Walks come back to bite Sandy Alcantara, Marlins in third straight series loss

[Kevin Barral]

MIAMI, FL — Sandy Alcantara thought Saturday was going to be a bounce-back start after a tough go in Detroit. He took the mound at loanDepot park having thrown "the best bullpen ever" prior to the game, but that did not translate to the game itself. Alcantara's command was completely off and the Marlins fell to the Milwaukee Brewers by a final score of 5-2. It's the club's third straight series loss.

In five innings of work, Alcantara walked six, matching a career-high. Of the 24 batters he faced, he only landed 13 first-pitch strikes. His efficiency was not displayed, as he allowed multiple baserunners in every inning with the exception of the top of the first.

"Just uncharacteristically struggling with the strike zone today," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "He really battled and grinded."

Sandy Alcantara told us that he felt like he threw one of his bullpens ever, but it wasn’t able to translate to the actual game.

“It wasn’t good today.”#Marlins @FishOnFirst pic.twitter.com/6ESJXVOjtx

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 18, 2026

After a nine-pitch top of the first, Alcantara struggled in the second inning, throwing 24 pitches. In the top of the third inning, Alcantara walked the bases loaded, but was bailed out by Gary Sanchez's inning-ending double play. He threw 20 pitches in the third.

Brewers left fielder Brandon Lockridge knocked in an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning, tying the game, 1-1. In the ensuing inning, second baseman Brice Turang hit his fourth home run of the season, extending Milwaukee's lead, 3-1. Alcantara served Turang a cutter that landed middle-middle, and the second baseman took it 402 feet to right-center field.

Alcantara's best pitch, his changeup, just was not there, but as the Marlins ace described it, "I wasn't controlling anything today." His changeup generated four whiffs, did not land for a first pitch strike and hitters had an average exit velo of 98.4 mph.

Miami's bullpen has also continued to struggle, with Anthony Bender coming into the game for Alcantara, he surrendered two runs on one hit and was not able to get out of the inning, only getting two outs. Bender now has an 8.22 ERA in 7 ⅔ innings pitched.

"He's such an important part of our bullpen and our team," McCullough said. "We've seen that on so many occasions, and right now, he's struggling to find the strike zone with the type of consistency that he needs to be successful, which is no secret. He knows that he's better than that right now. He's overthrown a little bit, and maybe trying to do a little bit too much."

Connor Norby continues to ride the hot bat, now with a hit in nine of this last ten games. In the bottom of the second inning, Norby put the Marlins on the board with his seventh RBI of the season. That was the only damage they were able to do against Brandon Woodruff in his seven strong innings of work.

The Marlins made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Three straight singles loaded the bases for Heriberto Hernández, who grounded into a force out that scored Jakob Marsee. Javier Sanoja grounded out to end the game. Miami finished the game going 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The Marlins dropped to 9-12 on the season and will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday. In a piece of positive news, Kyle Stowers will be reinstated from the 10-day injured list prior to the series finale.

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