Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) and catcher Joe Mack (80) walk off the field during the seventh inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla.
Alie Skowronski
askowronski@miamiherald.com
Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara threw seven innings of one-run ball, escaping a pair of big jams in the process, but the offense couldn’t cash in on a multitude of opportunities and the bullpen faltered in a 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Monday to begin a three-game series at loanDepot park.
Anthony Seigler put the Red Sox (72-59) ahead for good with an RBI triple in the ninth against Tyler Zuber, who entered after Pete Fairbanks left with an apparent injury after walking Mickey Gasper on five pitches to begin the frame. Nick Sogard followed with an RBI single to give Boston an insurance run.
Otto Lopez hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning and Xavier Edwards an RBI single in the seventh — both with the bases loaded — to account for the Marlins’ runs despite a slew of chances throughout the game. Miami (67-65) went just 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position and left 14 on base.
Owen Caissie led off the ninth with a single to bring the tying run to the plate but Miami came up empty.
It spoiled the night for Alcantara, who had his latest stellar outing over a nearly two-month stretch. He held the Red Sox to just one run — on a Gasper RBI double in the fifth — while scattering six hits, issuing two walks and striking out six. He stranded a pair of runners in the third with back-to-back strikeouts and then escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the seventh unscathed.
Over his past 10 starts dating back to July 4, Alcantara has a 1.99 ERA (15 earned runs over 68 innings). He has pitched at least six innings in all of those outings and produced nine quality starts. His season ERA has dropped from 4.20 to 3.38 over this stretch.
Alcantara, who tied the Marlins franchise record for career starts (197, matching Ricky Nolasco), leads MLB in innings pitched (183 2/3) and quality starts (21) this season.
Alcantara could have tied Dontrelle Willis for most home wins in franchise history (33), but the Red Sox tied the game at 2-2 in the eighth against reliever Josh Ekness. Wilyer Abreu led off with a double and Wilson Contreras was hit by a pitch to put two on with no outs. An Adley Rutschman flyout moved Abreu to third. He eventually scored on an Ekness wild pitch before Boston scored twice in the ninth to take the series opener.
Marlins reportedly make cuts to scouting department
The Marlins reportedly are making significant cuts to their professional scouting department. USA Today Sports on Monday said the entire department is being slashed, while The Athletic merely said a “majority” of the department is being cut, adding that the moves “reflected the front office’s desire to use more video during the scouting process.”
According to the team’s media guide, the Marlins had 12 total people in their professional scouting department: a vice president of player personnel, an assistant of pro scouting, eight professional scouts, a crosschecker and a special assignment scout. It’s unclear if any members of the department will be reassigned to other roles in the organization.
The Marlins declined comment.
This story was originally published August 24, 2026 at 9:45 PM.
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.