MIAMI -- A lot happened in the 10 days between starts for Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara.
When last Sunday¡¯s series finale in Atlanta was rained out, Alcantara rushed to the airport but got stuck there for hours until his flight finally took off. He would arrive with time to spare for the birth of his second child and first daughter, Mavie Isabella Alcantara.
Back home in South Florida, Alcantara took on new dad duties while his ballclub dropped two of three to the Mets in New York. He also mourned the lives lost in the nightclub tragedy in his home country of the Dominican Republic.
In his return to the mound after the long layoff, Alcantara showed rust but still picked up the victory in Saturday¡¯s 7-6 win vs. the Nationals at loanDepot park. Matt Mervis crushed his team-leading fourth homer and Kyle Stowers and Griffin Conine accounted for four RBIs.
¡°Nothing came to my mind today,¡± Alcantara said. ¡°I just want to be out there and compete. My daughter was just born a couple days ago, and the situation that happened in the D.R. But today, nothing came to my mind, just be out there and compete.¡±
Sporting a newly shaved head, Alcantara allowed four runs on five hits -- all singles -- across 5 2/3 frames. He issued four walks, marking his second time doing so in three starts back from Tommy John surgery. Alcantara struck out just one batter, his fewest since June 16, 2023.
Here¡¯s a closer look at Alcantara¡¯s atypical start:
? July 27, 2021: The last time Alcantara pitched on 11-plus days of rest.
? May 2, 2023: The last time he accumulated seven three-ball counts.
? March 30, 2023: 60.9% strike rate was his lowest since Opening Day 2023 (59.4%).
¡°I'm the guy who likes to compete, who doesn't like to walk anyone, but today, I walked four people, so I¡¯ve just got to focus on my next bullpen and try to get more ahead in the count,¡± said Alcantara, who credited the Nationals¡¯ patience.
It was evident from the get-go that Alcantara wasn¡¯t at his sharpest by throwing five straight balls to open the game. Without control of his four-seamer (14%), he heavily relied on his slider (33%) and sinker (26%).
Despite the command issues, Alcantara did exhibit his elite velocity, something that was missing in his last start on April 1 against the Mets. His four-seamer averaged 97.6 mph and maxed out at 99.6 mph on James Wood¡¯s first-inning double play.
The 29-year-old Alcantara even entered the fourth inning with a no-hitter and led 3-0. But he walked the leadoff batter, allowed consecutive singles and issued a bases-loaded walk. Josh Bell then produced the game-tying two-run single.
After Miami gave Alcantara a 6-3 cushion in the fifth, he permitted a single and a walk before inducing a popout and a flyout pitching into the sixth for the first time this season.
Instead of getting out of the jam, Amed Rosario knocked an RBI single to chase Alcantara at 87 pitches (53 strikes). Right-hander Jesus Tinoco, who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list, escaped further damage by getting a lineout to shortstop.
¡°You saw a lot more of 97s and 98s early on in the game, so [a] very good sign, and especially after a little bit of a layoff to come back,¡± manager Clayton McCullough said. ¡°Stuff looked good. I thought a lot of his misses were of high quality. All in all, in that one inning where they got some traffic and scored some runs there kind of in the middle, he did a good job getting some ground balls when he needed to. And again, getting deep into the game where we could shorten it with the 'pen.¡±
Four relievers combined for the final 3 1/3 frames, including a dominant eighth from right-hander Ronny Henriquez. He took the mound to the late merengue singer Rubby P¨¦rez¡¯s ¡°Volver¨¦¡± (¡°I Will Return¡±) and a special tribute to his homeland on his cap.
¡°Initially, it was a tragedy that nobody was expecting,¡± Henriquez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. ¡°It caught us off guard. As a Dominican, I think we're going through a very difficult situation. I wanted to represent my country with the initials of my country in my hat with a heart, and of course, with the walk-up song for Rubby and also giving a really good performance out there.¡±