On the day where team CEO and famous No. 2 Derek Jeter took the stage to the backdrop of some of the game’s all-time greats in Cooperstown, Sandy Alcantara, ironically enough, wearer of No. 22, delivered a Hall of Fame performance on the rubber in a storybook victory in an otherwise lost season.
Over nine innings, the Marlins’ ace threw a career-high 114 pitches and struck out a career-best 14 New York Mets, a team clinging to its life in the NL Wild Card hunt. Per MLB Stats on Twitter, Alcantara became the first Marlins pitcher to punch out 14 hitters in a game since Dan Straily in 2017.