Miami Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara named NL Pitcher of the Month for standout June

Sandy Alcantara’s dominance on the mound continues to be recognized.

The latest accolade for the Miami Marlins’ ace: National League Pitcher of the Month for the month of June.

The award was announced Saturday and marks the second time a Marlins pitcher has earned the honor this season. Pablo Lopez was the NL Pitcher of the Month in April.

“This means a lot,” Alcantara said Saturday before the Marlins’ game against the Washington Nationals. “I feel so happy because of the good job I’ve been doing.”

Just how good was Alcantara in June?

He led the majors with 47 2/3 innings pitched while putting up a 1.89 ERA — third and the majors and second behind only the San Francisco Giants’ Carlos Rodon. in the NL among pitchers who threw at least 30 innings last month — with 34 strikeouts against eight walks and a .199 batting average against in his six starts.

Alcantara pitched at least seven innings in all six outings, including going nine innings twice (one a complete game victory against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, the other nine shutout innings against the Nationals on June 8 in a Marlins’ 10-inning win).

READ MORE: ‘I got it’: Sandy Alcantara throws complete game as Miami Marlins rally past Cardinals

It’s the continuation of a torrid run for Alcantara, who is essentially a lock to be named an All-Star later this month for the second time in his career and has a solid case to be the NL’s starter for the All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

Alcantara’s 115 1/3 innings pitched are by far the most in baseball — only three other pitchers have pitched at least 100 innings, with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Aaron Nola having the second most at 103 2/3. His 1.95 ERA trails only the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tony Gonsolin (1.54) and the Tampa Bay Rays’ Shane McClanahan (1.74), a duo that has respectively pitched 81 2/3 and 98 1/3 innings this season.

READ MORE: The makings of an ace: How Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara is becoming one of MLB’s best

He is on a run of 10 consecutive starts with at least seven innings pitched and has allowed no more than two earned runs in nine of those 10 outings.

“I just want to go outside and finish all my games,” said Alcantara, whose next start is scheduled for Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels at loanDepot park. “Every single day, I go outside and do my best for the team.”