Sandy Alcantara fails to revive 2022 Cy Young magic in Phillies meltdown: "Quietly struggled against good hitters all season last year"

Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins had a season to remember in 2022. He led the league in batters faced, innings pitched, and complete games.

Moreover, Alcantara was able to post a ERA of just 2.28 while accruing a record of 14-9. For his efforts, the 26-year old became the third Dominican-born pitcher in history to win the Cy Young Award.

Alcantara was nothing short of a titan for his team last year. But a recent performance against a divisional rival is leading some to think that maybe the 6'5 right-hander has lost his touch.

Things looked good as Alcantara settled into his third start of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. However, after he allowed a solo shot to the 2023 Grapefuit League batting champ Jake Cave, things began to go pear-shaped, fast.

Sandy Alcantara gave up five more runs in the inning, as the Phillies went through the order. Eventually, Alcantara and Cave met for the second time in the inning, which ended in a groundout from Cave. Alcantara lasted only four innings and was charged with nine earned runs before being yanked in the bottom of the fifth after failing to record an out.

Phillies fans, who have become used to Alcantara in their division, are obviously gloating over their team's performance. It is not every day that their team is able to knock a reigning Cy Young winner so drastically off his game.

As far as Alcantara's career stats go, his historical numbers against the Philadelphia Phillies are mediocre. The Dominican ace has a record of 6-8 in 17 career appearances against the team, along with an ERA of 3.97.

Sandy Alcantara needs to be the man standing between his team and last place

The Phillies ended up capturing the victory by a very commanding 15-3 margin. While it is unlikely that their next outing against Sandy Alcantara will be as fruitful, Phillies fans are making sure to enjoy the buzz while they can.

Even with the likes of Alcantara on their roster, the Miami Marlins will find it very difficult to compete with teams in their division like the New York Mets. Already in last place in their division, the Marlins will need far better showings from Alcantara if they want even a slight hope at improving their lot in the league.

About the author

Adrian Dorney is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda. Having worked over five years in the industry, Adrian strives to combine statistical analysis with the human side of baseball reporting. Since a lot of his briefs involve publishing content with urgency, he has perfected a process involving a combination of trustworthy sources and assessment with intuition.

His lifelong tryst with baseball began with growing up in Toronto and watching the Blue Jays regularly. His favorite player is Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., and Jose Bautista's go-ahead home run in 2015 ALDS Game 5 remains his favorite baseball memory to date.

When not working, Adrian is constantly looking to learn new things and he also loves playing golf and chess.

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