Marlins, 'tired' Sandy Alcantara victorious in loanDepot park's 1,000th game

MIAMI—Sandy Alcantara was in control on Tuesday night, making his second Major League start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. After five innings and 70 pitches, first-year manager Clayton McCullough turned to his bullpen, which helped secure a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets. 

"I think each game will be its own story," McCullough said postgame regarding Alcantara. "I felt that he had emptied the tank and gave us everything he had tonight."

Alcantara's velocity was noticeably down across the board compared to his Opening Day start on March 27. "The velocity was probably more in the 94 mph range tonight compared to the first start which had a lot of adrenaline behind it," added McCullough. "Coming off that high and with how I was watching him in real time, it felt like the right decision."

On Tuesday, Alcantara averaged 95.9 mph on his four-seam fastball, down from the 98.2 mph average in his 92-pitch season debut. 

"I was getting tired quickly," said Alcantara postgame. "I think it's taking me more time to fully recover and get back into my routine. If i can pitch and compete while throwing 94 [mph], I'll take it."

Miami's ace, the subject of constant trade rumors throughout the offseason, showed flashes of his vintage self after an uneven start on Opening Day. After receiving early run support in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a two-run home run by Kyle Stowers, Alcantara retired the top of the Mets' batting order on just nine pitches, all ground balls. 

"I'm just happy to be out there competing again and giving everything I've got," said Alcantara. 

After a solo home run by Brandon Nimmo in the second inning, Alcantara settled back in, inducing two more weak grounders and striking out Jesse Winker. Following an RBI single by Francisco Lindor with one out in the third, Alcantara retired the next eight batters in order. His final line: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 70 pitches/43 strikes.

“I thought Sandy pitched his butt off and competed like he always does,” McCullough added. “He was itching to go back out there for the sixth, but like I said, it felt like he gave us everything he had tonight.”

The 70-pitch outing was the lowest pitch count for Alcantara in any game in nearly four years (since May 14, 2021). During spring training, McCullough was adamant that there would be no innings limit on Alcantara to start the 2025 season. “We expect Sandy to be able to go deep into games for us, like he has—this guy’s been a workhorse for a lot of years, and he’s prepared himself to do that,” McCullough said in March. However, on April 1, you can’t fault the rookie manager for erring on the side of caution with the lone veteran on his starting staff.

Miami held a 4-2 lead at the time of Alcantara’s departure, thanks to a clutch two-out, two-run double by rookie Graham Pauley in the bottom of the fourth inning. Three shutout innings from Ronny Henriquez and Lake Bachar bridged the gap to the ninth, with the Marlins clinging to their two-run lead. 

Left-hander Anthony Veneziano, the only left-hander on the active roster, was called upon for the save opportunity. After allowing a couple of base runners, McCullough turned to Anthony Bender to close it out. Bender completed the task on just four pitches. 

Alcantara earned his first win since returning from elbow surgery and helped Miami improve to 4-2 on the season while the Mets fell to 2-3.

Early in its 14th season of existence, loanDepot park has now hosted 1,000 MLB regular season games. The Marlins have a 474-526 record in those contests.

The rubber match of the series will take place on Wednesday afternoon at 4:40 p.m.