Alcantara's encouraging day undone by 1 mistake pitch

CHICAGO -- What if I told you that Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara set season highs for maximum velocity (99.9 mph), pitches (107) and strikeouts (eight) on Sunday afternoon against the White Sox at Rate Field?

By all accounts, that would indicate a positive outcome.

Unfortunately for Alcantara, one mistake pitch taken deep for the decisive blow changed the complexion of his latest outing in a 4-2 Miami defeat. He has now lost five consecutive starts for the first time in his career.

“I like the first five innings,” Alcantara said. “They were aggressive in the count. So just one pitch changed the game. Try to execute my best slider over there, just left it right there in the middle, and he just hit it.”

With the Marlins and White Sox tied at 1 in the sixth inning, manager Clayton McCullough stuck with Alcantara despite him being at 99 pitches with runners on first and third and only one out. His velocity was still there, plus it was an opportunity to let the veteran work around traffic.

Alcantara, who had retired rookie Tim Elko in their previous two matchups, fell behind 1-0 in the count before hanging his newest pitch -- a curveball/sweeper offering. Elko didn’t miss, crushing it to left field for the go-ahead three-run homer for his first big league hit.

Earlier this season, pitching coach Daniel Moskos detailed the reasoning behind adding the breaking ball. If there was one pitch that had given Alcantara trouble throughout his career, it had been the shape of his slider. It would sometimes move to his arm side, backing up on him. With this grip tweak, Moskos hoped to see more consistent movement and better spin.

While Alcantara recorded two strikeouts on the pitch on Sunday, this one didn’t quite do what it was supposed to: land for a strike at the bottom of the zone. To Elko’s credit, he was able to stay back on the breaking pitch after being late on the fastball all game.

“Normally it has more turn to it,” catcher Nick Fortes said. “That one just kind of spun and fell straight down. It didn't turn as much as it had been earlier in the game. It's been a good pitch for him. That one just kind of spun a little bit.”

After Alcantara struck out the next batter, McCullough took him out. His line didn’t tell the whole story: four earned runs on seven hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.

“I loved how he used the fastball, elevated it some with 2K for some miss there, and incorporating his full mix,” McCullough said. “So I think he's definitely trending, for sure. I feel very confident in that. And again, got burned by one pitch there in the sixth. But other than that, it was a really solid, effective start for us.”

Speaking of Alcantara’s arsenal, here’s a look at his pitch usage in the series finale:

• 31% four-seamer
• 28% sinker
• 20% curveball
• 15% changeup
• 7% slider

The changeup had historically been Alcantara’s best pitch before Tommy John surgery, but it wasn’t working on Sunday, in particular when trying to get ahead in the count with it. So Miami pivoted to a more fastball-heavy approach.

It was encouraging to see Alcantara not shy away from his four-seamer. Entering Sunday, opponents had been slugging .645 against the pitch in 2025 compared to .425 from 2018-23.

Though three of the hits off Alcantara came on the four-seamer, none went for extra bases, and he struck out three batters on the pitch. Alcantara even fired a 99.9 mph fastball -- his fastest of the season and fastest since Sept. 3, 2023, his last start before undergoing surgery -- that Chase Meidroth fouled off in the fifth.

“He just had better fastball command,” Fortes said. “He was using it more, and he was able to get it up in the zone with two strikes. So he executed the fastball a little bit better.”

Still, the result stings considering the White Sox entered Sunday ranked last in the Majors in average (.214), slugging percentage (.320) and OPS (.611), as well as 27th in runs per game (3.4) while being tied for 27th in homers (28).

“I'm getting strong, inning by inning, so that's the most important thing for me right now,” Alcantara said. “And I see it, and I feel very great about it.”