Sandy Alcantara etches his name in Marlins history

MIAMI—On a memorable Tuesday night at loanDepot park, Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara etched his name into franchise history, becoming the Miami Marlins’ all-time strikeout leader.

The 30-year-old Dominican right-hander recorded career strikeout No. 1,002 with Miami, surpassing franchise icon Ricky Nolasco’s previous record of 1,001. Alcantara, along with big performances from youngsters Joe Mack and Owen Caissie, helped lead the Marlins to a comfortable 6-1 victory over the Texas Rangers. Miami improved to 41-39, moving back to two games above .500.

Entering Tuesday’s start, Alcantara sat at 998 career strikeouts with the Marlins, three shy of Nolasco’s franchise record. After not recording a single strikeout through the first two innings, Alcantara won an 11-pitch battle against longtime Marlin-killer Brandon Nimmo to record No. 999 in the third inning.

A couple of innings later, Alcantara recorded strikeouts No. 1,000 and 1,001 by getting Wyatt Langford looking and Nimmo swinging once again. The right-hander entered the sixth inning needing just one more strikeout to stand alone atop the franchise leaderboard.

Before he took the mound in the sixth, Owen Caissie provided some extra insurance with a three-run home run that extended Miami’s lead to 6-1 and gave Alcantara some breathing room.

“After I had made my latest strikeout, maybe I got a little bit nervous because I knew what was happening, but I just stayed aggressive and did my thing.”

After a quick 1-2-3 sixth inning without a strikeout, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough sent the right-hander back out for the seventh with 90 pitches.

When asked if he purposely left Alcantara in the game to chase the record, McCullough admitted that the moment was important.

“We knew where he was. We wanted him to do this at home. It’s more special if we had the chance, knowing what was at stake. We said to go back out there, get the strikeout, while also being as responsible as I could with how many pitches he was going to throw in that inning. Luckily, he did it quickly.”

With one out, Alcantara got Kyle Higashioka swinging through a slider low and away for strikeout No. 1,002. The crowd rose to its feet, catcher Joe Mack stepped in front of the plate to let the moment breathe, and Alcantara tipped his cap to the Miami faithful. While the scoreboard was slightly delayed in announcing the milestone, a large portion of the fans knew exactly what had just happened.

After walking the next batter, McCullough trotted out to the mound to take the ball from his ace. Alcantara dapped up each of his infield teammates and hugged his manager before taking a walk he usually loathes: back to the dugout in the middle of an inning.

“I told him to enjoy this walk because tonight should be one of those that you enjoy and soak it all in,” McCullough said.

In addition to setting the strikeout record, Alcantara also recorded his fifth consecutive quality start in June, allowing just one run over 6.2 innings pitched. His season ERA has dropped to 4.01 thanks to his dominant month. He also surpassed the late José Fernández with the all-time wins in loanDepot park with his 30th. 

The Marlins acquired the now-30-year-old right-hander in the winter of 2017-18 in one of the first trades made during the Bruce Sherman era. Miami sent outfielder Marcell Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Zac Gallen, Magneuris Sierra, Dan Castano and Alcantara.

The deal was completed just two months after Sherman and Derek Jeter purchased the team.

Since making his team debut on June 29, 2018, the 6-foot-7 flamethrower has appeared in 186 games for the Marlins—all of them starts. He has accumulated 1,177 innings pitched (second-most in franchise history), 13 complete games (third-most), five shutouts (third-most), a Cy Young Award and multiple All-Star appearances.

When former president of baseball operations Michael Hill completed the infamous five-player trade with St. Louis, he likely would have been thrilled with even half of what Alcantara has become. To say he has exceeded expectations would be a massive understatement, as he is in the conversation to be on the Marlins' all-time Mount Rushmore.

“Very proud of myself, the way that I’ve been growing here in this organization, and grateful for all the opportunities that this team gives to me every day,” Alcantara said.