MIAMI, May 10, 2026, 12:17 EDT
Cade Cavalli took the mound for the Washington Nationals against Sandy Alcantara and the Miami Marlins Sunday at loanDepot Park. This Mother’s Day rubber match landed in MLB’s Sunday Leadoff slot, airing on Peacock.
This one counts, with the NL East standings tight. Washington came in at 19-21, just a game up on Miami sitting at 18-22. The Nationals, powered by lefty bats CJ Abrams and James Wood, had piled up 215 runs—tied for second in MLB, MLB.com pointed out.
The momentum didn’t last long. Washington took the first game Friday, 3-2, but Miami flipped the script Saturday. Jakob Marsee launched a three-run shot in the eighth to put the Marlins ahead, and despite nearly letting it slip away, they edged out an 8-7 win after coming back from a 4-0 hole.
Miami wraps up its 10-game homestand here, having dropped series to both the Phillies and Orioles. For Washington, the focus shifts to grabbing a road series win—Saturday’s late push came up empty.
The starting duel sharpens the spotlight on this one. Alcantara, last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner, entered at 3-2 with a 4.01 ERA, coming off a rough outing—seven runs in just 4 1/3 innings facing Baltimore. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough pointed to a lack of execution with two strikes: “didn’t execute.” As for Cavalli, he took the mound 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA after Minnesota tagged him for six runs—though only three earned. Still, he insisted he “felt great all night.” CBS Sports
With Cavalli out, Washington shuffled its lineup. CJ Abrams slid into the DH spot, Nasim Nuñez took over at short, and Jorbit Vivas got the nod at second. On the Miami side, Javier Sanoja made his series debut in the starting lineup and Christopher Morel took on DH duties.
Before the first pitch, bettors backed Miami. The Marlins showed up at -134 on the moneyline at Action Network, a straight-up winner wager, while the total sat at 8.5 runs. Staff writer Sean Paul described Miami’s line as “strong value,” highlighting Alcantara’s tendency to generate ground balls—a potential edge against a Washington roster built around power. Action Network
The risk is clear: Alcantara doesn’t miss many bats, so hitters make contact, while Cavalli’s tendency to issue free passes could cut his night short. If either starter wobbles early, bullpens might be called in before things even settle. That’s the variable hanging over a game set up as a duel on the mound—despite both lineups putting up a total of 15 runs just on Saturday.
MLB’s 18-game Sunday Leadoff series streams on Peacock, running from May 3 to Aug. 30. While most matchups air on NBCSN too, this package is U.S.-only and won’t show up on MLB.TV.
