Why Sandy Alcantara was taken out in midst of shutout as Marlins suffer painful loss – Marlins

MIAMI, FL — Sandy Alcantara took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with a 2–0 lead, aiming to become the fourth pitcher in Marlins franchise history to record back-to-back complete-game shutouts. After surrendering a double and a walk, manager Clayton McCullough made his most controversial move of the young season, removing his ace in favor of Anthony Bender.

Everything unraveled for Miami from there, as both inherited runners scored to tie the game at two. In extra innings, the Reds added four more runs to secure a 6–3 victory.

“(Anthony) Bender was the best person to win the game for us,” McCullough said. “Sandy had certainly gone above and beyond and threw great, but the decision didn’t work out. At that time, I thought the best way to win the game was going with Anthony.”

Alcantara, who has thrown 13 complete games—five of them shutouts—was coming off a complete-game shutout in his previous start. McCullough approached the mound in the ninth already set on making the change, with no discussion planned. After the game, Alcantara said he had not spoken with his manager.

“I deserved to be asked how I felt before I was taken out of the game,” Alcantara said. “I saw him coming out, and even before he crossed the line, he pointed to the bullpen. Negative thoughts crossed my mind, but those are things I can’t control. Tomorrow I’ll be here preparing for my next start and hoping things go differently.”

Through three starts, Alcantara has pitched into at least the seventh inning each time, but for him, it’s not about innings—it’s about pitch count.

“They are just innings, not pitches,” Alcantara said in Spanish.

He was at 95 pitches and set to face Sal Stewart for the fourth time, having struck him out in his previous at-bat. With runners on first and second and one out—and a 47.6% ground-ball rate—Alcantara had a strong chance to induce a game-ending double play. Still, McCullough opted not to let him face Stewart again.

“There are a lot of decisions over the course of a game and a season that weigh on you,” McCullough said. “For this one not to go our way certainly doesn’t feel great. Answering for it is part of the job, and I don’t feel good about how it finished. Losing the game is what stings the most.”

As McCullough walked to the mound, fans began to boo, voicing their frustration with the decision to pull the Marlins’ ace. He acknowledged the reaction afterward.

“We have passionate fans, and they care. They’re very invested in us winning games,” McCullough said. “They’re certainly within their right to be displeased when things don’t go our way.”

Overall, Alcantara finished the night going 8 ⅓ innings pitched, allowing two runs on three hits, two walks and struck out six. His fastball topped out at 99.5 mph, which he hit in the top of the first inning.

The changeup was once again his most dominant pitch, generating six whiffs and striking out four with it. His four-seam fastball, which he threw 17.1% of the time in 2025, was his most used pitch on Tuesday, and has been his second-most-used pitch overall. He struck out two with the four-seam and landed it nine out of ten times for a first pitch strike.

“I’ve been doing a great job,” Alcantara said. “Doing my work in the ‘pen, trying to locate my four-seam, and today was great. Threw a lot of four-seam today for strikes from both sides.”

Because of McCullough’s move, Dontrelle Willis remains the only Marlins pitcher to throw nine-inning shutouts in consecutive starts, which he did on April 8 and April 13, 2005.

On the offensive side, the Marlins did provide early run support for Alcantara, as both Otto Lopez and Heriberto Hernandez had RBI groundouts, taking a 2-0 lead. The next time Miami scored a run came in the bottom of the tenth inning, when Graham Pauley grounded into a fielders choice, scoring Jakob Marsee, the runner at third. Miami’s offense was 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, unable to provide a bigger cushion for their ace.

Marsee, who had gotten off to a slow start in 2026, finished with his first multi-hit performance of the season, highlighted by a 109.0 mph base hit, his hardest hit ball of the season. On the base paths, he also had four stolen bases, which tied a franchise record.

The Marlins dropped to 6-5 on the season, now searching for a series split against the Reds. Eury Pérez, who struggled in his last start against the New York Yankees, will take the mound for Miami on Wednesday at 6:40 pm.