Sandy Alcantara Breaks Another Marlins Franchise Record
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Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara had another strong start on the mound. He achieved his fourth game of the month in which he tossed at least seven innings.
Alcantara didn't give up an earned run and struck out five Phillies. He joins a former Marlins pitcher in terms of quality starts.
Alcantara Surpassed Ricky Nolasco in Quality Starts
Alcantara is a pitcher who always finds his way to redeem himself. Experience has taught him to shake it off after giving up runs or having a lousy outing. On Tuesday night, nothing got in his way. He owned the game and looked sharp. He officially surpasses Nolasco with 111 quality starts for most in Miami history. Alcantara leads all of MLB with 150.2 innings pitched.
Sandy Alcantara leads MLB with 16 quality starts this season 💪
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) July 29, 2026
Alcantara now has 111 quality starts in his career, passing Ricky Nolasco for the most in Marlins history. pic.twitter.com/NEMM8P31CQ
Marlins fans have not forgotten about pitcher Ricky Nolasco. He pitched his first eight big league seasons with the Marlins. Some baseball fans may have forgotten about him, but not Marlins Nation. Even during the lousy years, Nolasco made solid contributions to the team.
In six of his eight seasons, Nolasco won at least 10 starts. His best seasons were 2008 and 2009. In 2008, he went 15-8 with a 3.52 ERA and 186 strikeouts. In 2009, Nolasco tossed a career-high 195 strikeouts and finished with a 13-9 record. He finished his time with the Marlins going 81-72, with a 4.44 ERA and 1,001 strikeouts.
There was a former Marlins player who was in attendance to witness this fantastic performance. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez was there, and he waved at the screen. He will always be a legend and a hero in the Marlins organization, especially for his contributions during the 2003 championship run. One of the best defensive catchers ever.
Pudge Rodriguez at tonight’s game against the Phillies.
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) July 29, 2026
2003 World Series champ#Marlins pic.twitter.com/WoroRF8i7S
As great as Alcantara pitched last night, he also had some help from his outfield. Center fielder Jakob Marsee made a great catch and crashed into the fence. It happened in the fourth inning when Bryce Harper hit the ball to deep left-center field. Marsee has been dealing with adversity, but his defense is a reminder of how important he is to this team. Magnificent play of the game.
Jakob Marsee makes a sensational catch crashing into the fence 😯 pic.twitter.com/nuERaMreGR
— MLB (@MLB) July 28, 2026
Whether the Marlins will deal Alcantara to another team or not, no one can deny what he has meant to this organization throughout these nine seasons. Baseball writers and analysts would like to see Alcantara pitch for a contending team. They want to see if he can replicate that kind of intensity and focus against tougher competition with a new team.
Well, the trade deadline is a few days away. If this is the last performance in a Marlins uniform, then it was a memorable one.
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After graduating from City College of New York in 2014, Miguel created his own blog. Since 2021, he has written for FanSided, where he covered the Toronto Blue Jays, College Football and Utah Mammoth hockey team. He also wrote for Miami Heat on SI and Cleveland Sports Talk. Miguel is the creator and host of his podcast, Baseball Heat Podcast with Mike.