Alcantara Dominates, Three Marlins Homer in 7-2 Rout
Sandy Alcantara threw 8.0 innings of one-run ball with 8 strikeouts, and Miami's lineup went deep three times to hand the Athletics a 7-2 loss on July 5. The Marlins, who cracked ESPN's MLB Power Rankings top 10 this week, look every bit the part of a team that has figured something out.
The game was effectively over before the third inning ended. Joe Mack got things started with a solo shot to right, and then Otto Lopez did the real damage — a 375-foot blast to left that scored Liam Hicks and pushed Miami to a 3-0 lead. That swing was the turning point: the home win probability dropped from 41% to 23% the moment Lopez's ball cleared the fence. Aaron Civale never recovered, lasting just 4.2 innings and allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks before the Athletics pulled him.
Miami kept piling on. Lopez doubled to left in the fifth to score Sanoja and make it 4-0, and then Kyle Stowers put the game away in the seventh with a 377-foot shot to left center that plated Hicks again — 6-0, and the Athletics were staring at a blowout. Kade Morris came on in relief and was no solution, surrendering 7 hits and 3 earned runs across 3.0 innings. The Marlins added one more in the ninth when Xavier Edwards singled to left to score Stowers, capping a 7-1 lead before a Lopez throwing error in the bottom half let the Athletics scratch across their second run. The final was 7-2, and it wasn't that close.
The story of the night was Alcantara, and it isn't a close call. Eight innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts — that's a performance that carries a staff. Lopez finished 3-for-5 with a homer, 3 RBI, and a run scored. Stowers went 2-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBI. Mack added his own 2-for-5 line with a homer and an RBI. Hicks scored twice without recording an extra-base hit, which appears to say something about how well Miami was moving runners. The Marlins came in having just posted a franchise-best 20-win June, and this performance suggests that momentum is carrying into July.