If the Los Angeles Angels were going to have any chance against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night, it was going to require doing damage against one of MLB’s best pitchers in Sandy Alcantara. The Marlins ace is currently the runaway favorite for NL Cy Young, and he made it known why against the Bill Haselman-led Angels.
Alcantara was flawless facing a revamped Angels lineup, tossing 8.0 innings and throwing 107 pitches. He allowed just two hits — a Luis Rengifo single and a Mike Trout infield single — and struck out 10 batters. And for a pitcher who’s only discernible issue has been walks, he issued zero free passes.
The Angels had already been struggling to put the ball in play, scraping together three hits or less for the fourth consecutive game. They struck out in the double digits yet again, a category they already lead the Majors in.
Haselman gave all the credit in the world to Alcantara following the performance, according to Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register:
“He’s been pretty dominant,” Angels acting manager Bill Haselman said. “All year his numbers are really good. He fills up the strike zone again and again and did tonight.”
There was one specific moment very early on in the game that clued Haselman into the fact that Alcantara had his best stuff with him.
Haselman said he got the first clue that Alcantara was on when he threw a 2-and-0 changeup in the strike zone to Jonathan Villar leading off the game.
“When you’re able to do that, to start off with the leadoff hitter, you know the guy’s got good command,” Haselman said. “His ball was moving so much and when you throw 98-99 and it’s moving, it becomes a little difficult.”
As dominant as Alcantara was, though, this is now the fourth consecutive starting pitcher to put together otherworldly outings against the Angels. Each night, these pitchers have been credited for taking care of business, but Haselman and other Angels coaches have yet to point the finger within the clubhouse.
Of course, nothing should take away from how great Alcantara was on Tuesday. But the Angels have been massively struggling on the offensive side of the ball. Somehow, they need to find a way to break out of this slump, as — for the most part — they have been getting reliable pitching.
With the 2022 season halfway in the books, the Angels could be quickly running out of time to turn it around. It starts with producing more than three hits per game with the bats, regardless of the pitcher dealing on the mound.
Syndergaard strong again
Noah Syndergaard had a quality performance of his own against the Marlins. Over 5.0 innings, Thor allowed two runs on five hits while striking out a season-high eight batters.
Even still, he offered minimal self-praise in the face of another difficult night for the Angels.
“It was OK,” Syndergaard said. “The delivery felt pretty good. Just a hard loss.”
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