Sandy Alcantara Was Frustrated After Marlins Pulled Him in Ninth Inning

Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara was cruising through 8 1/3 scoreless innings pitched on Tuesday until he yielded a double to the Reds' Matt McClain with one out in the top of the ninth inning. After walking the next batter—Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz—Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, apparently feeling uneasy about the Marlins' 2-0 lead with the tying runs aboard, emerged from the dugout and signaled to the bullpen for a pitching change.

Needless to say, the move was not received well by Marlins fans, who loudly booed McCullough as he headed to the mound to take the ball from his ace, who had thrown 95 pitches.

Loud boos towards Clayton McCullough in Miami as the fans wanted to see Sandy Alcantara finish the game pic.twitter.com/Vcu9TQ7WlE
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 8, 2026

The move, which backfired when Marlins reliever Anthony Bender allowed the tying runs to score leading to the club's eventual loss in extra innings, was also unpopular with Alcantara.

“I feel like I deserve to be asked how I feel before getting taken out of the game,” Alcantara said. “This an area where I get to 95 pitches and a righty on deck, it is what it is. Just got to get ready for my next outing.”

Bender allowed one run on a sacrifice fly from the Reds' Sal Stewart and the tying run on a wild pitch. McCullough in the top of the 10th turned to reliever Calvin Faucher, who allowed three runs to cross the plate on an RBI single and two-run double, and John King, who allowed one run on a groundout to give the Reds a commanding 6-2 lead.

Sandy Alcantara after his outing 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/ON0hHlQid1
— Marlins Radio Network (@MarlinsRadio) April 8, 2026

“I’m just a player,” Alcantara continued. “I understand there’s a decision and you cannot control it. It just happened. It just happened. So I’ll be with my teammates and my coaches, but I think next time, they have to make sure to ask me before taking me out of the game.”

McCullough explains why he removed Alcantara in the ninth

Inevitably, McCullough had to face the music after the Marlins' loss, their fourth defeat in their last five games.

“Really from pitch one, it was probably the best combination of stuff and execution with how he rolled through much of that game,” McCullough said, via Kevin Barral. “He really threw the ball great, and as we got there in the ninth, they got a couple guys on. Fourth time some of those guys are coming up. [Thought] that Bender was the best person to win the game for us. Sandy had certainly done above and beyond, threw great.

“It didn't work out. Thought at the time that the best person to win that game was Anthony.”

McCullough went on to acknowledge Alcantara's frustration.

“No, he certainly did not,” McCullough said when asked if Alcantara didn't want to come off the mound. “I made that decision. And it did not work out, obviously. Sure he felt he had plenty left to go and finish that game out. Didn't give him that opportunity.”

Alcantara starts 2026 season on a tear as he returns to Cy Young form

Alcantara, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, missed the entire 2024 campaign before returning in 2025. Despite being the subject of trade buzz all summer, Alcantara struggled mightily to the tune of a 5.36 ERA in 174 2/3 innings.

But fully healthy entering 2026, Alcantara has returned to the form that saw him win the 2022 National League Cy Young Award. He became the first Marlins starter in 11 years to complete seven innings on Opening Day in the 2-1 win over the Rockies. The righty continued his dominant scoreless innings streak into his second start vs. the White Sox, a 10-0 Marlins win that saw Alcantara pitch a complete game shutout on just 93 pitches, otherwise known as a Maddux.

Through 24 1/3 innings pitched, Alcantara owns a 0.74 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings pitched.