Sandy plays second fiddle in battle of aces as Fish get swept in Motown

The Miami Marlins fell behind early and stayed behind in losing to the Detroit Tigers on both Friday and Saturday. Looking to avoid the sweep on Sunday, they had to feel good about having their ace, Sandy Alcantara, on the mound. Unfortunately, that optimism was quelled by the notion of facing two-time, reigning AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal.

For the first two-thirds of the game, the Marlins offense may as well have just stayed home. Carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning, it would be Austin Slater, in solely due to Skubal's left-handedness, who dunked a single into center field to get Miami in the hit column. Skubal wound up tossing 6 ⅔ innings of one-run ball in Detroit's 8-2 win over Miami, clinching a series sweep.

In his four starts to begin the season, Skubal has completed six innings in three of them. In his two prior outings against the Marlins, Skubal owned an ERA of 9.00.

Alcantara's afternoon would not be smooth sailing, as the former Cy Young winner allowed seven runs in six innings. In his three starts before Sunday, Alcantara allowed just two earned runs, posting a 0.74 ERA in what has been a resurgent season for him. On the day, Alcantara allowed 15 hard-hit balls, all on each pitch in his arsenal.

"Tough series this weekend," noted manager Clayton McCullough. "This is just part of the season, so the positive is that this part is over...All we can try to do is play better tomorrow," continued McCullough.

With the loss, Miami falls to 8-8, the first time they've been .500 since Opening Day. In the weekend series, Miami went 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position. 

After retiring Kevin McGonigle and Gleyber Torres to begin his outing, back-to-back singles would come back to bite Alcantara, as Skubal's battery mate, Dillon Dingler, launched his third home run of the season.

Alcantara would settle into the tune of scoreless frames two through four before McGonigle, a .322 hitter in his first big league season, would tag him for his first career home run. On the day, the Tigers would find the outfield seats three times against Alcantara, marking the seventh time he's allowed as many home runs in a single outing. 

Entering this series, the Marlins offense was above-average in most offensive categories. Whatever excuses you'd like to apply to their struggles at Comerica Park, whether it be the low temperatures, solid quality of competition or absence of newly injured Griffin Conine, the end result was an abysmal output of only three runs. That makes this Miami's lowest-scoring series in nearly a calendar year (3 R vs. SF from 5/30-6/1/25).

Looking Ahead

The Marlins' road trip will continue with a stop in Atlanta, where they'll meet the Braves for the first time this season on Monday. Eury Pérez (1-1, 5.06 ERA) will look to overcome his road woes in the series opener. In 23 career starts away from loanDepot park, the soon-to-be 23-year-old owns a 5.02 ERA, nearly double the 2.59 mark he's posted at home.

Opposing him, Grant Holmes (1-1, 2.55 ERA) will make his fourth career start against Miami, whom he owns a 3.14 ERA against. 

First pitch from Truist Park is slated for 7:15 EST.