Jose Fernandez appeared to be a little too excited in the first inning Thursday, his first outing for the Miami Marlins since May 9, 2014 and subsequent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. Hitting 99 mph on the radar gun, Fernandez allowed two runs to the San Francisco Giants in the first inning, falling behind in his long-anticipated comeback bid. Fernandez settled down from there on the mound, allowing only one run the rest of the way, and striking out six over six innings for the win. No walks, either. An unexpected highlight came in the fifth inning:

He stopped to watch it a little, though not as much as the last time he went deep. Fernandez came in a career .197 hitter, including a memorable home run against the Atlanta Braves during his NL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2013. He really stopped to watch that one, however with the Marlins and Braves in the middle of a "Play the Game The Right Way" snit, Fernandez's dinger in '13 preceded the benches clearing. 

He later apologized to the Braves, not that it was really necessary, but Fernandez seems like a square egg and he wanted his reputation to be clean, so here's to him. And here's to Fernandez for getting back to the majors after nearly 14 months because of elbow reconstruction.

Jose Fernandez
Jose Fernandez helped his own cause with a home run in his first start back. (USATSI)

It was a day of comebacks, not just for Fernandez, with Matt Cain of the Giants coming back from an elbow injury he sustained in spring training, along with a host of other injuries that limited him to 15 starts in 2014. Cain allowed five runs, seven hits and four walks over five innings against the Fish. Including, of course, the home run to Fernandez.

Left-hander Matt Moore of the Rays also was on the comeback trail, pitching into the fifth inning and allowing four runs and six hits in his first appearance in nearly 15 months. It was a success, just to get out and compete. Moore certainly will pitch better in the future.