Alcantara undone by 4th inning as Marlins fall

Righty breezes through 3 before 5-run inning sends Miami to second straight loss

May 26th, 2019

WASHINGTON -- What started out as a pitchers’ duel at Nationals Park unraveled in the fourth inning on Saturday as the Marlins dropped their second straight game to the Washington Nationals, 5-0.

Any remaining evidence of the Marlins’ recent six-game winning streak disappeared as Miami managed just four hits off Washington starter Patrick Corbin, who went the distance. The Marlins grounded into three double plays and didn’t get a runner to second base until Harold Ramirez doubled leading off the eighth inning.

“Today was one of those days. We just didn’t get anything really going where you felt like you had some kind of sustainable momentum,” manager Don Mattingly said.

Coming off a shutout against the Mets, Marlins starter (2-5) allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks over five innings. The righty sailed through three frames, but he was done in by a five-run fourth inning that included several soft hits and a defensive miscue.

“I thought he threw the ball good,” Mattingly said of Alcantara. “I thought he had good stuff today. That inning was a little unfortunate.”

Adam Eaton opened the Washington half of the fourth with a single, but he was erased by left fielder Austin Dean when he overran second base on Anthony Rendon’s single, though Rendon advanced to second himself during the rundown. After Juan Soto grounded a single to right to score Rendon, Matt Adams walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch.

Brian Dozier then smacked a grounder to third. Brian Anderson’s throw to the plate was high and wide, allowing Soto to slide in safely to make it 2-0.

“It’s the extra out that really costs you,” Mattingly said. “Just watching the replay, it was like [Anderson] kind of didn’t have a great grip on that as he had to inside pivot and try to get something on it.”

Alcantara hit the next batter to load the bases for Nationals catcher Yan Gomes. Swinging on the first pitch, Gomes hit a dribbler just inside first base. The ball rolled to a stop in shallow foul territory, and three runs scored to give Washington a five-run advantage.

“Yeah, that was frustrating to me,” Alcantara said. “I prefer that they hit a homer than the soft contact.”

The Marlins had their best scoring chance in the eighth inning when Ramirez (2-for-3) led off with a double and Martin Prado walked, but Miguel Rojas hit into a double play and Bryan Holaday struck out.

“I was aggressive with the first pitch in a big situation right there,” Rojas said. “I hit it hard, but I hit it right into the ground, right to the shortstop. Nothing you can do about that.”

Corbin finished with 116 pitches and five strikeouts, his second lowest total of the season. He allowed just four hits and one walk.

“I think he was effective while he was throwing the ball away from some people, in for others,” Rojas said. “It worked for him today. We did a good job putting good swings on it, laying off the slider in the dirt.”

Garcia shines in relief

The bright spot for the Marlins on Saturday was the work of lefty reliever . He came on for the sixth inning and finished the game, allowing a hit and three walks over three scoreless innings.

“Amazing,” Alcantara said of Garcia’s effort. “They gave him the opportunity and he did the job.”

In Friday’s 12-10 loss, Mattingly needed six relievers to finish up after Pablo Lopez left early. The Marlins aren’t off until a week from Monday.

“Jarlin did a nice job for us,” Mattingly said. “Puts our bullpen back in order from that standpoint. But he gives us three innings pretty clean. Yeah, nice job.”