The Miami Marlins couldn’t cross the finish line, losing 4-2 against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. However, Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara kept the Phillies chasing shadows on the mound and added his name to the franchise record books while at it.
Alcantara threw six strong innings, climbing past 900 career strikeouts for Miami, a club only Ricky Nolasco had joined with 1,001 strikeouts. The outing came a day before Alcantara’s 30th birthday.
Alcantara (8-12) struck out four and walked one, allowing seven hits and four runs over six frames. The Marlins’ right-hander faced early adversity when Phillies superstar Bryce Harper crushed a first-inning fastball for a two-run homer, his 24th of the season.
Aside from that, Alcantara’s primary challenge came in the fourth inning, when three of the five hits he surrendered came on balls struck below 85 mph, including an Eric Wagaman double and an RBI infield single from Javier Sanoja that cut the deficit to 4-2.
Miami manager Clayton McCullough praised Alcantara’s composure, noting that the ace maintained focus even after 94 pitches through five innings. Alcantara leaned heavily on his changeup and curveball while utilizing a full five-pitch repertoire, generating ten whiffs overall, four via his four-seam fastball. For the fourth game in a row, keeping the momentum going, he made it to the sixth inning.
Opposing him, former Marlins starter Jesus Luzardo showcased his revamped pitching arsenal for the Phillies. Luzardo (13-6) struck out eight over six innings of two-run ball, giving up five hits and four walks. The southpaw heavily relied on his sweeper, throwing it 48% of the time and generating ten of his fourteen whiffs with the pitch, while also collecting six of his eight punchouts. Working around runners like a pro, Luzardo kept the Marlins at bay.
Philadelphia padded its lead in the fourth inning with a run-scoring single from Harrison Bader and a sacrifice fly from Bryson Stott, while Brandon Marsh contributed two doubles on the day.
As the game wound down, Miami tried to rally, including Wagaman’s double and Sanoja’s RBI single, but the Marlins were unable to close the gap. Relief pitching from David Robertson, Matt Strahm, and Jhoan Duran, who secured his 27th save, preserved the Phillies’ 4-2 victory.
