WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Interstat) — Sandy Alcantara pitched seven strong innings and the Miami Marlins defeated the Athletics 7-2 on Saturday, July 4, 2026, before a crowd of 12,532 at Sutter Health Park. The game lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes.

Miami jumped ahead early and never trailed, scoring three runs in the third inning and adding one in the fifth, two in the seventh and one in the ninth. The Athletics got single runs in the seventh and ninth but could not overcome the Marlins’ 13-hit attack.

Alcantara improved to 10-4 on the season, allowing one run on five hits over seven innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. He faced the minimum through the first two innings before giving up a leadoff double to Zack Gelof in the first, though Gelof was stranded when Lawrence Butler walked and Jonah Heim and Carlos Cortes struck out.

The Marlins gave Alcantara a cushion in the third. Catcher Joe Mack led off with his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to right field off Athletics starter Aaron Civale. After Javier Sanoja grounded out, Liam Hicks singled to left. Kyle Stowers struck out, but Otto Lopez followed with his eighth homer of the year, a line drive to left that scored Hicks and made it 3-0.

Miami added to the lead in the fifth. Sanoja led off with a double to left and scored on Lopez’s second double of the game, a sharp line drive to left that put the Marlins ahead 4-0. Lopez finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs.

The Marlins broke it open in the seventh against Athletics reliever Kade Morris. Hicks led off with a single to right and Stowers followed with his 11th home run of the season, a fly ball to left center that made it 6-0. Morris allowed three earned runs on seven hits over three innings and took a no-decision after Civale left following the fourth inning.

The Athletics got on the board in the bottom of the seventh. Henry Bolte singled to shortstop, advanced to third on a single by Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and scored on Jeff McNeil’s sacrifice fly to center. Alika Williams struck out to end the inning.

Miami answered in the ninth. Stowers singled to left, Lopez singled to right and Xavier Edwards singled to left to score Stowers for a 7-1 lead. Edwards finished 2-for-4 with two walks and an RBI.

The Athletics made a last push in the bottom of the ninth. Cortes doubled to center off Marlins reliever Tanner Scott. Bolte singled to shortstop, and a throwing error by shortstop Otto Lopez allowed Cortes to score, trimming the lead to 7-2. After a hit-by-pitch to Kuroda-Grauer, McNeil grounded into a double play, and Williams struck out to end the game.

Kuroda-Grauer had two hits for the Athletics, going 2-for-3 with a single and a hit-by-pitch. Bolte went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Cortes also had two hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a double. Gelof was 1-for-3 with a double.

For the Marlins, Hicks had three hits in five at-bats and scored twice. Stowers was 2-for-4 with a homer, a walk and two RBIs. Mack added a homer and a single, and Lopez drove in three runs.

Aaron Civale took the loss, falling to 5-6. He allowed four runs on five hits over four innings, striking out four and walking one. The Athletics’ bullpen gave up three runs on eight hits over five innings, with Jose Suarez tossing a scoreless inning of relief.

The victory improved the Marlins to 48-42, while the Athletics dropped to 41-48. The win also gave Miami a 2-0 lead in the four-game series, following Friday night’s 12-5 victory. The teams conclude the series Sunday afternoon.

The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the third inning. After a quiet first two innings for both sides, Miami’s offense erupted. Mack’s solo homer gave the Marlins the lead, and Lopez’s two-run blast extended the advantage to three runs. That burst provided Alcantara all the run support he would need, as he retired the side in order in the third and fourth innings. The Athletics managed only five hits against Alcantara and never had more than one runner in scoring position until the seventh inning. The early power display set the tone and allowed Miami to control the game from start to finish.

The Marlins had entered the series after splitting a four-game set at Colorado, going 2-2 against the Rockies. The Athletics had lost six of their previous seven games before Friday’s loss to Miami. The Athletics’ next 10 games include a road trip to Detroit and Chicago, while the Marlins return home to host Seattle and Cleveland before traveling to Milwaukee.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Miami Marlins 5, Athletics 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Miami a 52.00 percent probability of victory. The Marlins were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of nine went over the over/under line of 10.5.