The Miami Marlins are running out of room to keep their playoff hopes alive, and the calendar is now working against them. Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals dropped Miami back to .500 at 68-68, leaving the club four games behind the final wild card spot with just August’s final two games left on the schedule.
That sets up September as the last real push. The Marlins have shown enough individual progress to make the season feel like it should have more wins attached to it.
Sandy Alcantara has thrown the most innings in Marlins history. Eury Perez has turned in a second-half resurgence.
Otto Lopez is closing in on 30 doubles and 25 stolen bases. Heriberto Hernandez has emerged as the unexpected home run leader, and Javier Sanoja has been a surprise with his hits and stolen bases.
The problem is obvious: all those accomplishments have not translated into enough victories.
Miami’s path gets especially tricky in the coming weeks, starting with a brutal stretch against teams directly ahead of them in the wild-card race. The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are sitting in front of the Marlins, and Miami will face both in a back-to-back six-game West Coast road trip.
There’s no room for a bad series there. The Marlins need either a sweep or at least two wins in each three-game set.
The Padres series carries a little extra weight after what happened in late July. Miami was swept at home by San Diego during the July 24-26 weekend and was outscored 16-7.
Their Sept. 18-20 matchup gives the Marlins a shot to answer back. Against a team as strong as the Padres, Miami has to play like it belongs in the same conversation and come away with a series win.
Arizona offers a different kind of chance. The Marlins swept the Diamondbacks in June and did it in emphatic fashion, with back-to-back shutouts in the second and third games, 8-0 and 2-0. Miami outscored Arizona 20-6 in that series, and that kind of edge will matter again if the Marlins want to stay alive in the race.
The rest of September does not offer much breathing room either. Miami will see the Chicago Cubs twice, take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in one series, and finish the season against the Atlanta Braves. The more manageable spots on the schedule come early, with the Kansas City Royals to start the month and a series against the New York Mets.
Even then, there’s no such thing as a free pass. September is going to tell the story of what this Marlins team really is. To get into the playoffs, Miami needs to win at least 17 of its 24 games in the month.
In Other News...
Xavier Edwards Injury Puts A Real Marlins Playoff Concern In Focus
The Marlins kept themselves in the fight with a wild comeback against the Nationals, scoring six times in the ninth to steal a win and keep the playoff chase alive. But the bigger news for Miami came earlier in the afternoon, when second baseman Xavier Edwards exited in the fifth inning with what appeared to be a left thumb sprain, a setback that immediately raised concerns for a club still trying to stay in the race.
Edwards status now hangs over both the lineup and the roster decisions the Marlins will have to make as the postseason push continues. More testing is expected to give a clearer diagnosis, but for a team scraping for every edge, even a short absence could force some difficult choices in the days ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Prospect Is Forcing A Real Look At Miamis Infield Future
Starlyn Caba is starting to look like the kind of infield prospect that forces a front office to think ahead. The 20-year-old shortstop, originally signed by the Phillies in 2023 before coming to Miami in a trade, has built his reputation on defense and versatility, with the ability to handle shortstop and second base. He is currently at High-A, and the Marlins have reason to pay close attention because players who can stay on the dirt and move around the infield tend to create lineup and roster options fast.
For Miami, the bigger question is how quickly Caba can keep climbing and whether his development puts real pressure on the clubs infield plans over the next couple of seasons. The organization views him as someone who could move through the minors in the next two years and eventually reach the majors, which makes his progress worth tracking beyond the usual prospect buzz. If he keeps taking steps forward, the Marlins may soon have to decide where he fits, and which current paths at shortstop or second base might need to make room. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Still Have A Shot But The Pressure Is Now Real
The Marlins have spent much of the season hanging around the edge of the playoff picture, and they are still there with a little room to dream and almost no margin for error. At 69-68, Miami is part of a crowded late-September chase, with Peter Bendix still publicly backing the clubs chances as the final month approaches and the pressure starts to feel more real by the day.
What makes this push feel different is how much ground was lost when the season turned in July, when a long losing stretch knocked the Marlins off the pace they had built. Even so, there is enough talent left in the mix to keep this interesting, with Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez and Joe Mack among the players expected to matter most down the stretch as Miami tries to turn a precarious position into a playoff berth. [Read more 🡒]