Sandy Alcantara has struggled throughout 2025 but showed his true form tonight at PNC Park as the Pirates fell to the Marlins, 3-2, ending their four-game winning streak.
Alcantara held the Pirates to three hits over six innings, struck out six, walked one and didn't allow an earned run for the first time this season. Through 13 starts, he's produced a 7.14 ERA, has never thrown more than six innings and has given up three or more earned runs nine times. Hardly the form of a former Cy Young award winner.
"He was Alcantara," Spencer Horwitz, who went 0 for 3, told me. "I think he's not having his best year but today he was on and he showed why he's been one of the best."
All three hits -- doubles from Andrew McCutchen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa and a single from Adam Frazier -- came in the first three innings before Alcantara retired 10 straight to end his outing. He struck out Oneil Cruz twice by getting him to swing over a 1-2 changeup and then dotted this 99 mph fastball on the inner edge:
That was Alcantara's strength all night. He located his pitches all over the zone, throwing his curveball at a 32% rate and produced a 50% whiff rate with his changeup and slider while also averaging 97.6 mph with his fastball.
"He just hit his spots," Horwitz said. "He was in, out, up, down. He was tough to game plan against today. He was really executing."
Through six innings, it seemed as though the Pirates' offense was lifeless as they left runners on base and didn't capitalize in scoring situations. Don Kelly said they "all felt that" in the dugout when I asked and attributed part of it to the way Alcantara was throwing.
"How much it all had to do with Sandy, how good he was, and effective in pitching," Kelly said. "We were just trying to find some ways to grind some at-bats out, and to stick with it. He gets out of the game, and energy can be created by the offense. As we saw yesterday, it was really good. Today, for the first part ... Sometimes it has to do with the guy you're facing."
• Once Alcantara exited the game, the Pirates created momentum as they got deeper into the Marlins' bullpen. Anthony Bender threw a scoreless seventh, but Cruz and Ke'Bryan Hayes both hit home runs off Ronny Henriquez in the eighth to make it a one-run game. It was Hayes' second home run of the season and his first since April 4. He's hitting .160 over his last 15 games and .250 over his last seven. He has at least one hit in five of his last six games and one multi-hit game in that span.
"For him to be able to get one, especially out there, he earned that one. It was great," Kelly said.
• Isaac Mattson and Ryan Borucki worked three scoreless innings. Borucki was appearing for the fourth time since May 25 and has had at least three or more days between each appearance. He retired three batters on eight pitches without allowing a hit.
After his appearance on the 25th, Borucki told DK Pittsburgh Sports that he was dealing with fatigue. He said tonight that he's made tweaks to his mechanics that have allowed him to be more consistent when he gets tired.
"I was just making a small adjustment with my lower half and with my hands," Borucki said. "I'm just kinda getting in a rhythm more. I felt like I was getting a little stuck, especially when I got tired. Before I made the change, my stuff was getting a couple ticks down, so it's good to just to feel like the work I've been doing on the side has really translated into the last few times I've been in the game."
Borucki's slider, sinker and splitter were all faster than their average velocities while his sweeper was down 0.8 mph.
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
2:59 am - 06.11.2025NORTH SHOREExtra Bases: Alcantara shows old form
Sandy Alcantara has struggled throughout 2025 but showed his true form tonight at PNC Park as the Pirates fell to the Marlins, 3-2, ending their four-game winning streak.
Alcantara held the Pirates to three hits over six innings, struck out six, walked one and didn't allow an earned run for the first time this season. Through 13 starts, he's produced a 7.14 ERA, has never thrown more than six innings and has given up three or more earned runs nine times. Hardly the form of a former Cy Young award winner.
"He was Alcantara," Spencer Horwitz, who went 0 for 3, told me. "I think he's not having his best year but today he was on and he showed why he's been one of the best."
All three hits -- doubles from Andrew McCutchen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa and a single from Adam Frazier -- came in the first three innings before Alcantara retired 10 straight to end his outing. He struck out Oneil Cruz twice by getting him to swing over a 1-2 changeup and then dotted this 99 mph fastball on the inner edge:
That was Alcantara's strength all night. He located his pitches all over the zone, throwing his curveball at a 32% rate and produced a 50% whiff rate with his changeup and slider while also averaging 97.6 mph with his fastball.
"He just hit his spots," Horwitz said. "He was in, out, up, down. He was tough to game plan against today. He was really executing."
Through six innings, it seemed as though the Pirates' offense was lifeless as they left runners on base and didn't capitalize in scoring situations. Don Kelly said they "all felt that" in the dugout when I asked and attributed part of it to the way Alcantara was throwing.
"How much it all had to do with Sandy, how good he was, and effective in pitching," Kelly said. "We were just trying to find some ways to grind some at-bats out, and to stick with it. He gets out of the game, and energy can be created by the offense. As we saw yesterday, it was really good. Today, for the first part ... Sometimes it has to do with the guy you're facing."
• Once Alcantara exited the game, the Pirates created momentum as they got deeper into the Marlins' bullpen. Anthony Bender threw a scoreless seventh, but Cruz and Ke'Bryan Hayes both hit home runs off Ronny Henriquez in the eighth to make it a one-run game. It was Hayes' second home run of the season and his first since April 4. He's hitting .160 over his last 15 games and .250 over his last seven. He has at least one hit in five of his last six games and one multi-hit game in that span.
"For him to be able to get one, especially out there, he earned that one. It was great," Kelly said.
• Isaac Mattson and Ryan Borucki worked three scoreless innings. Borucki was appearing for the fourth time since May 25 and has had at least three or more days between each appearance. He retired three batters on eight pitches without allowing a hit.
After his appearance on the 25th, Borucki told DK Pittsburgh Sports that he was dealing with fatigue. He said tonight that he's made tweaks to his mechanics that have allowed him to be more consistent when he gets tired.
"I was just making a small adjustment with my lower half and with my hands," Borucki said. "I'm just kinda getting in a rhythm more. I felt like I was getting a little stuck, especially when I got tired. Before I made the change, my stuff was getting a couple ticks down, so it's good to just to feel like the work I've been doing on the side has really translated into the last few times I've been in the game."
Borucki's slider, sinker and splitter were all faster than their average velocities while his sweeper was down 0.8 mph.
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