MIAMI—In a marquee matchup between two former Cy Young Award winners, Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara came out on top, delivering his fifth quality start in his last six outings as Miami earned its third straight win, defeating the Detroit Tigers 8-2.
Alcantara was opposed by reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who entered Friday’s contest amid a dominant campaign—improving on his award-winning 2024 season in virtually every category. The left-hander began the night with an AL-best 2.10 ERA and 6.5 bWAR across 28 starts and 180 innings, and a .195 opponent batting average. His 222 strikeouts were just six shy of his career-high.
Miami’s offense, however, struck early against Skubal. Catcher Agustín Ramírez opened the scoring in the first with a solo homer to left, his 20th of the season, making him the first Marlins rookie to reach that mark since Justin Bour in 2015. Fellow rookie Heriberto Hernández added to the lead with an opposite-field shot in the second, his eighth.
Alcantara breezed through a potent Tigers lineup fresh off a series win over the Yankees in which they had outscored New York 26-12. The lone blemish came in the fourth inning, when All-Star Riley Greene launched his 34th homer of the year—a 39-degree moonshot off a curveball.
“I think it was the right pitch, but I just missed my location a little bit,” Alcantara said. “He’s a power hitter, but I don’t know how he got that ball out of the field.”
Detroit’s bigger concern arrived later that inning. With less than a month until the postseason, the AL Central leaders watched their ace exit with left side tightness, forcing him from the game after just 3 ⅓ innings—his shortest outing since September 2021. He will undergo imaging Saturday.
Earlier, shortstop Javier Báez also left after fouling a ball off his face.
The Marlins capitalized quickly, as Javier Sanoja delivered a two-out, two-run double in the fourth to extend the lead to 5-1.
“It feels good when the offense gives you run support,” Alcantara said. “My teammates did a great job—making plays behind me and putting up runs.”
Alcantara went on to post what manager Clayton McCullough called his “most complete” start of the season, tossing seven innings of four-hit ball with eight strikeouts, two earned runs, no walks, and 72 strikes on 96 pitches.
“Tonight felt like vintage Sandy,” McCullough said. “His last five or six starts have been such a 180 from how his season began. The command and execution are back to the level that made him great.”
Alcantara’s season ERA is down to 5.53 after peaking at 8.47 in June. He surrendered 73 earned runs in 18 first-half starts, but only 26 in 11 outings since the All-Star break.
“This was going to happen,” McCullough added. “It wasn’t a matter of if, but when. Right now, he feels great about where he’s at, and we’re hoping to finish strong.”
Joey Wiemer later blew the game open with a three-run homer in the sixth—his third as a Marlin. “He’s put together some big hits for us,” McCullough said. “He gives us quality at-bats, he slugs, and his defense has been top shelf.”
With the win, Miami secured its first three-game win streak since sweeping the Yankees in early August. The Marlins will look to clinch the series Saturday afternoon behind Janson Junk, Skubal’s former college teammate at Seattle University.