Alcantara dazzles like an ace to start, but can’t skirt trouble in vexing 6th
Sandy Alcantara, wanting to prove he can be the Marlins’ ace, struck out 10 batters but ran into trouble in the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sandy Alcantara has made the proclamation before. He wants to be the ace of the Marlins’ rotation.
But what does it mean, from Alcantara’s perspective, to be an ace?
“I just want to be the best,” Alcantara said Monday. “I want to be the best, No. 1. I think I have the mentality to be the best. I just have to keep doing my thing, keep getting better and
keep doing my job.”
In other words, that means pitching like he did in the first five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday and finding ways to better navigate through the trouble he faced in the sixth inning.
After carving through the Cardinals for five innings, and racking up a career-high-tying 10 strikeouts in the process, Alcantara gave up three runs (two earned) in the final frame he pitched.
He loaded the bases on a pair of tough-luck infield singles and a fullcount walk to Nolan Arenado. Tommy Edman scored on a Jorge Alfaro passed ball. Paul Goldschmidt scored on a groundout to third base after Garrett Cooper double-clutched the ball before throwing home. Arenado scored on a Yadiel Molina sacrifice fly.
An imperfect ending to an otherwise perfect second start to the season.
Alcantara allowed just three baserunners before that sixth inning — Edman on a fielding error in the first, Arendo on a comebacker in the fourth to break up an early nohitter attempt and Molina on a leadoff single in the fifth — and did not allow a runner past second base in those opening five frames.
Alcantara at one point struck out six consecutive batters, a feat that had only been accomplished six time in Marlins history.
He used all of his pitches and threw all of them
for strikes. Both of his fastballs, the four-seam and the sinker, consistently hit 98 and 99 mph and accounted for 21 of his 32 called strikes and swings and misses.
His changeup averaged 91.7 mph and his slider averaged 90 mph.
Through two starts this season, Alcantara has a 1.50 ERA and has struck out 17 of the 48 batters he has faced over 12 innings this season (35.4 percent). He has given up six hits and walked four.
MARLINS VACCINE PLAN
By the time the Marlins begin their first road trip of the season, all players and coaches on the team who want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine will have received at least their first dose.
The Marlins waited until Monday, when the
age restriction for Florida residents to receive the vaccine dropped from 40 to 18, for players to start receiving the vaccine unless they previously qualified due to a health condition or live with someone who is in the medical field.
The team is having the players get the vaccine in waves in case players experience symptoms or reactions to the shot.
“It is something we still have to watch,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Obviously things are better in country and things like that. I think we’re all gonna feel a lot better once we’ve had multiple shots and both rounds of that.”
NEW UNIFORM COMING
The Marlins are one of seven MLB teams to participate in the league’s
new “City Connect” uniform series this season. Each of the teams selected — the Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers — is partnering with Nike to create a uniform design that will “explore a franchise’s connection to its city and its fanbase, each with distinct personalities, values, customs and traditions,” according to a
Nike release.
The Red Sox unveiled their uniform design on Tuesday, a yellow jersey with powder blue caps paying homage to the Boston Marathon. They will debut in a live game on April 17.
The Marlins’ design will be released closer to its anticipated debut date of May 21, when Miami hosts the New York Mets at loanDepot park.