Marlins Just Made Their Wild Card Push Feel Very Real

In a thrilling extra-inning finale, the surging Marlins edged out the Mariners to solidify their playoff position.

The Marlins keep finding new ways to raise the temperature, and Tuesday night they did it with a walk-off in the 10th to beat the Mariners 6-5 at loanDepot park.

Jakob Marsee delivered the final blow, lining a 369-foot single into the right-center gap to send Miami home with its sixth win in a row. The result opened a six-game homestand for the club after it had won seven of 10 on the road, and it pushed the Marlins to 24-8 since the start of last month.

Miami entered the night in sole possession of the final National League Wild Card spot and one game behind the Phillies for the second spot. The win also moved the Marlins to 50-42, putting them eight games over .500 for the first time since July 30, 2023, when they were 57-49.

They got there by knocking off an American League West leader that had come in riding five wins in its last six games.

The Marlins struck first in the second inning and did it in a hurry, ending a 25-inning scoreless stretch for Mariners pitchers that included back-to-back shutouts against the Blue Jays. Owen Caissie broke through with a 418-foot solo shot to right-center, and Miami kept the pressure on after Javier Sanoja and Liam Hicks singled back-to-back. Hicks, who extended his MLB-leading hitting streak to 17 games and his on-base streak to 19, was part of the sequence that led to Sanoja racing home on a wild pitch from Bryan Woo.

Marsee added to the cushion in the third with a single that brought in Griffin Conine, and the Marlins picked up another run in the fourth when Hicks doubled and scored on Kyle Stowers’ sacrifice fly.

Seattle answered in the fifth. Cal Raleigh opened the inning with a double off Max Meyer and scored on Luke Raley’s sacrifice fly, then Cole Young followed with a home run to right. The Mariners had a chance to do more damage in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs, but Michael Petersen held them there after Meyer left the game.

Meyer was charged with two runs on four hits over five-plus innings, striking out four and walking two. He threw 80 pitches and was coming off his first loss after starting the season 9-0.

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