‘My family lost our captain’: Sandy Alcantara pitches with heavy heart after mom’s death

After every start since the moment he has joined the Miami Marlins, Sandy Alcantara has started his postgame interview sessions by thanking God. He’s thankful to pitch well when he pitches well, and he’s thankful just to pitch when a start doesn’t go quite as well.

His latest outing against the Baltimore Orioles was one of the former — he pitched six innings and gave up three runs in a lopsided win — yet he spoke like it was the latter. Last week, Francisca Montero, Alcantara’s mother, died in the Dominican Republic, and he had to leave the Marlins for a week to grieve and be with family. On Tuesday, he thanked God for letting him return to his sanctuary.

“First of all,” Alcantara said, “I want to say, Thank you, God, for giving me the opportunity to be outside, do my job.

“My family lost our captain.”

In his first start since July 10, Alcantara tossed six innings, holding the Orioles to three runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He had a no-hitter through three innings and gave up two of his runs on a pair of solo homers. Miami gave him a lead early and Alcantara cruised to a series-opening win in Baltimore, exactly a week after he rushed home in the wake of his mother’s death.

The Marlins placed Alcantara on the bereavement list July 16 after he learned of his mother’s death. He missed a scheduled start Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, then rejoined the team Sunday and made his Major League-leading 21st start of the season Tuesday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

With six more innings Tuesday, Alcantara is fourth in the National League with 125 2/3 and his ERA sits at 3.29. Opponents are barreling him on just 4.4 percent of batted balls — the seventh best mark in MLB.

On Tuesday, Alcantara generated 15 whiffs on 85 pitches, topped out at 99.7 mph on his fastball and gave up just three barrels.

“I was waiting for this and you guys see it,” Alcantara said. “I just wanted to be outside, thinking about baseball.”

Catcher Sandy Leon said he and his pitcher talked about the circumstances before the game began. Manager Don Mattingly said he talked to Alcantara about it, too.

It was impossible for anyone to know what to expect of Alcantara, who had to go 10 mostly difficult days between starts, and is already typically quiet and reserved.

Alcantara couldn’t have known, either. He wanted to use baseball as a distraction, but it’s easier said than done and, once the game began, he couldn’t help but think about her and everything she meant to him.

“This week was hard for me,” Alcantara said, “and I hope God has her in a great place right now, but I feel good right now. It felt good to be outside. I hope she was watching the game, too. ... I hope God keeps giving me the opportunity to do that.”