The Miami Marlins are Off to a Hot Start in 2026

Liam Hicks drove in four runs and Sandy Alcantara pitched a complete game shutout as the Miami Marlins routed the Chicago White Sox 10-0 on April 1st. Miami improved to 5-1 on the season.

Alcantara was the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, when he was 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA and 207 strikeouts. Since then, things haven’t gone well for him; he was 7-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 2023 and missed all of the 2024 season after Tommy John surgery. He was 11-12 with a 5.36 ERA in 2025. This year, he’s 2-0 and has not allowed a run in 15 innings pitched.

The Marlins offense has been great. Hicks is off to a terrific start with three homers and a major league leading 12 RBIs, and he’s hitting .467. Right Fielder Owen Caissie drove in a pair of runs in the April 1st victory, and has eight for the season while hitting .350. Infielder Xavier Edwards is 9 for 22 at the plate (.409), while another infielder, Javier Sanoja, is seven for 12 (.583); he also drove in a pair of runs April 1st.

Now for the return to earth: The Marlins swept three from the Colorado Rockies and took two of three from the Chicago White Sox in a six game home stand. Those teams had the worst records in the National and American Leagues, respectively, last season. The Marlins have a three game set at the New York Yankees (5-1) over the weekend, so that will be more challenging.