Dodgers 15, Marlins 2: Dodger Stadium continues to haunt Alcantara

[Nate Karzmer]

For the second time in four games, Javier Sanoja pitched for the Marlins. That should tell you all you need to know.

Sandy Alcantara has been among MLB's best starting pitchers since he debuted in 2017.

A career WAR of 19.4, an ERA of 3.46 and a Cy Young award in 2022 highlight a long list of accolades and dominance for Miami's ace and face of the franchise. No matter the time or place, the Marlins know he gives them the best chance to win...omitting Dodger Stadium.

Before taking the ball in Tuesday night's middle game between his Marlins and the defending World Series champion Dodgers, Sandy owned an eye-popping 12.94 ERA in four starts at baseball's third-oldest stadium. That was by far his worst mark at one venue and over five runs higher than his second-worst, a 7.56 at Coors Field. It's fair to say the only highlight of Sandy's illustrious career in Los Angeles was a scoreless inning in the 2022 All-Star Game, a memorable moment from his aforementioned Cy Young season.

Dane Myers' fifth RBI in two games even gave Alcantara a cushion heading into the bottom of the first inning. One pitch into the frame, though, it vanished. An inside sinker to Shohei Ohtani ended up in the seats and set the tone for another rough night in Hollywood.

Alcantara's blowup performance (2.2 IP, 7 ER, 5 BB) put Miami in a deep hole against the most talented team in the sport. It didn't help that Matt Sauer and the Dodger bullpen put the clamps on the Marlins offense until an Ronny Simon RBI single in the top of the eighth. For the second time on their road trip out west, the Fish got completely dismantled, 15-2, falling to 12-17 on the young season in the process.

Succeeding what was a consensus step forward a short six days ago against Cincinnati, the wheels came off the bus early for Alcantara following Ohtani's solo shot. Doubles from Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tommy Edman capped off the first. The most alarming development was the four walks let up in the second and third, amounting to five by the time he was removed. It is only the tenth time in Alcantara's career that he allowed five or more free passes.

Command inside the zone remained a concern as well, with an excess of pitches leaking over the plate. Below is a graphic of all seven pitches the Dodgers recorded hits on:

As for pitch selection, Alcantara avoided throwing both his fastball and sinker, instead relying heavily on his changeup, as seen in his last start as well. The changeup was only responsible for two of the hits and was accountable for four of Sandy's nine swings-and-misses.

Zooming out, Tuesday's start caps off Sandy's first full month following Tommy John surgery, a stretch that just so happens to be the worst of his career. While it is entirely too early to jump to any conclusions, it is clear that "vintage" Sandy is not as close to coming back as most thought despite a fantastic spring. 

 

Of Note

- Myers was good for two more base hits in addition to his run-scoring single in the first. While still not receiving consistent playing time, even after the unfortunate injury to Griffin Conine, Myers remains a bright spot in Miami's order. In 21 games, the veteran outfielder is slashing .351/.373/.491. He would rank second the NL batting title race if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.

- For the second night in a row, Otto Lopez enjoyed a multi-hit day. Following a forgettable run from April 4-27 which featured a  .159/.227/.232 slash line, Lopez appears to be heating back up.

- George Soriano capped off a rough month with three more earned runs, spiraling his ERA up to 10.32 in April. Opponents are hitting .308 off of Soriano thus far.

- Poor Javier Sanoja, man.

 

Up Next

Wednesday afternoon's matinee sees the return of Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin to an MLB mound for the first time since August 18, 2023, when a then playoff hopeful Marlins team threw up ten runs, including five homers in just over three innings. Ten days later, it was announced that Gonsolin would need Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for a year and a half. In four rehab starts this season in Triple-A Oklahoma City, the righty maintained a 3.21 ERA and 16/6 K/BB ratio.

Cal Quantrill takes the bump for Clayton McCullough's squad with hopes of avoiding their second sweep of 2025. Quantrill, like Alcantara, took a couple steps forward in his previous start against Seattle, nearly completing six innings for the first time this season.

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[Leo Armbrister]

I hope all of the trade Sandy talk is over. The Marlins should put its efforts into fixing Sandy and building the team around him. 

[Guest]

Sandy is either injured and hiding it or he just wants out of Miami, and if so, who can blame him? Why would he want to be part of ANOTHER rebuild? He had a good relationship with Skip Schumacher and  Mel Stottlemeyer Jr and now the Marlins have hired this idiot who doesn't believe in playing the infield at Double Play depth with runners on 1st and 3rd and less than 2 outs. In Spring Training Sandy was throwing fastballs timed at 99 mph. Now he either doesn't throw fastballs or he throws 95 MPH cookies right down the middle which are getting crushed. Maybe he felt a twinge in his shoulder or arm when he threw and he doesn't want to throw hard and end up on the IL again. I don't know what's wrong with Sandy, but watching him pitch the last few starts it's obvious something is going on with him. And his body language is saying "I don't want to be on this mound". In my opinion the Marlins need to trade Sandy NOW while there are still teams willing to trade for him. A few more starts like these last few and they wouldn't get anything for him. And while they're at it, get rid of Cabrera too. Maybe some other pitching coach can get him to be a great pitcher; it's obviously not happening here.

[One Regend]

I think the entirety of April tanked whatever trade value Sandy had left after the surgery. It makes no sense to trade him when we're going to get next to nothing for him. Might as well hope he turns the corner and goes on a hot run post-June to salvage his season (like he did in 2023 before getting injured) and maybe there will be a sucker who will take him on in the 2026 Trade Deadline, provided he continues his return to form.

One guy we SHOULD cut ties with, however, is Edward Cabrera. He has all the talent in the world and just can't figure ANYTHING out. It's clear he isn't developing, so best to cut bait before he starts asking for an arbitration raise.