‘Couldn’t finish it’: Eighth-inning decisions paved way for Marlins’ walk-off loss
%20(4).JPG "Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, June 13, 2022, in Philadelphia.")
Sandy Alcantara, as he always does, wanted it to be his game to win or his game to lose.
The Miami Marlins’ ace was at 113 pitches at the pivotal moment Monday. There were two outs in the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies ,with Rhys Hoskins serving as the game-tying run on third base. Alcantara had already mitigated some of the damage by getting J.T. Realmuto to ground into a double play.
If Hoskins was going to score, Alcantara wanted to be the one to let him make it the final 90 feet. He wanted to be responsible for his fate, one way or the other.
“I,’ Alcantara said afterward, “just wanted to finish that inning.”
But the decision was already made. Manager Don Mattingly was already on his way to the mound, against Alcantara’s pleads. Alcantara’s fate was out of his hands. Alcantara let his frustration out in the dugout, slamming his glove on the bench four times.
One pitch from Steven Okert later, a hanging slider to Didi Gregorious in a lefty-lefty matchup, and the game was tied. One inning later, the game was over.
The Phillies walked off the Marlins, 3-2 to start the three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. A masterful albeit trying 7 2/3 innings from Alcantara had gone to waste.
For the first time since May 6, before Alcantara’s current seven-start stretch of dominance began, Miami lost a game with Alcantara on the mound.
“He got us to a great spot in the game,” Mattingly said, “and we just couldn’t finish it.”
Mattingly said it was decided before the eighth inning began that Alcantara was only going to face three batters. He was at 98 pitches when he when back to the mound five days after throwing 105 pitches over nine innings against the Washington Nationals.
“We knew that if he got to Gregorious,” Mattingly said, “that was going to be it.”
So Alcantara, essentially, had to be perfect if he wanted to get through the eighth. He’s done it before, several times over the past month-plus in which he has emerged as one of baseball’s top pitchers this season. He had also retired 14 of the last 16 he had faced heading into the eighth after giving up three consecutive hits in a 27-pitch third inning that gave Philadelphia its only run to that point.
He didn’t start that way. He walked Hoskins on seven pitches to lead off the inning despite getting ahead in the count 1-2. He then fell behind 2-0 to Bryce Harper and walked him on five pitches.
It was the first time Alcantara walked consecutive batters since Opening Day.
“I just felt a little bit like [I was] losing control,” Alcantara said.
Added Mattingly: “It looked like he was kind of out of gas, the way he was forcing some stuff.”
But Mattingly gave Alcantara one final batter. After landed a low slider for a called strike on the first pitch, Alcantara got Realmuto to hit a groundball to shortstop Miguel Rojas for a double play.
Mattingly stuck to his plan after that, making his way to the mound to take out his ace much to the pitcher’s discontent.
“There are a few guys that I’ve had that never want to come out,” Mattingly said, “and Sandy’s one of those guys. Just for us, we felt like he did his job.”
Mattingly called upon Okert to face Gregorious, who hadn’t had a hit against a left-handed pitcher since May 4. Okert’s plan was to start with a slider down and away. The pitch hung out over the heart of the plate, and Gregorious sent it down the first-base line. Tie game.
“To come in and have one pitch wash up what he did,” Okert said, “it’s obviously pretty tough to swallow.”
Hoskins then sealed the game an inning later with a two-out double to left-center against Anthony Bass.
Monday was the seventh consecutive game in which Alcantara has thrown at least seven inning. It was also the first game in this stretch that he was charged with multiple earned runs. He’s the only pitcher in Marlins history with seven consecutive starts of at least seven innings in the same season with no more than two earned runs allowed in any of those outings. He has averaged just over 107 pitches per start over these seven games.
Alcantara’s stats in this span: Five earned runs allowed in 55 2/3 innings (a 0.81 ERA) with 51 strikeouts against 11 walks with 30 hits allowed. He leads MLB with 91 1/3 innings pitched — almost 10 full innings more than the nearest competitor in the Phillies’ Aaron Nola, who held the Marlins to two runs over seven innings on Monday before Philadelphia’s bullpen shut them down for the final two innings. His 1.68 ERA is the third-best in the majors and second in the National League behind only the San Diego Padres’ Joe Musgrove (1.50).
“I’ve got more opportunities to get better,” Alcantara said.
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