PHILADELPHIA -- Marlins reliever Anthony Veneziano has had this weekend circled on his calendar since before he even reported to Spring Training.
Like, way before.
"Oh man, going back to the holidays this winter, my family was all over it: 'Oh, you're coming to Philly in April,'" said Veneziano, who grew up approximately 90 minutes from Citizens Bank Park in Hackettstown, N.J. "So I've known this was on the schedule way before the season."
The fact that the Marlins' first trip to Philadelphia this season fell on Easter weekend only makes it all the more special for the family-oriented reliever. Following Saturday's game, Veneziano won't be taking the team bus back to the hotel.
Instead, he will head to the small town of Magnolia, N.J., where his grandmother -- her name is Vilma, ¡°But she's my ¡®Nonna,¡¯¡± the left-hander says -- will host the family for a holiday dinner.
"Being here on Easter weekend is really cool," Veneziano said. "I get to share it with my family for the first time in probably 10 years at least, so I've been looking forward to it."
The home-cooked Italian meal that awaits is only an added bonus.
"I don't even know what's on the menu yet," he said. "But I know it'll be good."
Veneziano is also making the most of the three-game trip on the field.
Following Sandy Alcantara's abbreviated start in Friday's series opener, Veneziano was called upon for 2 1/3 innings -- the longest outing of his young big league career. He did so in front of a large contingent of family members and friends, many of whom were seated along the first-base line -- and they didn't take long to make themselves known.
"My very first batter, I get [Kyle] Schwarber to hit a grounder to first," Veneziano said. "So I was basically running right toward where a bunch of my buddies were sitting to get over there to cover for that first out."
Veneziano returned to the field after the game to share a moment with his personal fan club, with members ranging from childhood friends to family members to his high-school basketball coach, Stan Kubbishun, whom he hadn¡¯t seen in years.
But there were also supporters in attendance who were completely unbeknownst to Veneziano.
"The crazy thing was I had a bunch of texts from people I didn't even know were coming and people sending videos from their seats of me getting Bryce Harper out," said Veneziano, who struck out Harper with a 93 mph fastball on the outer half in the fifth. "So, that was really cool."
It¡¯s not lost on first-year manager Clayton McCullough -- who had his own son, Kyle, with him in the dugout prior to Saturday¡¯s game -- what those moments mean to players throughout the grind of Spring Training and a 162-game regular season.
"You take for granted, sometimes, the amount of people it takes for any of us to get to this point, and the amount of sacrifices that your loved ones make -- whether that's just getting you to this point or once you¡¯re here all the time [you¡¯re] away,¡± McCullough said. ¡°So when you have the chance to be in front of friends and family, I know it gives guys an extra little boost."
Veneziano also gave the Marlins a much-needed boost.
Miami¡¯s bullpen entered Sunday having logged 80 innings this season, second-most in the Majors. So when Alcantara lasted just two innings one night after starter Edward Cabrera pitched four frames, Veneziano was called on for 53 pitches -- easily surpassing his previous season high of 20.
"What V was able to do for us last night -- we asked a lot of him,¡± McCullough said. ¡°So it was cool that he got to do it and perform really well in front of his family, but it¡¯s also important for us. That was some 'show' stuff to be able to go do that. He's a big part of what we have going on here."
For Veneziano, there is no bigger part of his own journey than the loved ones he was able to reconnect with these past couple days.
¡°This weekend has meant so much. It's meant a lot to my family and to my community back home,¡± Veneziano said. ¡°It feels like the whole town is pulling for me, which is really cool. Whenever I go back home in the offseason, I try to be a part of the community and help the younger kids, help the baseball community.
¡°I just always try to give back whatever I can to my family and the whole community, really, because of all they gave me.¡±