Sandy Alcantara delivers for Marlins against Padres

Sandy Alcantara pitched his best game since returning from elbow surgery, and Jesus Sanchez slugged a go-ahead, two-run homer, leading the host Miami Marlins to a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday afternoon.
Miami, which is 8-2-1 over its past 11 series, took two of three from San Diego. Miami is also 23-12 over its past 35 games.
In the eighth inning, Marlins All-Star left fielder Kyle Stowers was hit on his left elbow by an 89-mph sinker from reliever Kyle Hart. Stowers appeared to be in severe pain, but he remained in the game.
Padres third baseman Manny Machado — playing in his hometown of Miami — went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. But he also had a throwing error that cost San Diego a run. It was his second straight game with a throwing error.
Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, missed all of last season and entered Wednesday with a 7.14 ERA.
Against the Padres, however, Alcantara (5-9) pitched a season-high seven innings, allowing just four hits, no walks and one run, which was unearned. He lowered his ERA to 6.66.
Sanchez hit his ninth homer of the season, snapping a 1-1 tie score. Right-hander Calvin Faucher earned a five-out save.
Dylan Cease (3-10) took the loss just two days short of the one-year anniversary of his no-hitter win over Washington. On Wednesday, he allowed four hits, three walks and three runs (two earned) in five innings.
Cease, for the first time in his 177-start MLB career, walked the first two batters of a game, and the Marlins made him pay as Agustin Ramirez delivered a two-out single to make it 1-0. Cease needed 28 pitches to finish the first inning.
Alcantara retired the first 10 Padres batters before former Marlins star and three-time batting champion Luis Arraez swung at a pitch way outside the strike zone. Arraez slapped an opposite-field single, beating a shift that left third base open.
Arraez then advanced on a throwing error by Marlins catcher Nick Fortes, who tried to pick him off first, and Machado tied the score 1-1 with an RBI single.
Miami took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning as Machado made his 14th error of the season to allow Javier Sanoja on base, and Sanchez followed with his 377-foot shot to right.
San Diego cut its deficit to 3-2 in the eighth as Jackson Merrill doubled, advanced on Jake Cronenworth’s groundout and scored on Jose Iglesias’ single. But Faucher entered the game and got the next two outs to end the inning without further damage.
Faucher then pitched a perfect ninth to earn his ninth save of the season.