PHILADELPHIA — Sandy Alcantara was cruising against the Philadelphia Phillies, well on his way to what could have been his fourth complete game of the season — a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in MLB since 2017.
And then came the eighth inning.
The Phillies roughed up the Miami Marlins’ ace and front-runner for the National League Cy Young Award, scoring three runs on six hits in the frame to rally for a 4-3 win over the Marlins on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. Miami falls to 49-61. Philadelphia improves to 62-48.
The damage against Alcantara came quick and often in that decisive frame.
Each of Philadelphia’s first four hitters reached base.
A Jean Segura infield single that dribbled down the third-base line that stayed fair. A Bryson Stott line-drive single into center field. A Brandon Marsh RBI groundball single up the middle. A Kyle Schwarber line-drive, game-tying RBI single to right field.
Rhys Hoskins then hit into a double play, with Miguel Rojas snatching his line drive and throwing to third base to double up Marsh and get Alcantara within one out of ending the inning.
But then Alec Bohm hit a single to right and J.T. Realmuto put the Phillies ahead for good with a first-pitch single through the left side.
Alcantara had basically cruised through the game prior to that. He needed just 45 pitches to get through five innings, allowing just an infield hit in the process.
He lost his shutout bid in the sixth when Schwarber hit a one-out RBI double to score Stott, who walked.
Alcantara quickly got the final two outs of the sixth by striking out Hoskins on three pitches and getting Bohm to line out to right field. He then retired the side in the seventh on six pitches.
His fortunes ended there.
The Marlins scored their first two runs on a Jacob Stallings RBI single in the second and a Charles Leblanc RBI single in the fourth, with both hits driving in JJ Bleday.
Bleday then hit an RBI double in the eighth to score Billy Hamilton, who pinch-ran for Garrett Cooper. Wednesday was Bleday’s first career three-hit game.
