Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara barrels into July after being honored as National League Pitcher of Month for June

Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, honored as the National League’s Pitcher of the Month for June, has maintained his momentum in July.

A week after collecting the honor — the same one his teammate Pablo Lopez received in May — Alcantara opened Miami’s fourth month of the season with a gem at LoanDepot park, a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on July 5 that improved his record to 9-3.

“I just try to stay consistent, go out there every fifth day and fight for my team,” Alcantara said in his postgame media availability after lasting eight innings against the Angels. “Every time I can pitch seven, eight innings I feel satisfied. It’s a long career and you have to stay healthy.”

In June, the 26-year-old Dominican-born pitcher had a record of 3-1 with a 1.89 earned run average to go along with 34 strikeouts, opposed by just eight walks. Alcantara threw at least seven innings in each of his six June starts, continuing a personal streak of 10 consecutive games of pitching seven or more innings. It’s a career-high run that he pushed to 11 games with the win over the Angels.

After winning the monthly award, he did an interview with Bally Sports in which he talked about a routine that has been helping him stay prepared.

“During my gameday, I do not like people talking to me,” he said. “I have been doing that since the All-Star Game (last year). It helps me focus on what I need to for the game.”

Alcantara’s run has him on pace to be a participant in the All-Star Game again this season. The veteran even has a chance to be named the National League’s starting pitcher at the annual midseason event, which will be held in Los Angeles.

Luis Velasquez, a fan of the Marlins, has followed Alcantara’s games this season, and feels his starts are becoming can’t-miss events.

“I have become an Alcantara fan since last year, I am a person that likes baseball games to turn into pitching duels,” Velasquez said. “I have seen Alcantara a few times at the stadium, and those times, I bought front-row tickets just to see him pitch.”

If he maintains this level of dominance, Alcantara could be in the mix for the NL’s Cy Young Award as well, an honor voted on by media members and given to the league’s top pitcher after the season concludes.

Diego Avendano is a Venezuelan digital journalism student and intends to pursue a career as a sports journalist, combining his passions for sports and writing. Avendano currently has an independent Instagram page called @daven_sports where he writes articles in Spanish about multiple sports around the world. He hopes that his writing will reach readers that are look for impartial opinions about the facts of the game.