'He's human': Alcantara stumbles in 3rd inning 

PHILADELPHIA -- Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara had an uncharacteristic start in Monday night’s 15-3 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, so much so that catcher Jacob Stallings thought he saw something in his delivery and ordered a fourth-inning mound visit.

As the Marlins held their collective breath, Alcantara relieved the fears of manager Skip Schumaker, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. and a member of the training staff. If anything, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner was frustrated.

Coming off a 100-pitch shutout last Tuesday in Miami, it looked like more of the same early for Alcantara, who retired the first six in order in the series opener.

The wheels came off during a 37-pitch third inning, and Alcantara was done after the first four batters singled in the fifth.

Jake Cave took Alcantara deep to open the third, snapping a stretch of 11 consecutive scoreless innings for him. Then six straight baserunners reached with two outs -- a career high against Alcantara. Sprinkled in were two stolen bases and a pitch timer violation.

“We miss-executed some pitches, probably would like to have a call or two back of that inning,” said Stallings, who recorded a passed ball in the seventh for the first time in 247 full games (2,081 2/3 innings). “They obviously hit the homer, but just a lot of taking advantage of mistakes and hitting it where we weren't, and just kind of snowballed from there.”

This is how Monday’s third inning ranked in regards to a single frame in Alcantara's career:
• Fifth time he has allowed six or more hits, third against the Phillies (most recently Aug. 10, 2022)
• Five two-out hits were the second most (six, done three times in 2019)
• Three two-strike hits were the second most (four, done on May 14, 2021, vs. the Dodgers)
• Four baserunners against the changeup, which tallied the second-best run value of any MLB pitch in 2022

Just like that, the Phillies had matched a season-high five runs. Entering Monday, Alcantara had surrendered one extra-base hit through 14 2/3 frames in two starts. Philadelphia tallied three in the third inning alone.

Alcantara pitched a perfect fourth, but Devin Smeltzer permitted the two inherited baserunners to score in the fifth, ending Alcantara’s line after nine runs (second most in his career, 10 on Aug. 6, 2021, at Coors Field).

It also marked Alcantara’s shortest outing since going 4 2/3 innings on Aug. 21, 2022, at Dodger Stadium. He followed that with a complete game against the Dodgers at loanDepot park.

“They lost a couple games and they know I throw a lot of strikes,” Alcantara said. “Maybe they say something [like], ‘Hey, this guy throws too many strikes. Let's swing the bat.’ And they make a lot of hard contact, soft contact. This is part of the game.”

“We knew it was Sandy on the mound -- I don't think we missed him last year either,” Phillies shortstop Bryson Stott said of Alcantara, who is 0-3 with a 6.67 ERA in his past five starts at Citizens Bank Park. “It kind of always goes like that: the first time through is a little shaky, then we get our feet underneath us and start putting together better at-bats and hopefully get to him. We got to him early this time instead of the eighth or ninth inning.”

When Alcantara takes the mound, Miami expects the bullpen to get a rest. At least that was the hope after the relief corps threw 13 innings over the weekend in New York.

The depleted staff has become a revolving door over the past week. Starter Johnny Cueto (right biceps tightness) and reliever JT Chargois (right oblique strain) have landed on the injured list. Right-handers Jeff Lindgren and Eli Villalobos have been designated for assignment to make space on the 40-man roster for southpaws Daniel Castano and Smeltzer. Left-hander Braxton Garrett was optioned and recalled, then joined the rotation. Miami’s No. 26 prospect George Soriano received his first MLB callup on Monday as the corresponding move for Chargois.

“It's not ideal, but a lot of teams are going through it around the league,” Schumaker said. “I'm guessing you're not going to see Sandy do that too often. Again, he's human, and stuff happens like this every now and then. He's picked us up a lot and eaten up innings when we needed him the most, and hopefully tomorrow, we get that out of [Jesús Luzardo] and see what happens.”