The Philadelphia Phillies have had a disappointing start in following up their unlikely run to the 2022 NL pennant. They were 3-6 heading into Monday night action against the Miami Marlins. And, boy, did the Phillies offense show up in this one. They blew the doors off the Marlins, 15-3.
The Phillies recorded 20 hits, including home runs from Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, and Jake Cave. Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, Bohm, and Marsh each had three hits, while Bryson Stott, Kyle Schwarber, and Cave added two apiece. It was quite the offensive explosion.
Within all those fireworks and rings of the bell came a rarity. Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara was charged with nine earned runs. The 2022 Cy Young winner had a 2.28 ERA last season and came in with a 1.84 ERA through two starts this season. He threw a shutout in his previous start.
In fact, this was one of the very worst starts of Alcantara's career. He allowed 10 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings on Aug. 6, 2021, but that was in Colorado's Coors Field, and there's always a bit of a virtual asterisk on that. Otherwise, this game marked the most runs allowed by Alcantara in an MLB start -- and it was the 113th start of his career.
Interestingly, though he had a 3.16 ERA, the Phillies went 4-2 in Alcantara's six starts against them last season and also won the last three times they faced him in 2021. All told, the Phillies have won eight of their last 10 games when facing Alcantara. There probably isn't anything to read into that but anomaly, but it's interesting nonetheless.
