Sandy Alcántara delivered one of his best performances of the season and rookie Máximo Acosta provided a milestone moment as the Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 on Wednesday night at loanDepot Park, avoiding a three-game sweep.
Alcántara (7-11) scattered five hits and allowed two runs across seven innings, striking out a season-high nine. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner logged just his third start of the season to reach seven innings, surpassing Dontrelle Willis for second place on the franchise’s all-time starts list with 163. Ricky Nolasco holds the club record with 197.
“I felt really strong tonight,” Alcántara said. “I wanted to finish the series on a good note for us. The defense, the bats, everything came together.”
Acosta, who entered the night hitless in his first eight career at-bats since his promotion Monday, crushed a 418-foot fastball from Cardinals starter Andre Pallante in the sixth inning. The two-run shot over the center-field wall gave the Marlins a 5-2 lead and marked his first major-league hit and home run.
“That was a dream come true,” Acosta said. “I’ve been waiting for that moment my whole life. To help the team win makes it even better.”
Miami struck first in the second inning when Heriberto Hernández scored from third on a double-play grounder. An inning later, Hernández extended the lead to 3-0 with a two-run single after Jakob Marsee and Agustín Hernández executed a double steal to set up the scoring chance.
The Cardinals cut into the deficit in the fifth with Lars Nootbaar’s RBI double, but Troy Johnston answered in the bottom half with a run-scoring single to restore the Marlins’ three-run cushion.
Willson Contreras pulled St. Louis closer in the sixth with his 17th homer of the season, making it 4-2, but Acosta’s blast the following inning put the game out of reach. Hernández later added his third hit of the night, finishing with two RBI to pace Miami’s offense. Johnston also chipped in two singles.
Pallante (6-11) worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. He was lifted after surrendering Acosta’s homer.
The loss ended St. Louis’ hopes for a sweep and dropped them to 63-67 on the season, while Miami improved to 57-74.
The Cardinals continue their road trip Thursday, opening a three-game series at Tampa Bay with RHP Sonny Gray (11-6, 4.30 ERA) facing Rays right-hander Joe Boyle (1-2, 4.68 ERA).
The Marlins return home Friday to begin a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays, who will debut RHP Shane Bieber. Miami has yet to announce a starter.
