Miami’s right hand Sandy Alcantara will return from paternity leave to start on Saturday afternoon when Marlins host Washington Nationals in the second competition in a three-game series.
Washington overcame a four-driving deficit to secure a 7-4 victory on Friday. Citizens have been 12-2 against Marlins since the beginning of the 2024 season.
Alcantara (1-0, 3.72 era) missed the entire last season after undergoing elbow surgery in October 2023. He hopes to return to his form in 2022, when he went 14-9 with a 2.28 era in a league-high 228 2/3 rounds.
After that season ended, Alcantara was a unanimous selection like the National League’s Cy Young Award winner.
In 15 career starts against citizens, Alcantara is 7-6 with a 3.42 era. He also has a 2.98 era in 72 returns.
Washington will turn to the right hand Trevor Williams (1-0, 5.40 era) to start on Saturday.
Williams, who will be 33 later this month, is 51-55 in his career. But since the beginning of the 2024 season he is 7-1 with the citizens.
However, in 14 career appearance (nine starts) against Marlins, Williams is 1-4 with a 4.95 era. He has not yet defeated Marlins in Miami and went 0-3 in six performances (three starts).
Offensively, the citizens are led by their young core by Catcher Keibert Ruiz, other bass man Luis Garcia Jr., Short stop CJ Abrams, Right Felfter Dylan herds and left -field James Wood.
Wood, which has five homers and a 1,009 OPS, arrived in 2022 with Abrams in a trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego Padres. At 6-foot-7 and 234 pounds have wood massive power to all fields, and he showed that Friday by blasting a 400 foot homer to the left center.
Ruiz, a Switch Hitter that arrived in 2021 in the trade that sent third Turner and Max Scherzer to Los Angeles Dodgers, has a .940 OPS.
Abrams (.874 Ops) became an all-star last year with 20 homers and 31 steals. But he left Friday’s game because of a hip flexor injury. He is listed as daily.
Garcia (.539 OPS) had a breakout season last year with 18 homers and 22 steals.
Crews, the second overall election 2023, has a tough start. The former LSU star beats .116 with a .272 ops.
Wood said he and his teammates have a strategy to move forward.
“We try to make the second team work a little more,” Wood said.
It will be interesting to see if National’s first basseman Nathaniel Lowe will be able to play on Saturday.
On Friday, he did not start because of illness. But he went into the game like a pinch of hitter, and he delivered a three-run, clearly double that kissed the left field line.
At the same time, Marlins has placed the starter Nick Fortes on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique trunk.
With Fortes outside, Liam Hicks is the new starter, and veteran Rob Brantly, a 35-year-old with nine years of MLB experience, was called from Triple-A to serve as backup.
“Liam has done a nice job for us,” said Marlin’s manager Clayton McCullough, “and (Brantly) has a veteran presence. We have a lot of confidence in” steep “when his name is called.”
-Field level media
