Marlins beat Padres, Alcantara delivers best start of the season

It seems the All-Star break was exactly what the Miami Marlins needed.

The Fish closed out their two-series homestand on Wednesday afternoon with a bang, edging the San Diego Padres 3-2 in the third and final game. Now, they sit 6.5 games back of a playoff spot—an outcome that would’ve seemed unbelievable at the season’s start.

On the mound, Sandy Alcantara delivered his most impressive outing yet, pitching through the seventh inning for the first time this year. He retired every batter through the first three innings, tallying four strikeouts in that stretch.

With Wednesday marking the Marlins’ final home game before the July 31 trade deadline, it could have also been Alcantara’s last appearance in a Miami uniform at home—especially after a performance that may have boosted his trade value.

“The resiliency has shown through, his competitiveness - that was a terrific outing,” McCullough said postgame.

Alcantara entered the day with a 7.22 ERA, his career worst, as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery in 2023. But that version of Alcantara was nowhere to be found on Wednesday.

Alcantara reached 1,000 career innings pitched on Wednesday. It was also his first outing of the season completing the seventh inning.

“[I had] a lot of confidence, going seven short innings out there [and giving] my team the chance to win. That was tremendous,” Alcantara said. “Sinker was great, changer was good, [my] slider and curve [ball], everything was working today.”

He added that he’s been especially focused on refining his slider pitch this season and finally found his rhythm with it, not tallying a single walk on the mound Wednesday.

Defensively, the only hiccup came in the fourth inning when a throwing error by catcher Nick Fortes allowed the Padres’ Luis Arraez to advance to second. An RBI single from Miami-native Manny Machado tied the game 1-1, but a double play by the Marlins defense quickly stopped the Padres’ momentum.

Miami got off to a quick start in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on two walks and an RBI single from Agustin Ramirez that sent Xavier Edwards home and put the Marlins up 1-0.

“Having guys like Gus [Ramirez] makes [my job] much easier,” General Manager Clayton McCullough said. Ramirez now leads all National League rookies with 45 RBIs this season.

In the fifth, the Fish struck again. After a Padres fielding error let Javier Sanoja reach first, Jesús Sánchez launched a 377-foot, two-run homer to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead.

Since Connor Norby’s wrist injury sidelined him for 6-8 weeks, Sanoja and Graham Pauley have stepped up. Though both are primarily infielders - particularly at third base - Sanoja’s versatility has allowed Miami to deploy him in the outfield as well.

“I like Sanoja everywhere,” McCullough said before Wednesday’s game, in which Sanoja started in center field before shifting to third base mid-game. “He’s just continually done things to help us out on both sides of the ball… I can always trust him to be ready for whatever he’s asked.”

Despite a run from the Padres in the eighth that cut the lead to 3-2, the Marlins held on to secure the win, bringing them one step closer to the .500 mark as they head to Milwaukee to face the red-hot Brewers.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Since June 13, the Marlins lead the Majors with 107 two-out hits.

“I hope it continues,” McCullough said. “What the magic formula is, I don’t know… but it does give you a little bit of wind in your sails as a group.”

▪ Jesús Sánchez hit his ninth home run of the season with Wednesday’s 377-foot blast to right field.

“Sánchez’s at-bat quality has been very solid for the entire season,” McCullough said.

▪ In the eighth inning, All-Star Kyle Stowers was hit on the elbow by a pitch.

Though it was wrapped in ice postgame, McCullough downplayed any concern: “[He] got his funny bone [which is a] tough spot to get hit, but we anticipate that he’ll be fine. There’s no real level of concern.”