CIN 0, MIA 3; Speed Kills, Even at the Beach

Miami, FL—When the Marlins needed it most, Sandy Alcantara delivered a special performance. It didn’t look like it was gonna be easy, but Sandy had other plans. He even got some help from Luke Williams, Jesús Aguilar, Billy Hamilton, and Garrett Cooper on the offensive side, and Miguel Rojas, Charles Leblanc, and JJ Bleday on the defensive side.

The evening began with Sandy getting into significant trouble and loading the bases with one out. But after a visit from Miguel Rojas, Sandy rolled two groundballs right back to the mound, the first he threw home to prevent a run and the second to first to end the inning. From then on, not a single Reds baserunner made it to third base. They got a few to second and multiple to first, but Sandy “Double Plays” Alcantara had his mind set on one thing: a complete game.

He used his 55.5% groundball percentage to cruise through the rest of the game, inducing 15 groundballs. Besides the 22 pitches he threw in the first, Sandy didn't throw more than 13 pitches in any other inning. He faced three batters in seven of the last eight innings of the game. Rolling two groundball double plays. We even got to see why you should never run on JJ Bleday!

And now for the question we always ask: did he get run support? As a matter of fact, he did, courtesy of Jesús Aguilar in the fourth inning. He launched a ball over the Marlins bullpen in left to put the Marlins on the board.

In the following inning, Luke Williams singled, stole second and third, and scored along with Billy Hamilton on a Garrett Cooper double to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead.

Williams would go on to finish the game as the sixth player in Marlins history to record three hits and three stolen bases in a single game.

Baseball Savant

Noah’s Notes and What’s Next

• Before the game, the Marlins joined the baseball community in mourning the loss of legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 94.
• This was Sandy’s third complete game of the 2022 season. That is more than every team in the majors except for the Red Sox (who also have three). Enough Said.
• Oh, and speed kills.
• Off to Chicaaaaaagoooooo with a chance to see some Edward Cabrera and Peyton Burdick action! Wyatt VanDyke will have on-site coverage of the series opener on Friday.