Sandy Alcantara finally found his Cy Young form — and the Miami Marlins found a much-needed win. Alcantara tossed six shutout innings and struck out six as the Marlins edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Tuesday night at PNC Park. The victory marked Alcantara’s first win since April 12, snapping a nine-start drought in which he went 0-7 with a 9.07 ERA.
The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner looked sharp from the outset, allowing just three hits and one walk over six innings. It was the kind of outing the Marlins have been waiting for, and Alcantara (3-7) delivered in a big way against a Pirates club that entered the night riding a season-high four-game winning streak.
Miami gave Alcantara early run support thanks to Nick Fortes, who launched a two-run homer — his second of the season — off Pirates starter Mitch Keller in the third inning. An inning later, Eric Wagaman added an RBI single to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead. Wagaman finished 2-for-3 with a walk, providing a spark to a Miami offense that’s struggled much of the season.
Keller (1-9) was solid but again snake-bitten by poor run support. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits in six innings and received just two runs of support — par for the course this year. The veteran right-hander hasn’t won since Opening Day, when he beat these same Marlins. He now owns a 4.15 ERA, but has received just 2.28 runs per game of support, among the lowest in MLB.
The Pirates made things interesting late. Miami reliever Ronny Henriquez served up solo homers to Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to trim the lead to 3-2.
Then in the ninth, closer Calvin Faucher wobbled out of the gate. He plunked Spencer Horwitz and gave up a single to Nick Gonzales to put two on with no outs. But the Marlins caught a break when pinch-runner Jared Triolo stumbled rounding second on Gonzales’ hit to right, forcing him to stay at second instead of pushing to third. That hesitation proved costly. Faucher regrouped, retired the next three hitters, and secured his fifth save of the year — stranding Triolo as the tying run at third.
The win was just Miami’s second in its last nine games, while the Pirates (now 15-15 under interim manager Don Kelly) saw their surge under Kelly briefly stall.
In the ninth, Triolo’s stumble on Gonzales’ single kept the tying run at second instead of moving to third. That momentary lapse prevented the Pirates from playing for a sacrifice fly or pushing the envelope and ultimately sealed the game for Miami.
2.28 — the average run support for Mitch Keller this season. Despite a solid ERA of 4.15, the lack of offensive backing has left him with a dismal 1-9 record.
The teams wrap up the series Wednesday with Miami aiming for a rare series win. Rookie right-hander Max Meyer is slated to start for the Marlins, while the Pirates counter with veteran lefty Martín Pérez.
