Padres Postgame (8/15): Alcantara dominates, Padres drop game one to Marlins

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After taking a series in Washington, the San Diego Padres traveled to Miami for a three-game set with the Marlins. Though the Marlins’ record may not indicate great success, the Padres will draw their three best starting pitchers, including a matchup with Sandy Alcantara (10-5) on Monday. Joe Musgrove (8-5), the supposed ace of this staff, opposed for San Diego.

Miami jumped on Musgrove early. After a clean first inning, J.J. Bleday led off the second by belting a hanging curveball deep into the bleachers for a solo shot. They tacked on after a sacrifice fly by Lewin Diaz, making it 2-0 after two. The Marlins threatened in the third, fourth, and fifth, but Musgrove escaped unscathed.

Things didn’t go so well for Musgrove and the Padres in the sixth, however. Miguel Rojas picked up his third hit of the day, sending one over Jurickson Profar’s head for what appeared to be a standup double. After a slight bit of hesitation from Profar to throw the ball in, however, Rojas took an extra base, setting himself up in scoring position with nobody out. Next up was Jacob Stallings, who also picked up his third hit of the game against Musgrove by lining an RBI single into center field.

The Padres’ offense was, as expected, stifled by the Marlins’ ace, who also happens to be one of the game’s best arms. Their closest avenue to scoring a run came in the second inning when Juan Soto and Manny Machado both reached base, but Alcantara punched out Josh Bell on a 93 mph changeup to end the inning. Since coming over to the Padres on August 2nd, Bell is slashing .154/.313/.179 with a 59 wRC+.

Behind seven shutout innings from their ace and a resilient bullpen effort, the Marlins were able to keep a Padres team that scored 19 runs over their last three games off the board.

TOP PERFORMERS

+ Manny Machado: 2-for-4,

+ Joe Musgrove: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 5 K

WHAT’S NEXT?

Game two of this series takes place tomorrow at 3:40 PDT. Edward Cabrera (3-1) draws the nod for Miami, while Sean Manaea (6-6) opposes for San Diego.