MIAMI — Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara hit triple digits. He induced a bunch of weak ground balls. He boasted an economical pitch count halfway the game. In many ways, this was vintage Alcantara.
But like too many times this season, things imploded — and quickly — for Alcantara in Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Rays at loanDepot park. He allowed four runs over five innings, dropping his career-high sixth straight decision.
“It feels good, trusting the process, but I don’t know, I’m just getting tired, you know, just being out there and don’t have that success that I’m looking for,” Alcantara said. “I know the hard work, the dedication, the patience, everything that I put into the start to have this type of result today, I don’t like that.”
After Josh Lowe ambushed Alcantara’s first pitch for a leadoff double — the only extra-base hit against him — and Brandon Lowe drew a walk, Alcantara retired the next 12 batters in order.
Alcantara hunkered down when the Rays threatened with runners on the corners and one out in the opening frame, striking out Jonathan Aranda (99.2 mph sinker) and Kameron Misner (100 mph four-seamer) to work out of the jam. The pitch Misner swung through was the fastest of the season for Alcantara.
Over the course of his 101-pitch outing, Alcantara recorded 15 pitches of at least 99 mph — his most since Sept. 3, 2023. He relied heavily on his four-seamer and sinker for a combined 60.4% — his highest usage of the season, and most since July 10, 2022.
Fastball command had been elusive for Alcantara in the early going, playing into his confidence and usage. Entering Saturday, opponents were hitting .301 with a .494 slugging percentage off his fastballs.
“I think that’s what it was,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “The two[-seam] and the four[-seam], how he was able to throw both of those, utilize them both, and I think the confidence that he had in that today, and how he was feeling, how it was working. Get the ground ball with the two, and ability to change eye levels and work the four towards the top of the strike zone to kind of open up more lanes. So he had a good heater today. He used it wisely.”
However, Alcantara’s dominant stretch ended in the fifth, as all nine Rays came to bat during a four-run, 38-pitch inning to break a scoreless deadlock.
José Caballero reached on a leadoff chopper before Alcantara induced a flyout. Following a hit batter, Caballero stole second and third, then scored on Chandler Simpson’s RBI single.
Alcantara would go on to permit another steal and issue a walk prior to getting ahead 0-2 to Yandy Díaz, who evened the count and singled with two outs to drive in another two runs. Aranda capped the frame with a broken-bat RBI single.
“We had a good inning on him,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “What was key was driving his pitch count up to start the game to speed him up a little bit. Alcantara’s got some nasty stuff, and I know he’s coming back from injury, but it is [an] electric fastball, changeup, breaking ball. He had all of his weapons going. We weren’t going up there with early outs, so we drove the pitcher’s pitches the other way, and that allowed us to attack, and fetch a lot of pitches through five, and we were able to capitalize on that.”
All four hits against Alcantara in the inning came on ground balls. The exit velocities speak to a bit of bad luck:
• 62.3 mph (Caballero)
• 97.4 mph (Simpson, hard-hit)
• 102.1 mph (Díaz, hard-hit)
• 80.1 mph (Aranda)
“He was getting some early contact and getting some ground balls, and [I] thought he looked sharp, using the fastball top of the zone as well, using his secondaries,” McCullough said. “He was in a really good rhythm there through the early part of the game. And then, they just kind of strung a few together there, ground balls that got through some holes, to kind of keep the line moving a little bit.
“Again, a good step. A little bit snakebit, some of those balls are going to start getting hit at people, which will make the overall outing look different. But I think as far as how he threw the ball, and the quality of his stuff, how he’s utilizing it is going to bode well as we keep moving forward.”
