The Miami Marlins rode a vintage performance from ace Sandy Alcantara on Wednesday afternoon, as the right-hander delivered the first complete game of the MLB season in a dominant 93-pitch shutout to power Miami past the Chicago White Sox 10–0.
Alcantara’s masterpiece marked his 13th career complete game and his second career shutout in fewer than 100 pitches — the rare gem known as a “Maddux,” named after Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner struck out seven, allowed just three singles, and hit one batter while extending his scoreless streak to 15 innings to open the season.
Miami wasted no time backing its ace, erupting for four runs in the first inning against White Sox starter Shane Smith.
Liam Hicks opened the scoring with an RBI single, and Connor Norby followed with a run-scoring double. Both runners later crossed the plate on a two-run single from Owen Caissie, quickly putting Chicago in an early hole.
Hicks continued his big afternoon in the second inning, launching a two-run homer — his third of the season — to stretch the lead to 6–0.
Hicks delivered one of the standout offensive performances of the young season, finishing with a home run, three hits, and four RBIs. His production lifted his major league-leading RBI total to 12.
Meanwhile, Javier Sanoja added a two-run single in the third inning to further widen the margin, and Otto López capped the scoring with a solo homer in the eighth. Graham Pauley chipped in with two doubles as Miami’s lineup stayed aggressive throughout the afternoon.
Hicks also added another RBI single in the sixth inning, continuing his torrid start at the plate.
With a sizable cushion, Alcantara attacked the strike zone efficiently and never allowed the White Sox to mount a serious threat. He faced just one batter over the minimum through six innings and needed only 93 pitches to finish the shutout.
After opening the season with a strong outing against Colorado, Alcantara improved to 2–0 and reaffirmed his status as one of baseball’s premier workhorse starters.
Smith lasted just three innings, surrendering eight runs on seven hits as his early-season struggles persisted. Through his first two starts, he has allowed 12 runs on 15 hits across just 4⅔ innings.
Chicago never generated sustained offense against Alcantara and was held scoreless throughout the contest.
With the victory, Miami finished its homestand 5–1 — its best start at home since the 2020 season — and continued to build early momentum behind dominant pitching and timely hitting.
The White Sox turn to Sean Burke (0–1, 6.75 ERA) for Thursday’s home opener against Toronto, which will counter with Dylan Cease (0–0, 1.69 ERA).
The Marlins head to New York to open a three-game series against the Yankees, where Eury Pérez (0–0, 3.86 ERA) is scheduled to face Ryan Weathers (0–0, 3.86 ERA) in the opener.
