MIAMI — Sandy Alcantara surrendered a career-high-tying three home runs through the first 17 batters he faced as the Miami Marlins fell to the New York Mets, dropping to 72-74 and six games behind Arizona (78-68) for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.
The loss marked the sixth straight Alcantara start the Marlins have dropped, and it pushed Miami two games below .500 for the first time since a franchise-record 12-game skid on July 26. For a pitcher who posted a 2.59 ERA over his previous 12 starts — going at least six innings in each — the outing was a jarring departure.
“[I] just feel very bad about the job that I’ve done tonight, knowing the position that we are [in] right now,” Alcantara said. “Losing is devastating for us. Just got to get hot and keep things together and just be out there and fight.”
Francisco Lindor slugged a homer on the first pitch of the game before Alcantara walked back-to-back batters. Juan Soto followed with a three-run homer in the second inning after a single and a hit-by-pitch. Brett Baty added a solo shot in the third. Alcantara, who turned 31 on Monday, showed a velocity dip of at least 1 mph on all of his pitches except the slider and changeup, which he threw a combined nine times.
“We did an unbelievable job of not chasing Sandy outside the zone,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said. “He usually throws so many strike-to-ball changeups, and you end up seeing a guy swing at him all the time, roll him over, hit him into double plays. We laid off that pitch all day long. He ended up with walks he doesn’t typically have.”
Alcantara worked around a one-out double in a scoreless fourth but got chased in the fifth after A.J. Ewing’s double put a pair of runners in scoring position. Righty Tyler Zuber permitted a sacrifice fly to end Alcantara’s line. In his last two starts, Alcantara gave up eight runs across 12 frames.
“Even the best of their craft in any sport have a tough night,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “So for me, that’s just kind of what it was. Just had a more difficult time tonight than some other outings, getting his secondaries over the plate.”
Despite the loss, Alcantara reached the 200-inning milestone for the first time since his 2022 NL Cy Young-winning campaign. He leads the Majors in starts (31) and quality starts (21). The personal milestones carry little weight for the right-hander, who missed the 2023 National League Wild Card Series with an elbow injury and returned from Tommy John surgery last September.
“I just want to do everything for this team to win,” Alcantara said. “It always means a lot, so a lot of credit to God to give me the opportunity to finish always strong, keep myself healthy all year. But not much to say about the 200 innings. The most important thing for us right now is winning.”
McCullough said he asked Alcantara whether he would be willing to pitch out of the bullpen if needed down the stretch. Alcantara agreed without hesitation. The Marlins have 16 games remaining to close a six-game gap on Arizona for the final playoff berth.