Locked On MLB - Daily Podcast On Major League Baseball

ACES HIGH! Sandy Alcantara Goes The Distance and Leads a Night of Pitching Stars

Apr 2, 2026
A deep dive into a night dominated by pitchers, spotlighting a complete-game performance that saved a bullpen. Quick rundowns of several standout starts and a promising bounceback after a rough debut. A shaky outing from another young arm is examined. The episode also revisits a classic ace duel and debates what truly defines an ace.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Alcantara's Complete Game Signals Ace Return

  • Sandy Alcantara returned from TJ surgery and pitched a nine-inning complete game on 93 pitches, striking out seven with zero walks.
  • Paul Francis Sullivan notes the value: it saves the bullpen, sets a thumbprint on the game, and can be worth several wins for Miami early in the season.
ADVICE

Work Starters Out Of Their Own Messes

  • Train starters to work out of jams instead of immediately turning to relievers to avoid burning the bullpen.
  • Sullivan cites Ilya's view that overusing relievers leads to running out of pitchers and infielders pitching late in games.
INSIGHT

Complete Games Preserve Bullpen Health

  • Complete games influence surrounding games by resting the bullpen and preserving relief arms for the next days.
  • Sullivan argues aces should trust defense and induce outs rather than chase strikeouts and high pitch counts.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app