Sandy Alcantara looked like his Cy Young self again, and Agustín Ramírez provided the big swing as the Miami Marlins capped a feisty Sunday with a 5-1 victory over the New York Mets at Citi Field.
The right-hander delivered seven strong innings, scattering four hits and striking out six to help the Marlins take three of four in the series. Alcantara (8-11) carried a shutout into the seventh before things briefly boiled over. After giving up a leadoff single to Jeff McNeil, he hit Mark Vientos with a pitch, drawing stares between the two and prompting both benches and bullpens to empty. Cooler heads prevailed, and no punches were thrown.
Alcantara allowed just one run in the frame, then struck out Starling Marte to escape trouble and preserve Miami’s three-run lead. The 2022 NL Cy Young winner now owns a 2.82 ERA across his past eight starts, a stark turnaround from the 7.14 mark he carried through his first 19 outings this season.
Miami’s offense struck early against Kodai Senga (7-6). Otto Lopez opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first inning before Ramírez launched a 386-foot, two-run homer in the third. Heriberto Hernández added an RBI single in the fourth, and the Marlins tacked on another run before Senga exited in the fifth.
Senga’s struggles continued, as he gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings. Since returning from the injured list on July 11, the right-hander has a 5.90 ERA in nine starts. A telling stat: after yielding five or more runs just once across his first 49 major league outings, he has now allowed at least that many twice in his last three.
For New York, the loss was another sour note in an uneven August. Despite setting franchise records for runs (177) and homers (53) in a calendar month, the Mets finished 11-17. They still hold a four-game cushion over Cincinnati for the final NL wild-card spot.
The scrappy Marlins, meanwhile, broke a seven-series losing streak and showed some fight heading into September.
The Mets begin their penultimate road trip Monday in Detroit, where left-hander Sean Manaea (1-2, 5.01 ERA) faces Tigers veteran Charlie Morton (9-10, 5.25). The Marlins head to Washington, where the Nationals will give the ball to rookie left-hander Andrew Alvarez in his major league debut. Miami had not yet announced a starter.
