Can Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara shake off messy May, reinstate tradability? originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Sandy Alcantara needed a rebound start.
The Miami Marlins‘ pitcher got it Monday night against the host Washington Nationals, earning a quality start.
As much as Alcantara needed a strong outing, Marlins general manager Gabe Kapler may have yearned for one more.
Once viewed as an attractive MLB trade deadline candidate, Alcantara entered the start at National Park needing to distance himself from his May performance. The 30-year-old right-hander yielded at least six earned runs in three of five starts last month, compiling a 7.39 earned-run average during that span.
On Monday, the 2022 All-Star pitched seven innings and yielded three earned runs during the Marlins’ 7-3 victory, snapping a five-game losing streak.
Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara shakes off recent skid
If Alcantara’s funk had continued, Kapler would have been challenged to engineer a favorable deal, if an offer materialized. In his past two starts, covering 11.2 innings, the nine-year veteran surrendered 14 earned runs on 19 hits, including five home runs.
Alcantara yielded all eight runs in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 26. He opened the month by surrendering seven earned runs in 4.1 innings against the Baltimore Orioles on May 5.
Against the Nationals, he retired the top of the lineup in order in the first inning, but yielded a two-run homer to hot-hitting Jacob Young with one out in the second. The Nationals claimed a 3-1 lead in the third on Curtis Mead’s RBI hit.
Alcantara (4-4) retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced Monday.
He needed that.