Sandy Alcantara, pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball, earned his first complete game shutout of the 2026 season. The National League Cy Young Award winner from four years ago has once again begun spreading his wings in a comeback.
Alcantara took the mound as the starter on July 1 (local time) at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, against the Chicago White Sox in a 2026 MLB game, recording 3 hits allowed, 7 strikeouts, and zero runs over 9 innings.
Miami's 10-0 victory over the White Sox completed Alcantara's shutout.
Alcantara needed just 93 pitches to secure the complete game shutout, recording a "Maddux" — a term given to a pitcher who throws a complete game in fewer than 100 pitches.
Greg Maddux, the legendary pitcher who recorded 35 career complete game shutouts over a 23-year career, accomplished the feat 13 times since MLB began officially tracking pitch counts in 1988.
This marks the second career "Maddux" for Alcantara.
Alcantara was nothing short of perfect on the day. He held the White Sox lineup in check, surrendering just three singles and one hit-by-pitch.
Now in his ninth MLB season, Alcantara won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022 but struggled through poor performances in 2023 and last year. He missed the entire 2024 season due to injury.
This season, however, he has returned as a completely different pitcher. In his previous start on March 28, Alcantara earned a win against the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day, allowing just one unearned run over 7 innings. He has now extended his perfect run to a 2-0 record with a 0.00 ERA.