Coming off a night where the Miami Marlins blew a ninth-inning lead and gave up a walk-off home run to Corbin Carroll, there was no way they were letting that happen again. With the Marlins up by just one run, 4-3, heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, a desperate Diamondbacks team that needs to be perfect from here on out to sneak into the postseason was threatening to make another late comeback.
However, the Marlins, at all costs, wanted to avoid a repeat of last night. To that end, they sent out Sandy Alcantara, one of their most reliable starting pitchers, out for the bottom of the ninth in a save opportunity. He did get the first two outs of the inning after inducing two deep flyouts from the Diamondbacks, but he walked the third batter he faced, sending the winning run to the plate.
In the end, Alcantara didn't even need to get the third out of the inning on the mound, as Diamondbacks pinch-runner Jordan Lawlar was caught stealing to end the game. As a result, the Marlins starter earned the first save of his career in what was only the ninth relief appearance of his career.
His latest relief appearance came all the way back on the first of October back in 2017, when he was still a full-time reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals. During that season, he made eight appearances off the bullpen, recording an ERA of 4.32
Article Continues BelowThe Cardinals then traded him to the Marlins in the deal that brought Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis. It took some time for Alcantara to come into his own, but he moved to the rotation full-time starting in 2019, and he's been a quality starter for Miami ever since.
This season, Alcantara has already made 32 starts, leading MLB in innings pitched (206.0). The fact that he had enough in the tank to make a relief appearance is a testament to his durability.
With this latest loss, the Diamondbacks fell to 3.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.