Marlins Ace Sandy Alcantara Thrilled To Have Another Opportunity To Pitch in WBC
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Three years ago, in the World Baseball Classic, the Dominican Republic did not advance past pool play to the knockout round. That left a sour taste in a lot of the players' mouths for the Dominican Republic and after three long seasons, they got their chance to advance beyond pool play in 2026.
They completed pool play on Wednesday with a 7-5 win over Venezuela and finished 4-0 to advance to the quarterfinals beginning on Friday night. The Dominican Republic will play Korea at loadDepot park in Miami.
Sandy Alcantara got the start in Wednesday's win, but he didn't have his best stuff; it was enough to keep his team in the game and allow them to escape with the two-run victory. After the game, the right-hander didn't beat around the bush about wanting to pitch again if needed in this WBC.
Marlins Right-Hander Sandy Alcantara Wants To Pitch in Knockout Round
Alcantara's outing against Venezuela was not his best. He threw 44 pitches over three innings, allowing five hits, three earned runs, two walks and three strikeouts. He allowed a run in the first inning and two in the third before being removed from the game.
"My performance today was not my best,'' said Alcantara after the game.
Alcantara was honest about his performance. Clearly, he wanted to be better, but he made one thing clear after the game: he isn't done pitching in the WBC this season. He'll do whatever the Dominican Republic needs him to do, either start another game or work out of the bullpen.
“I’ll be available to start or relieve. You name it. … We’re here to represent the Dominican Republic. I’m here,'' said Alcantara.
It isn't surprising that Alcantara feels that way and will do anything he can to help the Dominican Republic win four more games. That is different than what is happening with Tarik Skubal of Team USA not pitching again after he made his start in pool play.
Alcantara has been the subject of trade rumors going back to the trade deadline last year, so getting out of camp playing for the Dominican Republic has been a nice change of scenery. What is also good for Alcantara is that he is playing in his home ballpark during the regular season.
Wednesday night wasn't his best start and he's going to look for redemption later on in the tournament, whether that's as a starter or a reliever. He will get the ball on Opening Day in two weeks against the Colorado Rockies at home.
