The Marlins are running out of room to make a move in the National League wild-card race, and this week’s three-game set against the Mets feels like one they can’t afford to waste.
Miami comes home after dropping two of three to the Chicago Cubs, and the gap in front of them is still four games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final wild-card spot. The schedule doesn’t exactly soften up from here, either. After the Mets visit South Florida, the Dodgers come through town before Miami heads out West for a critical stretch against the Diamondbacks and Padres, the two clubs sitting between the Marlins and that final postseason berth.
The good news for Miami is that the series opens with two of its better arms. Clayton McCullough is set to hand the ball to Eury Pérez on Monday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
Pérez will be opposed by Jonah Tong, whom the Mets are calling up to start. Tong is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA, and his last outing came June 2 against the Seattle Mariners, when he gave up four runs in 3.1 innings.
He also made his season debut in Miami back in May, firing three scoreless, hitless innings.
The Mets arrive in South Florida having won four of their last six, including two of three against the Tampa Bay Rays and a series win at home over the San Francisco Giants. But Miami is banking on its own rotation to tilt the series back in its favor.
Tuesday night brings Sandy Alcantara against Sean Manaea. Manaea is 4-7 with a 4.70 ERA, while Alcantara enters at 13-9 with a 3.54 ERA.
Alcantara is coming off a rougher night, allowing six hits and four earned runs over six innings in a 7-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals last Thursday. Even so, he said he was eager to get back on the mound, telling Christina De Nicola of MLB.com:
“It means a lot, knowing that in 2023 I (couldn’t) be out there and do my best for the team to win a game to get to the playoffs,” Alcantara said. “Finally, we're doing great this year.
We still have the chance to make it. So now I'm very happy to be on that spot to be out there and fighting every fifth day for my team to win a lot of games.”
Wednesday’s finale is listed as TBD for New York, while Janson Junk will start for Miami. Junk is 6-9 with a 4.00 ERA.
For the Marlins, the math is simple: this isn’t just a series to win. It’s one they likely need to sweep if they want to keep their postseason chase from slipping further away.
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