Phillies fight past Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara in 2-1 victory

MIAMI — Marlins starter Sandy Alcántara has been nearly unhittable this season, and in the first few innings of Friday’s game, it seemed as if he might throw a no-hitter or even a perfect game. The Phillies didn’t reach base until the top of the fifth inning, when J.T. Realmuto lined a single to right field.

They kept working their at-bats, and in the seventh inning, the dam finally broke (or, at the very least, it started to leak). Rhys Hoskins got on base with a one-out walk. Nick Castellanos moved him to second with a single to right field. And then power-hitting rookie Darick Hall crushed a double to left field that just bounced fair to drive home Hoskins.

Castellanos came running toward home after Hoskins but was tagged out at the plate. But Realmuto followed with a double to drive in Hall and give the Phillies a 2-1 lead over the Marlins that proved just enough to earn a badly needed win. The Phillies snapped a four-game losing streak.

Alcántara entered his start with a 1.73 ERA and a 9-3 record. Besides being dominant, he is also a workhorse; entering Friday, he led baseball with 130⅓ innings pitched. The Phillies knew that they’d have face him for seven or eight innings — or more — so the fact that they were able to muster enough offense for a win was impressive.

“It’s huge,” Hoskins said of the win. “Four [losses] in a row, we didn’t play that well in Toronto. It’s just nice to bounce back against an ace. That’s the type of arm, that’s type of game you have to win late in the season and down the stretch to get to where you want to go. We’ll look to ride that momentum into tomorrow and the rest of the weekend and try to finish strong.”

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It didn’t come easy. The Phillies recorded only five hits with three walks, but it seemed less of a reflection of their recent offensive woes than of Alcántara’s hot streak.

“We’re capable of scoring more than two runs per game, and I think we’ll do that, that’s for sure,” said interim manager Rob Thomson. “We’re seeing good pitching. This guy tonight? He’s probably going to be starting the All-Star Game. At least, he probably deserves to, according to his numbers. Those are the ways you’ve got to win those games. It’s like a playoff game, with really excellent pitching. You’ve just got to grind, and play good defense and get good pitching.”

Like Alcántara, Phillies starter Kyle Gibson was sharp. He didn’t pitch as deep as Alcántara, but he earned the win, allowing four hits, one earned run, one walk, and striking out five over six innings. It was easily one of his best starts of the season.

After a historically bad start against the Cardinals on July 2 in which he gave up four straight home runs, Gibson has bounced back well in his last two starts. On July 9, he allowed only two hits over seven innings of work.

Thomson said before Friday’s game that Gibson looks like a different pitcher. He’s locating his pitches better, keeping the ball down, inducing soft contact, and, most importantly, throwing strikes.

Gibson said after Friday’s game that he’s been trying to throw his pitches where they’ll be most effective, and simplify his approach.

“I’m just trying to execute pitches where they play best,” he said. “That’s probably the best way I can say it without going too much into it.”

With a narrow one-run lead to protect, Thomson deployed his best relievers to face the Marlins after Gibson exited the game. They did their job. José Alvarado entered the game in the seventh inning and struck out the side (while hitting triple digits multiple times, including a sinker that touched 102 mph).

Brad Hand came in for the eighth inning and pitched a scoreless frame, allowing no hits while striking out one. Seranthony Domínguez walked three batters but narrowly earned the save with a force out at home plate and a strikeout of Miguel Rojas to end the game.