Sandy Alcántara gets first career save as Marlins desperately cling to playoff hopes

The Marlins are currently 7 ½ games behind the Padres for the third and final National League wild-card spot

Sep 17, 2026 at 9:58 am ET • 2 min read

A mere two days after Sandy Alcántara racked up 101 pitches in a labored start against the Diamondbacks, the Marlins right-hander and former Cy Young winner picked up his first career save against that same team. 

With Miami clinging to its postseason life, manager Clayton McCullough summoned Alcántara to protect a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning of Wednesday's rubber match. It was Alcántara's first relief appearance since his MLB debut season of 2017, when he was still a member of the Cardinals. Alcántara opened the high-leverage frame with a pair of fly outs before walking Lars Nootbaar as the potential tying run. Soon after, though, pinch-runner Jordan Lawlar was thrown out trying to steal, and at that point Alcantara had secured career save No. 1. Here's a look: 

The Marlins had previously considered using Alcántara to secure a save earlier in September against the Cubs, but they wound up not needing him. On Wednesday, however, Alcántara communicated his availability, and McCullough navigated the middle innings with that possibility in mind.

The single inning of work gave Alcántara a total of 206 for the season, which leads the majors. Alcántara is now the fourth pitcher to pick up a save on a day in which he entered with at least a share of the MLB lead in innings pitched, MLB.com's Sarah Langs notes. Alcantara joined Andy Messersmith in 1975, Phil Niekro in 1978, and Orel Hershiser in 1987, making him the first in almost 40 years to achieve such a rare feat. He also leads the majors in starts and pitches thrown this season. 

"I've been here since 2018 and I've seen everything this organization has been through," Alcántara said, via MLB.com. "I want to die out there for my team. That's why I'm here. I want to compete. I want to win. So every time they give me this opportunity, I will take it."

"His willingness to do that, it shows our fans that watch our team that there's never going to be any quit in our group, and that guys are just willing to do whatever it takes to try to win games," McCullough said of Alcántara's rare effort. "And his first career save, it's pretty cool to watch. … I think, the ninth inning, that maybe my first game managing was the last time I felt like that."

Alcántara will remain on schedule to make his next start on Sunday as the Marlins angle to make a playoff push in the final days of the regular season, McCullough said.

While the win that Alcántara secured pushed the Marlins to above .500 on the season, they're still 7 ½ games behind the Padres for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League. That puts a comeback in miracle territory this late in the season, but Alcántara is doing more than his share to make the miraculous possible.