In a showdown between Cy Young Award winners, Sandy Alcantara delivered his best when the Miami Marlins needed it most. The right-hander pitched seven strong innings to outlast Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, and Miami powered its way to an 8-2 win over the Tigers on Friday night at loanDepot park.
Alcantara (9-12), the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner, held Detroit to two runs on four hits while striking out eight. It marked the sixth time this season he matched his longest outing of seven innings.
Skubal (13-5), the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, was forced to leave early after experiencing tightness in his left side. The lefty had been nearly unhittable in recent weeks, allowing only one earned run over his previous 27 1/3 innings, but Miami tagged him for four runs on four hits in just 3 1/3 innings before he exited.
Detroit also suffered another setback when shortstop Javier Báez left the game in the second inning after a scary moment. Báez fouled a pitch off the brim of his helmet that ricocheted into his left eye, forcing him out of the contest.
Miami’s offense wasted no time capitalizing. Rookie Agustín Ramírez put the Marlins ahead in the first with a solo homer, his 20th of the season, off a Skubal fastball. Heriberto Hernández followed with a leadoff homer in the second, and Javier Sanoja added an RBI fielder’s choice to give Miami a 3-0 lead.
After Riley Greene briefly cut the deficit with a solo homer in the fourth, Sanoja struck again with a two-run double that reestablished control for Miami. Joey Wiemer then broke the game open in the sixth, belting a two-run homer against reliever Chris Paddack to make it 7-1. Hernández’s home run earlier and Wiemer’s blast gave Miami three long balls on the night.
The Tigers managed just one more run on an RBI groundout in the seventh, but Alcantara silenced any potential rally before turning it over to the bullpen.
Miami’s victory marked its first three-game winning streak since sweeping the New York Yankees at home from Aug. 1-3, a stretch that had briefly pulled them to .500 on the season.
The series continues Saturday night, with veteran right-hander Charlie Morton (7-13, 4.85 ERA) scheduled to start for Detroit against Miami’s Jansen Junk (6-3, 4.48 ERA).
