Sandy tosses 5 innings in back-field 'B' game

JUPITER, Fla. -- Sandy Alcantara's strong spring continued on Monday -- albeit on a back field of the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex.

Alcantara effortlessly breezed through five innings against a mixture of St. Louis Major and Minor Leaguers, keeping the Cardinals scoreless while only allowing four baserunners.

“I think everything was working today,” Alcantara said. “The strike zone was good. Fastball command was good.”

Miami manager Don Mattingly elected to have Alcantara throw in the “B” game to keep him from having to face division-rival Washington for a third time in as many outings this spring.

Pitching Alcantara on the back fields allowed Mattingly to give Marlins top pitching prospect Edward Cabrera his first Grapefruit League start. Cabrera, 23, is in the mix to be part of Miami's starting rotation. He went 0-3 with a 5.81 ERA in seven starts last season.

Had Miami not scheduled a “B” game, Alcantara would have either had to potentially face the Nationals in all four outings this spring or throw a live bullpen session against other Miami players.

“You hate to see him throwing lives against your own guys, even in a Minor League game,” Mattingly said. “A 'B' game's a little better.”

Mattingly hoped Alcantara would throw about 75 pitches and last five innings. The 26-year-old righty hit the innings target so easily that he needed to toss about a dozen more pitches in the bullpen before heading to the clubhouse.

With a fastball that clicked 98 mph, Alcantara allowed only three hits -- one of which was a looper to second that got lost in the sun. He walked one batter and struck out four.

Alcantara's heavy fastball also broke a couple of St. Louis bats.

“I like it when I break bats,” he said, smiling.

Efficiency is nothing new for Alcantara. The 2019 All-Star eclipsed the 195-inning mark in each of the past two full seasons (2019 and '21).

A lack of run support led to Alcantara's 9-15 record last season, despite posting a 3.19 ERA over 33 starts. Across five Major League seasons, Alcantara owns a 20-34 record.

“Those are the type of things that you can't control as a pitcher,” Mattingly said. “We just asked him to keep us in the game, do his job.”

Alcantara started Miami's two previous Opening Days, and is on schedule to take the mound when the Marlins open the regular season on April 8 in San Francisco, but Mattingly has yet to announce who will start the opener.

“I don't want to say I want to be the Opening Day [starter], but I would like to do it,” Alcantara said.

Delivered an off-day
Originally slated to play in Monday's game against the Nationals, catcher Jacob Stallings received a day off after his wife gave birth to their child on Sunday night. In his first year with Miami, Stallings would have been used in the later innings on Monday, as Mattingly intended on giving the 2021 Gold Glove winner some experience catching Miami's relievers.

Taking it easy
Miami is taking it slow with the build-up of potential closer Dylan Floro. If that means Floro isn't ready for Opening Day, that's OK with Mattingly.

“I'm not really concerned about any of that," the skipper said. "My biggest concern is him being healthy and just getting him built right and having him for the long haul. If he misses the first few games, I'm not going to worry about that.”

Pleased for Pujols
Mattingly was happy to hear that slugger Albert Pujols found a home with the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I love Albert,” Mattingly said. “Albert's a great dude. He's been great for the game. He's a pro, right? Any time you get that kind of guy in your lineup, he makes everybody better, just because he understands what he's doing."