Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara expresses frustration with decision to be removed in 9th inning

Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara was reddish basking connected nan mound against nan Cincinnati Reds and was angling to go nan first pitcher to propulsion back-to-back shutouts successful complete a decade.

He took a 2-0 lead into nan ninth inning erstwhile nan Reds’ bats started to jump connected him. He was removed from nan crippled pinch 1 retired and aft Matt McLain doubled and an Elly De La Cruz walk. Reliever Anthony Bender was incapable to support nan Reds astatine bay and Cincinnati tied nan game.

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Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara pitches against nan Cincinnati Reds successful nan first inning astatine loanDepot Park successful Miami, Fla., connected April 7, 2026. (Rhona Wise/Imagn Images)

Cincinnati would people 4 runs successful nan 10th inning and bent connected for nan 6-3 win.

Alcantara was credited pinch nan 2 earned runs aft McLain and De La Cruz scored. He only allowed 3 hits and struck retired six. But he didn’t for illustration head Clayton McCullough’s determination to region him from nan game.

"So I deliberation I merit to beryllium asked really I consciousness earlier taking maine retired of nan crippled (at) 95 pitches and (with a) righty connected deck," Alcantara said, via MLB.com. "But it is what it is. Just sewage to get fresh for my adjacent outing. Get backmost tomorrow and conflict nan aforesaid measurement that we did today."

Cincinnati Reds' Elly de la Cruz reacts aft scoring connected a chaotic transportation by Miami Marlins alleviation pitcher Anthony Bender during nan ninth inning of a shot crippled successful Miami connected April 7, 2026. (Lynne Sladky/AP)

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McCullough suggested he was playing nan percentages arsenic nan Reds’ lineup was coming done to look Alcantara for nan 4th time. He said Bender was nan champion pitcher to travel into nan crippled and triumph it. Unfortunately, it didn’t move retired that way.

"I deliberation there's a batch of decisions that spell passim nan people of nan game, done nan people of nan season, that do measurement connected you, and for this 1 to move and not extremity up successful our favour surely doesn't consciousness great," he added.

"I besides cognize to travel present and [to] answer, that is surely portion of it, and I don't consciousness awesome astir really it vanished for us. I deliberation there's a batch of decisions passim nan people of nan twelvemonth that do measurement connected you. Us losing nan game is for maine what stings nan most."

Alcantara has been 1 of nan champion pitchers to travel done nan Marlins’ statement successful a while.

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara walks to nan dugout earlier a shot crippled against nan Cincinnati Reds successful Miami connected April 7, 2026. (Lynne Sladky/AP)

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He won nan National League Cy Young Award successful 2022. So acold this season, he has a 0.74 ERA pinch 18 strikeouts. The 2 earned runs he was charged pinch connected Tuesday were nan first done 3 starts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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