Acosta had opened his Major League career hitless through eight at-bats (with a walk) leading up to the momentous swing. With Miami leading, 4-2, with one out in the sixth, Acosta crushed righty Andre Pallante’s 94.5 mph four-seamer to straightaway center for a solo homer. A jubilant Acosta celebrated on his trip around the bases, as did his family and friends in the stands.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Acosta is the first Marlin to homer for his first hit since Jerar Encarnacion (June 19, 2022). He also became the fourth Marlin to start at a different position in each of his first three games (second base, third base and shortstop).
The veteran Alcantara, meanwhile, put together arguably the best performance of his 2025 campaign: He set season highs for strikeouts (nine), pitches (114) and matched his season high for innings (seven). When Alcantara fanned Iván Herrera to close out his start, the usually stoic Alcantara showed emotion coming off the mound.
Alcantara, who moved into second place in franchise history with 163 starts, fittingly did so while facing the organization that dealt him to Miami in December 2017. St. Louis tagged Alcantara for just two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk. He had some extra juice in the tank on a first-inning pitch to Alec Burleson, when he hit 100 mph for just the second time this season.
After posting a 7.22 first-half ERA in the 18 starts, Alcantara has improved drastically, with a 3.56 second-half ERA across seven starts.
