MIAMI — Sandy Alcantara set his third Miami Marlins franchise record this season, surpassing Ricky Nolasco as the club’s all-time leader in innings pitched during a seven-inning, eight-strikeout performance that extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 20.
Alcantara entered his 194th career start as a Marlin at 1,223 2/3 innings and needed just seven outs to pass Nolasco. He matched the mark with a strikeout of Moisés Ballesteros to end the second inning, then broke it by striking out Josh Lowe in the third. The 30-year-old scattered three hits with one walk in the outing.
“I’m glad to have done it, everything here, because I feel very happy and grateful for the opportunity that this team gave to me since I came in 2018,” said Alcantara, who received a standing ovation and tipped his cap to the crowd. “Got an opportunity to play out there every fifth day, being a No. 1 and win a Cy Young. Innings pitched, strikeouts, quality starts. I don’t know how many more records they have, but I’m very happy about the opportunity that this organization gave to me to play the game out there with my teammates.”
Since making his Marlins debut on June 29, 2018, Alcantara has logged 1,230 2/3 innings — the seventh most in the Majors despite missing the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. His 113 quality starts since Sept. 5, 2018, rank sixth in MLB. After a disappointing 2025 comeback campaign, Alcantara leads the Majors in 2026 with 163 2/3 innings pitched and 18 quality starts through 25 outings.
“That’s our third or fourth time in there this year, toasting him to some really incredible career accomplishments,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “Any time you’re talking about having the franchise all-time record in anything, it speaks to consistency, longevity. Certainly, you have to be able to perform at a high level to be able to do that. Sandy’s made his name and his mark in this league with what he did today, and that’s going deep into games again, doing it incredibly efficiently.”
The Marlins (59-59) snapped a four-game losing streak behind two-run hits from Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez in the third inning and three more runs in the fifth. Alcantara improved to 28-1 in his career when given a lead of at least four runs. Miami originally acquired the then-22-year-old prospect in a December 2017 trade that sent All-Star Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis.
“Great guy to look up to the way he goes about his work, the way he worked when he was injured with his elbow and how he came back and how he’s done since he’s come back from that,” said Edwards, Alcantara’s teammate since 2023. “It’s been a lot of fun to watch, and it’s really easy to play behind him.”
Alcantara also reflected on having family in attendance. “Family is everything, especially when they’re watching you playing your favorite sport,” he said. “They’ve been watching all the success that I have. I know my mom is not here, but still knowing that she’s very happy about the way that I’ve been taking care of my family and my job.”
The next franchise milestone in Alcantara’s sights is Nolasco’s 197 career starts as a Marlin. He is three starts away, putting him in line to reach the mark in late August against the Red Sox at home. The Marlins retained Alcantara through the Trade Deadline for the second consecutive year, and a $21 million team option for 2027 could keep him adding to the franchise leaderboard.