Sandy Alcantara dominates but Marlins lose to Cardinals on late Nolan Arenado home run

The Miami Marlins bought a classic efficiency from Sandy Alcantara on Wednesday.

They didn’t, nonetheless, give him run assist and he needed to watch because the St. Louis Cardinals scored the lone runs of the sport within the one inning he didn’t pitch.

Nolan Arenado’s ninth-inning, two-run house run to left area off reliever Anthony Bender and simply previous the prolonged attain of Jorge Soler on the wall proved to be the distinction the Marlins’ 2-0 loss to the Cardinals at loanDepot park — Miami’s first shutout lack of the season.

Miami falls to 4-7 on the season. The Cardinals are 7-3.

“You hate to waste one like that,” mentioned Marlins supervisor Don Mattingly, who was additionally celebrating his 61st birthday.

Bender has now given up a game-tying or game-winning run within the ninth inning three of his 5 reduction appearances this season.

This time, the deciding hit he allowed got here on a 98.5 mph sinker that clipped the interior fringe of the strike zone in opposition to Arenado, who was 0 for 7 (together with 0 for 3 with three strikeouts Wednesday) within the first two video games of the sequence. Arenado despatched the pitch a projected 379 ft.

“I preferred the decision. I preferred the pitch,” Bender mentioned. “I felt assured in it and he simply beat me to it.”

Alcantara threw eight scoreless innings, permitting simply 4 hits and a stroll whereas placing out six. Of his 98 pitches, 62 landed for strikes — together with 13 swings and misses and one other 13 known as strikes.

It was his finest begin of the younger season and adopted up his outing in opposition to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday (two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings) to start this primary homestand of the season.

“He was excellent,” catcher Jacob Stallings mentioned.

It didn’t begin out clean, although.

Alcantara wanted 27 pitches to get out of the primary inning. The Cardinals’ first two hitters reached base with Tommy Edman getting an infield single and advancing to second on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. throwing error adopted by a stroll to Paul Goldschmidt to cap an eight-pitch plate look.

Alcantara bought out of the jam with out giving up a run by getting Tyler O’Neill to fly out to proper area, Nolan Arenado to strike out swinging on a low sinker and Corey Dickerson to fly out to left area.

He gave up simply three hits the remainder of the best way, threw not more than 12 pitches in a given inning and confronted not more than 4 batters in a body.

“After the primary inning,” Alcantara mentioned, “I simply put my head down and tried to get rid of the unhealthy pitches and tried to assault them.”

In 4 profession begins in opposition to the Cardinals, Alcantara has a 0.99 ERA (three earned runs in 27 1/3 innings) with 29 strikeouts in opposition to eight walks.

However in those self same 4 begins, Alcantara has but to get a win.

The shortage of run assist, as has been the case for many of Alcantara’s profession, as soon as once more performed an element.

Miami had simply eight baserunners on Thursday by way of 5 singles, two walks and a success by pitch. The Marlins went 0 for five with runners in scoring place, with two of these three at-bats coming with two outs and the primary three coming earlier than the fifth inning.

Within the ninth, with runners on first and second following an Avisail Garcia single and Brian Anderson pinch-hit stroll, Stallings struck out swinging and Miguel Rojas hit right into a game-ending fielder’s selection.

Mattingly is now 4-6 all-time on his birthday as a supervisor, together with a 1-4 mark with the Marlins after going 3-2 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As a participant, Mattingly had a .316 batting common (12 for 38) with two doubles, two house runs, 9 RBI and 5 runs scored in 10 profession video games performed on April 20 throughout his 14-year enjoying profession with the New York Yankees, who went 6-4 in these 10 video games.

Harm replace

The Marlins on Wednesday positioned right-handed reduction pitcher Paul Campbell on the 10-day injured checklist with a right-elbow pressure.

Campbell, who was recalled on Sunday however didn’t seem in a sport, will bear an MRI to seek out out the severity of the harm.

Campbell, 26, additionally handled an analogous harm towards the tip of the 2021 season.

“He’d been throwing throughout the winter, increase, threw all spring and was good, was throwing within the Minor Leagues,” Mattingly mentioned. “[Tuesday], he threw a bullpen and felt it.”

The Marlins recalled left-handed pitcher Daniel Castano to fill Campbell’s spot on the energetic roster.

This story was initially printed April 20, 2022 9:45 PM.