Late home run burns Sandy Alcantara, but Marlins ace remains unfazed as strong season continues
Sandy Alcantara knew the challenge that was ahead of him on Tuesday. He was facing the same Philadelphia Phillies team he had just faced five days earlier, a team in the thick of the playoff hunt and a team that has given the National League Cy Young Award contender trouble throughout the season.
The Marlins’ ace had maneuvered through six innings that included a lot of traffic on the basepaths, an elevated pitch count and a need to be nearly perfect.
But then came the seventh inning, where one mistake cost him.
Alcantara, on his 92nd pitch of the night, threw an elevated sinker on an 0-2 count to Nick Maton, the No. 8 hitter in Philadelphia’s lineup on Tuesday. Maton swatted the ball and all Alcantara could do was watch as it sailed over the wall in right-center field for a go-ahead two-run home run in Miami’s 2-1 loss at loanDepot park.
“He loves fastballs up in the zone,” Alcantara said. “I was trying to go up and in, but like all pitchers do sometimes, I missed right there. I’ve got to find a way to beat him.”
Now, to be clear, Alcantara put together a quality outing overall even despite that game-defining home run. The Marlins’ 27-year-old ace scattered eight hits and a walk while striking out four over seven innings. This compared to his start on Thursday in Philadelphia when he allowed five runs (just three earned runs) over six innings.
“When you have to face the same team back-to-back, they come in here ready to face you,” said Alcantara, who has now had four separate instances this season in which he has faced a playoff team in consecutive starts (the Braves in May, the Mets in June, the Dodgers in August and now the Phillies). “That doesn’t matter to me. I just want to be outside. It doesn’t matter what team I have to face. I do my job.”
He certainly has.
With his performance on Tuesday, Alcantara became the first pitcher this season to eclipse the 200-inning mark and the first Marlins pitcher to hit the threshold in consecutive seasons since Dontrelle Willis.
He kept his season ERA at 2.43, which is the sixth-best among all qualified pitchers and second in the National League behind just Julio Urias (2.30).
But he’s not satisfied. He probably never will be. Alcantara knows there’s an expectation surrounding each of his starts. That comes with the territory of being an ace.
So Alcantara continues along, searching for the next step to elevate his game.
“I’ve got to keep doing everything I’ve been doing since I got here to the Marlins,” Alcantara said, “because I want to be the No. 1 all the time. I have to reach 200 innings every year. I just want to [stay] healthy, keep doing my job and keep being the best.”
While Alcantara has had far more superior outings over the course of his 29 starts this season, Tuesday showed a quintessential example of why Alcantara is establishing himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
That’s because Tuesday wasn’t his easiest outing. Alcantara battled early and often.
And for the first six innings, he maneuvered through his share of troubles without so much as a run scoring.
Like in the first, when he worked around a Kyle Schwarber leadoff walk.
And in the third, when Brandon Marsh was at third base with one out only to be stranded on a Schwarber popout and Rhys Hoskins strikeout.
And the fourth, when the Phillies had three consecutive two-out hits to load the bases only to come up empty when Maton hit a weak ground ball back to the mound.
He settled in for his next two innings, retiring the side on 10 pitches in the fifth and needing just three pitches to get through the sixth. The Marlins put a run on the board for him in that timeframe, too, when Bryan De La Cruz launched a solo home run to left field to give Miami a 1-0 lead.
“All of a sudden, he has that quick inning,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, “and then you’re like ‘OK, this is a different area of the game.’”
But he couldn’t get out of the seventh unscathed. Jean Segura hit a one-out single to right before Maton struck with his home run on an 0-2 count.
Maton is the first player this season to hit multiple home runs against Alcantara, who has allowed just 15 home runs all season. It was also just the fifth home run Alcantara has allowed on an 0-2 count in his career and first this season.
“You’re going to make mistakes,” Mattingly said, “and guys make you pay.”
But Alcantara battled himself at times in addition to a Phillies lineup that ranks among the top 10 in the league in OPS (sixth, .744), home runs (tied for sixth, 179) and runs scored (seventh, 663).
Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said on the Bally Sports Florida broadcast that Alcantara was “a little bit amped up” following his pregame bullpen session. That’s a balance the two are still figuring out: Making sure Alcantara is in the zone but not over-doing it to the point where it impacts his performance.
“When you cross that line,” Alcantara said, “you’re going to fight. After the bullpen, I was a little [jittery], but I put my mind in the right spot and went to compete.”
Stottlemyre sees that compete. He enjoys his “ring-side seat,” as he put it on the broadcast, to watch Alcantara perform. The growth over four years has been instrumental.
So even in a defeat, Stottlemyre is confident Alcantara will build on it and find that next step.
“Whatever his ceiling is,” Stottlemyre said, “he’s certainly going to reach it.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 9:16 PM.
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