Sandy's gem goes for naught against Braves

MIAMI -- You’d never know Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara was poised for another gem by looking at his bullpen ahead of Tuesday’s start. According to manager Don Mattingly, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. told him minutes before first pitch that Alcantara’s stuff was a bit flat.

And yet Alcantara was electric in a 2-0 loss to the Braves at loanDepot park. He allowed just one run over eight innings, but his offense couldn’t provide run support -- a trend that has spanned several years.

Stuck in a scoreless deadlock in the eighth, Alcantara issued his first walk of the game to pinch-hitter Abraham Almonte with one out. He had him 1-2 before missing outside the zone three pitches in a row. It proved costly, as Almonte stole second on a strikeout, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on Jorge Soler’s two-strike single to right.

Other than that sequence, the biggest threat Alcantara faced came in the sixth, when opposing pitcher Huascar Ynoa reached on an infield hit. After Ozzie Albies struck out, Ynoa moved to second on Soler's groundout and third on Freddie Freeman's sharp single. Alcantara stranded runners at the corners as Austin Riley grounded into a fielder's choice.

“When he's pounding the strike zone like that early and he's forcing guys to swing the bat, which gets him in good counts, he has a chance to dominate on those days, just because the changeup is so good, and tonight he had the slider going, too,” Mattingly said. “When you're forcing guys to swing at 98, 99 [mph], and he's painting and he's down. And he's up to Freddie, missed some balls early [I] thought might have hit the quadrant, didn't get the call, but right there in the zone all day, just forcing you to swing the bat. It's tough to lay off that stuff.”

Since surrendering a career-high 10 earned runs on Aug. 6 at Coors Field, Alcantara has given up one run in 15 innings across two starts. He has fanned 14 batters and walked three. Two starts -- the one against Colorado and another on May 14 at Dodger Stadium -- have bloated his season stats. Those count for 18 of his 57 earned runs allowed (32%) this season.

It marked the fifth time in 25 starts this season Alcantara has gone at least eight innings -- tied with Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright for the MLB lead. It also is the 10th time he has allowed one or no runs; the Marlins are 4-6 in those outings.

“I feel like I've got more in my tank,” said Alcantara, who last pitched a complete-game shutout in 2019. “I've just got to finish the game. That's my goal all the time, but that didn't happen today.”

During his All-Star rookie season in 2019, Alcantara threw a MLB-leading two shutouts. He posted a 3.88 ERA, but finished with a 6-14 record. For his career, Alcantara is 15-8 when receiving three or more runs of support. Unfortunately, he has received two or fewer 32 times in 70 career starts.

“It's tough, because you throw a really good game and you lose, but like I said, I can't do anything about it,” Alcantara said. “I've just got to keep my head up, keep doing my job, keep doing everything I can and keep pitching.”

With the Braves surging to the top of the National League East standings, the Marlins can try to play spoiler the rest of the way. Twenty-eight of their remaining 42 games are against division opponents. A year ago, it was Miami acting as a contender en route to its first postseason berth since 2003. Alcantara took the mound for the clincher, then opened the NL Wild Card Series vs. the Cubs and the NL Division Series vs. Atlanta.

In four starts against Atlanta in 2021, Alcantara has compiled a 2.05 ERA. His career mark is 2.20 in seven starts. Matchups between the two clubs have provided plenty of drama over the past few seasons. Is there heightened intensity on the mound?

“All the time we face the Braves, we feel like we have a big battle, because we are teams that don't like each other,” Alcantara said. “Just want to go outside, do my job and attack the hitter.”