Marlins Game Coverage

CIN 1, MIA 6; Sandy Alcantara pitches gem as Miami knocks off Cincinnati

Finally, the Fish found a way to take a game from the Reds, leading wire-to-wire on Saturday night.

By Hector Rodriguez@Hector_Baseball Aug 28, 2021, 9:45pm EDT

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) throws against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at loanDepot Park

The Miami Marlins are back in the win column after a tremendous outing by their ace, Sandy Alcantara. The Marlins defeated the Reds 6-1 as they scored five runs in the first innings and Alcantara had a career night against a playoff contending team.

Alcantara had another spectacular outing against the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched seven innings allowing six hits, one run, one walk and struck out a career-high 12 batters, surpassing the total of 11 he had in his previous start (also against the Reds).

After Alcantara’s terrific outing, the Marlins had two left-handers come in relief to shut the door. Richard Bleier got the eighth inning and pitched well. The southpaw struck out Tyler Naquin looking before Nick Castellanos singled into LF. Bleier was able to work around the Castellanos single as he got Joey Votto to ground into an inning ending 4-6-3 double play.

The other left-hander who came out of the bullpen for Miami was Ross Detwiler. The 35-year-old lefty started off the inning with a strikeout against Asdrúbal Cabrera. Shortstop Kyle Farmer flew out to CF. Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart did double off the centerfield wall but Detwiler kept him from scoring after he got Eugenio Suárez looking to shut the door and secure the win.

The Marlins offense exploded in the first inning as they scored five on seven hits. Miguel Rojas and Jazz Chisholm Jr. led off the bottom of the first with singles. Jesús Aguilar reached first on a catcher’s interference. Jorge Alfaro followed that up with a two-run single into RF, though Aguilar was thrown out at third on the play.

Brian Anderson reached first on an infield single to the third baseman before Jesús Sánchez blasted a three-run home run to centerfield giving Miami an early 5-0 lead. That home run was Sanchez’s fifth on the season.

Bryan De La Cruz and Alex Jackson would continue the hit parade but Sandy Alcantara struck out and Rojas lined out to RF to end the first inning. The Fish would later score in the bottom of the sixth with a RBI double by Alfaro that scored Chisholm.

Alcantara’s seven frames raised his season total to 165 ¹⁄₃, fourth-most in the majors trailing only Zack Wheeler, Walker Buehler and Adam Wainwright.

What’s next?

The Marlins will look to get the series win Sunday in the series finale versus the Reds. This will be their last game against Cincinnati this season.

Left-handed pitcher Jesús Luzardo will get the start for the Miami Marlins. The 23-year-old southpaw has struggled in his short stint with the Marlins and his coming off a tough outing against the Washington Nationals.

Right-handed pitcher Tyler Mahle is on the mound for the Cincinnati Reds. The California native has pitched well for the Reds this season. He has a 10-4 record with a 3.69 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 168 strikeouts in 141 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched. First pitch is at 1:10 pm EST.