A pair of early-season workhorses will square off when the Los Angeles Dodgers host the Miami Marlins on Wednesday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series.
The Marlins will send National League innings leader Sandy Alcantara (3-2, 3.05 ERA) to the mound, and the Dodgers will counter with fellow right-hander Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.45), who has reached 100 pitches in three of his last four starts.
In 41 1/3 innings over six starts, Alcantara has averaged an MLB-best 13.69 pitches per inning, as he appears close to finding his Cy Young Award form from 2022. After not pitching in 2024 following Tommy John surgery, he had a 5.36 ERA in 31 starts last season.
Alcantara ended a three-start winless streak when he allowed three runs over six innings in a 9-4 victory at San Francisco on Friday. In eight career starts against the Dodgers, he is 2-5 with a 9.57 ERA, allowing 11 home runs over 36 2/3 innings.
The pitching staff has kept the Marlins competitive in the series. Five pitchers held the Dodgers to two runs through eight innings of a defeat in the series opener on Monday, while five pitchers combined to give up one run in a 2-1 victory on Tuesday.
The concern is at closer with right-hander Pete Fairbanks going on the 15-day injured list Tuesday after experiencing nerve irritation that led to hand numbness during his blown save Monday. Tyler Phillips pitched a scoreless ninth Tuesday for his second save.
“We feel like we have a lot of confidence in a number of the pitchers that we have down there,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said, while suggesting he might close games by committee.
Glasnow was in line to start for the Dodgers on Tuesday but swapped spots with right-hander Shohei Ohtani in order to get an extra day of rest after heavy usage of late.
In his best outing during an impressive run to start the season, Glasnow gave up one hit over eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory at San Francisco on Thursday. He has allowed two earned runs or less in four of his five starts.
“I haven’t really had the slider, especially early in the season, and (Thursday) it felt really good,” said Glasnow, who gave up his lone hit in the fourth inning.
“I think just showing that early, trying to throw it for strikes and then using it as a put-away option as well was helpful. It was like a mix of everything. I think that’s why I did pretty well.”
In four career starts against the Marlins, Glasnow is 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA. He has not faced them since 2023, when he gave up one run over seven innings while earning the win.
The Dodgers’ offense continues to be in a lull, with one run or less in three of their past eight games. Los Angeles scored its lone run in the eighth inning Tuesday on a single by Will Smith for one of his three hits.
Ohtani is expected to return to the top of the order Wednesday after he did not hit Tuesday for the second time in his five starts on the mound. Freddie Freeman has not homered over his last 18 games.
–Field Level Media
