The Miami Marlins have been waiting for former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara to regain his form all season. Alcantara may have given them a ray of hope in his most recent start and will look to build on it Tuesday night when the Marlins visit the surging Pittsburgh Pirates.
Alcantara (2-7, 7.89 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Mitch Keller (1-8, 4.13), who has not recorded a win since beating the Marlins on March 28 in his first start this season.
The Pirates have won a season-high four consecutive games while the Marlins have dropped seven of their past eight and two straight.
Alcantara put together his best start of the season this past Tuesday when he allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four over six innings in a game the Marlins lost 3-2 to the Colorado Rockies.
The 70-pitch outing was a welcome sight for both Alcantara and the Marlins. It snapped a stretch of six consecutive starts in which Miami's No. 1 starter allowed four or more runs.
It was also only Alcantara's second start which lasted six innings this season.
Alcantara did not pitch past the fifth inning the first time he pitched against Pittsburgh on March 27, going 4 2/3 frames. But he allowed only two runs on two hits and four walks while striking out seven. For his career, Alcantara is 1-0 with a 3.03 ERA against the Pirates in six starts and seven appearances overall.
"Right now, it feels way better," Alcantara said after that start. "You have to start from the bottom, step by step, and today I think I made a great step. It seems today, everything will change."
The Marlins welcomed back Eury Perez to their rotation Monday after he missed 20-plus months in the wake of Tommy John surgery.
If Alcantara, who has not been the same since his own return from Tommy John surgery this season, can regain his form it would be a boon for a struggling team and also increase his potential trade value.
Keller continues to be the subject of trade speculation -- as are multiple Pirates starting pitchers -- even as he tries to bounce back from one of his worst starts of the season. Keller allowed six runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out five over 6 1/3 innings last Thursday in an 8-2 loss to the Houston Astros.
Keller didn't say the fact the game started after a three-hour, 22-minute rain delay affected his performance, but he and the Pirates lamented having to play the game after such a long wait.
"Yeah, it's not ideal," Keller said. "It sucks for everybody involved. Everyone's got to go through it. Yeah, it sucks."
Despite the rough outing, Keller extended his streak of pitching six or more innings to six consecutive starts. Keller will try to help change the Pirates' fortunes when he pitches as Pittsburgh is 3-10 overall when he takes the mound.
Keller gave up one run on five hits and one walk while striking out four over six innings in that previous start against the Marlins. Keller is 2-0 with a 3.06 ERA in seven career starts against Miami.
--Field Level Media
