Not long ago, thinking about the return of Sandy Alcantara to baseball’s elite it seemed too ambitious. The Dominican, simply, was not the same after his return from the operation Tommy John and many experts pointed out that the path back to the playoffs for the Miami Marlins I was going to close the page with the prize winner Cy Young of the National League in 2022.
But the reality is that Alcántara has been one of the best pitchers of all the Major Leagues during the last two months. Everything the fish could ask for and even more.
However, the troop led by Clayton McCullough There is still no clear path to return to October. The reason? The almost non-existent support that the “ace” has received when he is on the mound.
The most recent chapter of this painful story for fans of the south of the Florida took place this past Monday, when Alcántara subjected the sluggery of the Boston Red Sox for seven innings of just one run.
In the end, the Marlins fell 4-2 after the bullpen blew the lead and the offense went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position. A total of 14 Miami players were in circulation throughout the evening.
“It’s very frustrating for me and my teammates,” Alcántara later admitted. “Losing the game the way we lost it. We will have other opportunities to do better, but in my case I was doing my best from the first inning to be able to win, because we need it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it,” he added.
Indeed, the right-hander has been doing the best he can. After a slow start to the current tournament, in which his ERA reached 4.66 at the end of May, things improved in June (3.35 ERA in six starts). The Marlins won each of those six games and had the best month in franchise history to put themselves squarely in the playoff conversation.
Since then, the story has been a little different.
In his last 10 starts, since July 4, Alcántara has posted a 1.99 ERA and nine of those starts have been quality ones. Likewise, he has completed at least seven episodes without allowing more than a streak in half of those appearances.
But Miami’s record in those ten duels, as incredible as it may seem, has been negative (4-6). After Monday’s setback against Boston, the Marlins had a record of 67-65 and were four games behind the San Diego Padres in the race for the last wild card ticket on the old circuit, with 30 appointments still on the regular round calendar.
“He did what he could”
The Fish offense has produced just two or fewer runs in eight of the star island arm’s last 10 starts.
“It’s tough,” McCullough acknowledged. “He’s throwing the ball unbelievably. We’re counting on him to go deep and give us a chance to win and that’s what he’s done. It’s unfortunate to have another quality start like this and not be able to come out and take control of the game. But he did everything he could.”
