Efficient Sandy returns to vintage ace form with 7-inning Opening Day gem

MIAMI -- Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara is back.

Alcantara became the first Miami starter in 11 years to complete seven innings on Opening Day in the Marlins’ 2-1 victory over the Rockies on Friday night at loanDepot park. With the win, the Marlins have been victorious in their season opener in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004-05.

The 30-year-old Alcantara, who struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery in 2025, was a big reason for that. He looked more like his ‘22 NL Cy Young self while mowing down Colorado’s lineup, requiring just 73 pitches to limit the Rockies to one unearned run, with five strikeouts, two walks and four hits -- all singles.

“Always say it's great for me, especially winning the first one,” Alcantara said. “We know this is a long season, and it's better when you start winning.”

This version of Alcantara, a combination of retro and fresh, showcased the entirety of his six-pitch mix: He threw a cutter to open the game and utilized his new sweeper 12 times, recording two outs on it.

When Alcantara needed to erase a leadoff single in the second, the ground-ball machine turned to his 97.1 mph sinker for a double play. Three of his five strikeouts came on his changeup.

And then the longest-tenured Marlin got some help from a host of newcomers.

Veteran Austin Slater, signed by the Marlins on Wednesday to hit against left-handers, initially kept the Rockies off the scoreboard in the fourth. When Hunter Goodman singled to right field, Slater fired a 92.5 mph throw on one hop to catcher Agustín Ramírez to tag out Jake McCarthy trying to score from second.

Following a forceout at second, however, Gold Glove-winning utility player Javier Sanoja committed an error at third base to keep the inning alive. Alcantara walked the next batter before allowing an RBI infield single to Jordan Beck for his lone blemish.

After that 22-pitch fourth inning, Alcantara needed just 27 more pitches to collect the next nine outs. He feasted on the aggressive young Colorado lineup with his trademark efficiency.

But since Alcantara hadn’t thrown more than five innings this spring, manager Clayton McCullough didn’t send him out for the eighth despite his low pitch count.

Funnily enough, McCullough foreshadowed this situation during Thursday’s workout, when he teased a group of reporters about asking Alcantara how mad the righty would be if he didn’t go nine innings.

“All in all, this was a great start to the year for Sandy to go that deep in the game, be that efficient and as well as to be able to execute at the rate he did today,” McCullough said.

In a closely contested game, the club received contributions from multiple sources.

The left-handed-hitting Owen Caissie, who wasn’t in the original lineup due to southpaw Kyle Freeland starting, opened the scoring in the second with an RBI double to the left-center gap in his first at-bat as a Marlin. Caissie, ranked as the Marlins’ No. 3 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 42 overall prospect, was the centerpiece return in the Edward Cabrera trade with the Cubs in January.

World Baseball Classic hero Sanoja followed with an RBI single to left, which proved to be the difference.

Southpaw Andrew Nardi, who hadn’t pitched in a big league game since Aug. 21, 2024, took over for Alcantara in the eighth and recorded two outs. Right-hander Anthony Bender then stranded runners on the corners by striking out Willi Castro to end the threat.

That set the stage for righty Pete Fairbanks, whom the Marlins signed to a franchise-record deal this offseason, to record his first save in a scoreless ninth.

“I've seen that guy throw a lot of good baseball games, so that's almost kind of what you expect out of him,” Fairbanks said. “He's an absolute premier arm talent, and to see him hopefully turn that last little corner … hopefully this is a great sign of things to come.”

If the Marlins get this version of Alcantara this season, that could mean taking care of unfinished business and reaching the postseason in 2026 after falling just short in an overachieving ‘25 campaign.

“Sandy's really important to this organization,” president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said pregame. “The things that he's accomplished here, what he means to the organization, we know that, and I think he's proud of that. We're proud of that. I think this year could be maybe the best year yet for Sandy.”