MIAMI – Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara set the franchise record for career innings in Saturday’s game against the Angels at loanDepot park.
Alcantara, who entered his 194th career start as a Marlin at 1,223 2/3 frames, needed just seven outs to surpass Ricky Nolasco.
The 30-year-old Alcantara retired the first six batters in order and matched Nolasco with a strikeout of Moisés Ballesteros to end the second, then surpassed him with a strikeout of Josh Lowe in the third.
This marks the third franchise record Alcantara has set this season; he became the Marlins’ all-time strikeout and quality starts leader in June and July, respectively.
Since making his Marlins debut on June 29, 2018, Alcantara's 1,223 2/3 innings were the seventh most in the Majors despite missing the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Following a disappointing 2025 campaign in his return from the procedure, Alcantara has bounced back in ‘26 to embody the workhorse baseball had grown so used to watching. He entered Saturday leading the Majors in innings pitched (156 2/3) and quality starts (17) through 24 outings.
Alcantara is also the reigning National League Player of the Week after tossing 13 scoreless innings across two quality starts on July 28 vs. the Phillies and Aug. 2 at the Mets. The only other time Alcantara earned the honor was in May 2022 during his NL Cy Young Award-winning campaign.
“There's been several cases already this season postgame where we've gone in there and presented Sandy with a game ball for something that he's done historically in his career,” manager Clayton McCullough said pregame. “I think this one, the innings, will mean a lot to him. … He expects to be the only one to pitch that day, and it means a lot to him. And again, what that means to a team, and certainly for us, the burden he's shouldered this season and how much that's meant to us is what he's been doing now since he's been a Marlin.”