MIA 3, PHI 15; Sandy blown up in Philly

After a tough series up in Queens, NY, the Marlins took the Amtrak to the city of brotherly love to face the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game set. Game one featured Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara and Phillies spot starter Matt Strahm. This series is just as important to Philly as it is to Miami—the defending National League champions have gotten off to a slow start this season.

In the bottom of the third inning, Phillies outfielder Jake Cave hit his first homer of the season to right field at 103.9 MPH and 413 feet. The Phillies took a 1-0 lead.

After the Cave homer, Sandy walked Bryson Stott, and later on, he stole second which put him in scoring position. With Team USA star Trea Turner up at the plate, Sandy tried to get out of the inning with his slider. Turner took advantage of it as he smacked an RBI single to drive in Stott and extend the lead.

Turner stole second base and Sandy walked Kyle Schwarber, setting up the scene for Florida native Nick Castellanos. On a 1-0 count, Sandy threw a changeup which Castellanos easily hit and drove in Trea Turner, moving Schwarber up to third base. That made it 3-0, Phillies.

The Phillies scored their 4th and 5th runs thanks to hot-hitting Alec Bohm, who has overall solid numbers against Sandy. On a 2-1 count, Bohm crushed a changeup at 109.3 MPH for a single.

The Marlins trainers came out to the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning to check up on Sandy. He seemed fine and waved them off just seconds after they went to go see him.

But Alcantara continued to struggle in the bottom of the fifth inning, allowing RBI singles to both Castellanos and Bohm. Sandy was taken out after that and charged with 2 additional runs when Devin Smeltzer let his inherited runners score.

Giving up 10 hits and 9 runs (all of them earned), this clearly was not the version of Sandy we are accustomed to seeing. Worth noting, he shied away from using his slider, which represented only 9% of his total pitches thrown—his season average entering this game was 21.4%.

Sandy is slated to go up against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, projected to match up with ace Zac Gallen.

Smeltzer made his season debut with the assignment of eating as many innings as possible to help the rest of Miami’s bullpen get some rest.

The blowout became even more lopsided in the sixth. Castellanos hit an RBI single to drive in Turner, who had hit a single earlier in the inning. Then came Alec Bohm, who on a 0-1 count smashed a 3-run homer to give the Phillies a 13-0 lead. Bohm had an exit velo of 109.3 MPH and hit it 440 feet into the air.

Thankfully, the Marlins avoided being shut out. Yuli Gurriel hit his first homer as a member of the Fish, leaving the bat at 95.6 MPH and going 366 feet in the air. The opposing pitcher, McKinley Moore, was making his MLB debut.

After the Gurriel homer, Jean Segura and Jacob Stallings worked walks, Jon Berti grounded into a force out, and Segura scored off an Andrew Vasquez wild pitch.

Next, Jazz got a hit and made way for Garrett Cooper to hit an RBI single to drive in Berti and cut the deficit to 13-3.

To finish off the night’s scoring, former Braves and Athletics outfielder Christian Pache drove one in and Brandon Marsh hit a solo homer (108.0 MPH and went 409 feet).

Overall, Smeltzer went 4 innings, allowing 10 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), and struck out two.

Game Notes:

• Prior to today’s game, the Marlins put reliever, JT Chargois, on the 15-day IL due to a right Oblique Strain.
• George Soriano was recalled from AAA Jacksonville as the corresponding move.
• Jean Segura received his National League Championship Ring today before the game.
• Jacob Stallings's streak of not allowing a passed ball has come to an end. It came in on a Devin Smeltzer cutter.

Manager Skip Schumaker’s postgame press conference

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Miami goes back at it again on Tuesday as they have Jesús Luzardo on the mound and Philly will have Aaron Nola on the bump. This season, Nola has a 7.45 ERA through 9 ²⁄₃ innings pitched. Luzardo is coming off his seven-inning, 10-strikeout performance against the Minnesota Twins. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.