When the ninth inning began Tuesday night, the Marlins were tied with the Braves.
Nine runs later, with the Braves still batting, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough decided to put third baseman Javier Sanoja on the mound.
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Josh Simpson’s nightmare was over. The left-handed reliever, who had come in for Tyler Zuber, faced eight batters in the inning before Sanoja replaced him.
Simpson surrendered five hits and two walks, and registered one out, allowing seven runs in the 11-2 Marlins loss at loanDepot park.
“It’s tough. You’re feeling for him,” McCullough said. “It’s tough to come into a spot and not be able to get the job done there and for things to turn the way they did. They started rolling downhill and couldn’t really get it to stop. Unfortunate for us how that got away from us there in the ninth inning.”
Two of the nine runs were credited to Zuber, who started the ninth and allowed a leadoff double and a walk, prompting McCullough to bring in Simpson. Perhaps a reason he stuck with Simpson so long before turning to Sanoja: McCullough said Ronny Henriquez, while healthy, was not available in the bullpen Tuesday.
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Tuesday’s game ended poorly for the Marlins, who missed a chance to surpass last season’s win total and secure their first series win since sweeping the Yankees in early August, but it did feature a strong outing from starter Sandy Alcantara.
The right-hander went seven innings, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out seven.
Aug 26, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
“He was terrific,” McCullough said. “That’s three [starts] in a row we’ve seen the stuff match the execution, and his ability to get some miss, get ahead, pitch us again deep into the game, which is what I think, we expect from whenever Sandy takes the ball. …He looks like he’s rounded into form in so many ways.”
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“Everything feels different after you’ve been realizing that you’ve been having great results the last three outings,” Alcantara said. “It makes you feel great and happy. I used to be very angry and mad at myself because I don’t have the results I was looking for. But now I feel more relaxed, more chill. But at the same time, I’ve got to go out there and do my best like always.”
Alcantara escaped trouble early Tuesday.
The Braves loaded the bases with one out in the first inning but got only one run on Marcell Ozuna’s RBI groundout.
In the bottom of the frame, Xavier Edwards singled to center, advanced to second on a pickoff error and scored on Jakob Marsee’s single to tie the score 1-1.
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Alcantara settled down and retired the Braves in order in the second and third innings.
In the fourth, Ozzie Albies homered into the upper deck in right field for a 2-1 Braves lead. He launched a 99-mph fastball 394 feet after fouling off six consecutive pitches from Alcantara.
The Marlins loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning but came away with no runs. Derek Hill hit into a fielder’s choice force out at home. Javier Sanoja then flied out to right field, too shallow for Liam Hicks to tag from third. And Xavier Edwards flied out to center to end the inning.
“Our inability to cash in and swing the game in our favor was a big moment,” McCullough said of the fourth. “And we had some other chances.”
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The Marlins were able to knot the score at 2 in the seventh on a wild pitch from Braves reliever Dylan Lee with Agustín Ramírez at the plate. As catcher Sean Murphy looked around for the ball, speedy Javier Sanoja slid home safely for the tying run.
“To get two runs, we just weren’t able to come through and break open the opportunities that we had created for ourselves,” McCullough said.
Marsee became the third MLB player since 2000 to record at least 29 hits and 24 RBI in his first 25 career games, joining the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez in 2019 and the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols in 2001.
Alcantara became the fifth active Dominican-born pitcher to reach 900 strikeouts in his MLB career.