to make #JoseDay a home run.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!