​MIAMI — Even before the 2026 season began, the Miami Marlins front office projected that Sandy Alcantara would deliver what could be the best year of his career. While the first half of the season hasn’t exactly mirrored his 2022 Cy Young-winning form, Alcantara has still pitched at the level expected of a frontline starter who could help the Marlins push for the postseason. In a 3-2 defeat to the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, Alcantara logged seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits with eight strikeouts. “Outside of a couple blips this half, this has been kind of what we’ve seen from the majority of his starts—him again filling up the strike zone, executing very well, using both sides of the plate,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said after the game.
Remarkably, it was Alcantara’s first defeat since May, a rare stumble after the team had begun to turn the season around. “This run we’ve been on, and how we’ve been able to play, he has been a huge part of that because every fifth or sixth day,” McCullough said. “He comes in there, and you’re almost banking six innings or more, either with the lead when he exits or in a position to win.” Alcantara lowered his season ERA to 3.99, a far cry from the MLB-high 7.22 he sported entering the 2025 All-Star break while coming back from Tommy John surgery. In his postgame remarks, Alcantara said he has come “very far” this year, noting the shift from “talking about bad games” last season to “doing so great since Opening Day.” “This year feels much different, but more so because of how great we’ve been doing,” he said. “My mentality has also changed a lot. The way I’ve been attacking hitters this year and going deep into games has really helped.”
A new weapon has emerged as well: Alcantara developed a sweeper to complement a cutter that has become a significant factor in his June surge. On Friday, he threw the cutter 20% of the time, with half of those deliveries resulting in swinging strikes. “It’s been a great pitch. I don’t think some of the hitters know I have that yet, so I’ve been getting a lot of swing-and-miss,” Alcantara said.
McCullough added that Alcantara “came into this year very motivated to pick up where he left off last year.” His first-half highlights have included a 24-inning scoreless stretch to begin the season, a 6-0 run through June, becoming the fifth active Dominican-born pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts, and breaking the Marlins’ career strikeout record. All of this comes as the Marlins (52-43) head into the weekend just three games back of first place in the National League East and tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the second wild-card spot.
“Why can I not be happy this year, knowing that nobody’s perfect, especially in baseball?” Alcantara asked, masking a sense of contentment with a question that underscored the broader mood inside the clubhouse. The Marlins aren’t perfect, but their ace is delivering at a level that suggests the summer could hold a significant push toward postseason play.