Sandy Alcantara makes best start of season as Marlins snap eight-game losing streak
Don Mattingly twice on Sunday wrestled with a decision about whether to take out his starting pitcher.
Both of the manager’s decisions ultimately paid off.
Sandy Alcantara, the Miami Marlins’ ace, tied a season high with eight innings pitched and gave up just one earned run as Miami beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 at PNC Park and snapped an eight-game losing streak in the process. It was Miami’s first win since May 26 and moves them to 25-33 on the season.
“We needed this win today,” Alcantara said. “It’s been a long time, losing eight straight games. We did it today. Let’s keep competing.”
Alcantara’s ability to compete — as well as Mattingly and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.’s trust in their ace — played a key role in the win.
Alcantara was cruising through seven innings after a slight hiccup in the first in the team’s series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. He had only thrown 88 pitches. The offense had a given him a lead, too, and Mattingly wanted to find a chance to minimize the use of his bullpen after the extended use recently.
So Mattingly let Alcantara continue into the eighth, but had a pair of relievers start to get ready just in case.
“We felt like he was better suited for us than anybody else out there at that point with the usage of our bullpen,” Mattingly said.
A leadoff double in the eighth by Adam Frazier with the heart of the Pirates’ order coming to the plate added a new wrinkle. No concern yet from Mattingly. Alcantara struck out Ke’Bryan Hayes with a low 91.6 mph changeup on his 100th pitch of the night. A Bryan Reynolds groundout made it two outs with a runner on third and left-handed hitter Colin Moran due up at the plate.
Mattingly considered bringing in Richard Bleier at that point for the lefty-lefty matchup. Moran had also hit a double against Alcantara in the first to drive in Pittsburgh’s only run of the game.
But with the possibility of the Pirates pinch-hitting for Moran and sending a righty to the plate, Mattingly once again kept his ace in the game.
“I don’t get too much pressure when hitters get on base,” Alcantara said. “I‘m just trying to make my best pitch. I know Donnie believes in me and Mel, too. They know I have the pitches to get outs. I was real focused and you guys saw it. I got out of the jam. I did it.”
Alcantara needed one pitch, a 93.4 mph changeup low in the strike zone, to finish his job. Moran dribbled a ground ball to the mound. Alcantara fielded it and threw to Jesus Aguilar at first to end the inning.
His final line: eight innings pitched, one unearned run allowed, six hits, two walks and six strikeouts. He threw 103 pitches, 70 of which were strikes.
Alcantara’s lone blemish came in the first inning as he tried to maneuver around a two-on, no-out jam. After Frazier reached on an Aguilar fielding error and Hayes hit a slow dribbling infield single, Alcantara got Bryan Reynolds to hit into a double play to get the first two outs of the frame. Former Marlins first-round pick Colin Moran put the Pirates (23-35) on the board with a first-pitch double that bounced past the first-base bag and rolled into right field.
Alcantara settled in after that. He threw 15 or fewer pitches in six of his final seven innings and allowed just two Pirates batters to reach scoring position — both on leadoff doubles (Ben Gamel in the fifth, Frazier in the eighth).
Sunday was the second time this season Alcantara has thrown eight innings. Yimi Garcia threw a scoreless ninth to record his 10th save of the season.
“You never know what helps a guy,” Mattingly said. “He’s a guy that always talks about wanting to go nine every time out. ... Him being able to step up for the team in that scenario and give us eight innings and only use one guy out of the pen, it is a chance for Sandy to have that feeling.”
And Alcantara got the run support he needed.
Aguilar tied the game in the top of the second with a leadoff home run, his team-leading 12th of the season and his second in as many days.
The Marlins then scored a pair of runs in the sixth thanks to a break that went their way. Miami had runners on first and second after Jazz Chisholm Jr. was hit on his right foot and Starling Marte hit a single.
A Corey Dickerson groundball to the right side of the infield looked like it could be a potential double play against the Marlins, but Pirates shortstop Erik Gonzalez couldn’t corral a throw from Frazier. The ball fell to the ground and dribbled into shallow center field.
Chisholm, hobbling around the basepaths after the hit by pitch, scored the Marlins’ go-ahead run on the play. Agular Marte made it to third and scored on an Aguilar sacrifice fly the next plate appearance to give Miami an insurance run.
Three innings later, the losing streak was over.
“As [the losing streak] starts to grow, it creeps in there,” Mattingly said. “It creeps into your team. It’s good to get [a win] on the board.”
This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 3:47 PM.
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