Reds storm back with late rally to beat Marlins in extra innings
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Sandy Alcantara was the runaway winner of the National League Cy Young Award back in 2022 and, when right, remains one of the elite pitchers in all of Major League Baseball.
Since then, though, he’s had his share of hurdles. Tommy John surgery cost him all of the 2024 season, and his 2025 season – while thorough with 174.2 IP – featured a shell of his former self as command issues left him pitching from behind in counts like never before.
On Tuesday night vs. the Cincinnati Reds, though, Sandy looked every bit the part of his former self. For eight innings, he held Cincinnati scoreless, and did so in efficient enough fashion that he was brought back out for the Top of the 9th having allowed just a pair of hits all night. That changed immediately with a Matt McLain double with 1-out, and after Alcantara walked Elly De La Cruz the Marlins manager opted to turn to his bullpen with his ace at 95 pitches and the Marlins holding a perilous 2-0 lead.
The Reds proceeded to feast.
A double steal, a Sal Stewart sac fly, and a wild pitch by reliever Anthony Bender later and the game was tied a 2-2. And after Emilio Pagán flirted with (and avoided) disaster in the Bottom of the 9th, Cincinnati exploded for four runs in the Top of the 10th to seize a commanding lead.
Graham Ashcraft allowed the Manfred Man to score in the Bottom of the 10th, but no more, and Cincinnati walked away with a 6-3 victory after spending most of the day under the thumb of one of the best arms in the sport.
Other Notes
- Despite his white-hot spring, McLain entered play on Tuesday with just a lone extra-base hit to his name during the 2026 season. He doubled twice in this one, though, driving in a pair of runs and scoring once to take home the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game award for the evening. One double came in the 9th, the other with runners on in the 10th…that’s #clutch!
- Andrew Abbott was mostly solid in his start He fired 5.1 IP and scattered 6 hits and a pair of walks, yielding a pair of runs while striking out two on 91 pitches.
- Jose Franco, meanwhile, was nails out of the bullpen. He tossed a pair of hitless, scoreless frames.
- Nate Lowe got a crucial hit in the Top of the 10th to give the Reds a 3-2 lead after coming in off the bench earlier in the game. He effectively replaced Ke’Bryan Hayes in the lineup (with Sal Stewart sliding over to 3B) in a prime example of just how deep this Reds bench truly is right now.
- The back of Hayes’ baseball card shows him hitting .107/.167/.107 with zero extra-base hits so far this season.
- The Reds are 8-3 on the season and almost, almost have a net zero run differential. If the pesky Pirates would just stop winning, they’d have the NL Central lead outright!
