MIAMI, FL—Coming off his best start of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sandy Alcantara found himself facing a much tougher lineup on Monday night. Alcantara was good overall against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and made some Marlins history in the process. He now has a 2.12 ERA through his last three starts combined. However, the Marlins fell to the visiting Phillies by a final score of 5-2.
On the second pitch of the game, shortstop Trea Turner took Alcantara deep to dead center, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning, Max Kepler hit his ninth home run of the season, which was also a solo shot.
On 100 pitches, Alcantara went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
During his previous two starts, his curveball usage was a lot higher—against the Pirates, for example, it was the most-used pitch in his arsenal. On Monday, that usage went down to 18%.
“My curve today wasn’t great,” Alcantara said. “I continued to throw it. Every time I threw one, it just bounced in front of the plate. I like to throw my curve. I like to repeat it, but after my curve, I got more pitches that I have to throw and everything was good.”
Phillies hitters fouled off 25 of Alcantara’s 100 pitches. He uncharacteristically posted a 47.6% first-pitch strike rate and only induced only three groundouts.
“Couple mistakes,” said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. “Good swing by Turner and then Kepler had a good at-bat on the home run. Other than that, It was still one walk. He was filling it up and I think—credit to them—they just hung in during those at-bats and fouled some off. I think it was another solid start from Sandy as far as the stuff.”
Alcantara now has 834 strikeouts during his Marlins career, surpassing Josh Johnson (829), who pitched for the Fish from 2005-2012. Only Ricky Nolasco (1,001) remains ahead of him on the franchise’s all-time strikeout list.
“I feel very grateful and thankful to this organization for the opportunity that they give me in 2018 when I came here for the first time,” said Alcantara following the game. “Putting my name second place for most strikeouts makes me feel great…Everything I do, I do for the team.”
Where Alcantara still wants to improve is going deeper into games, noting in Spanish that he would like to throw 110-120 pitches in a game. He has maxed out at 107 pitches so far this season.
The Marlins offense struggled, only scoring two runs on five hits. In the bottom of the second inning, a slumping Connor Norby drove in Kyle Stowers on an RBI single, tying the game at one apiece. When trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, AgustÃn RamÃrez drove Xavier Edwards in via a sac fly, making it a 3-2 game.
Phillies starter Mick Abel held the Marlins to just one run on three hits, one walk and three strikeouts through five innings. Their bullpen only surrendered two hits, which came off Matt Strahm in the eighth.
“First time seeing him,” said McCullough of Abel. “It’s a quick arm. Velo is good and plays to the top of the strike zone. The quality breaking pitches play down below. Get some of the north-south action there. I thought we stressed him there in the third inning or so and put together some good at-bats, but I think he’s a good arm. He did enough to just hold us at bay there.”
In the bottom of the second inning, Marlins outfielder Dane Myers was hit by a pitch, resulting in him coming out of the game due to left elbow discomfort. Clayton McCullough told the media postgame that they are waiting for the swelling to calm down before they undergo any testing. More information should be provided within the next day or so.
With the loss, the Marlins drop to 28-42 on the season. Cal Quantrill will take the mound for the Marlins on Tuesday as former Fish and Florida native Jesús Luzardo will start for the Phillies. With the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup game happening in Sunrise at 8:00 pm, the Marlins have moved first pitch up to 6:10 pm, helping fans of both teams avoid as much conflict as possible.