First baseman Sal Stewart, a Miami native, is hoping for more good vibes on Tuesday when his Cincinnati Reds play the host Marlins.
Stewart hit the go-ahead RBI single on Monday as the Reds won 2-0 in the opener of a four-game series.
“I’m super happy to be home (in Miami),” said Stewart, 22. “I love seeing my family and friends. Miami is where I grew up. It’s in my blood, and everyone knows how much Miami means to me.”
On Tuesday, Stewart and his teammates will be backing up Andrew Abbott, the fourth straight left-hander to start against the Marlins.
Abbott (0-1, 3.09 ERA) will go up against Miami’s ace, right-hander Sandy Alcantara (2-0, 0.00).
Abbott became a first-time All-Star last year at age 26, going 8-1 with a 2.07 ERA in the first half of the season. However, in the second half of the season, he wasn’t as sharp (2-6, 3.84 ERA).
This year has seen him produce one stellar start and one rough outing. He fired six shutout innings in a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day, then yielded four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings versus the Pittsburgh Pirates in a loss on Wednesday.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot,” Abbott said after the defeat, according to MLB.com. “Obviously, there are improvements to make, there’s things to kind of go back over, rewatch, relearn. But for the most part, I’m doing what I meant to do in the spring.”
In his lone start against the Marlins last year, Abbott tossed 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball. However, the previous season he was lit up twice by Miami, allowing 11 runs on 13 hits in 8 1/3 innings.
Alcantara had a season that was essentially the opposite of Abbott’s last year. The former National League Cy Young Award winner, who missed the entire 2024 season following elbow surgery, struggled in the first half of 2025, going 4-9 with a 7.22 ERA. He got his groove back in the second half of last season, when he went 7-3 with a 3.33 ERA.
This year, Alcantara permitted just one run, which was unearned in seven innings on Opening Day, then fired a three-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. Through 16 innings, he has permitted seven hits and two walked while striking out 12.
In nine appearances (seven starts) against the Reds, Alcantara is 2-5 with a 3.99 ERA. For his career, Alcantara has a 3.15 ERA at home as opposed to a 4.08 ERA on the road.
On offense, the Marlins are looking for more production from Jakob Marsee, who is batting just .109 with a .389 OPS. As a rookie last year, the center fielder was much better, hitting .292 with an .842 OPS.
Marlins manager Clayton McCullough isn’t panicking.
“With Marsee, things will start falling his way in time,” McCullough said. “Those line drives will fall, and he will get on a run.”
For the Reds, Stewart is hitting .353 with a 1.094 OPS. Many other Cincinnati batters are slumping, but the team is 7-3 due to outstanding pitching.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” Stewart said. “We just have to stay focused and help the team win.”
–Field Level Media
