Otto Lopez has pushed himself right back into the batting title chase, and the Marlins shortstop is doing it with the kind of stretch that makes the race feel very much alive.
Entering Sunday, Lopez had gone seven games with a .520/.625/.640 slash line, piling up five RBIs, three walks and 13 hits. Against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game series, he added six more hits.
Friday night was his loudest showing of the bunch, when he collected four hits. He has now strung together three straight multi-hit games, following two hits on Sep 9 against the Mets, four on Friday and two more on Saturday.
That surge has lifted Lopez to a .310 batting average on the season. He and Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez are tied for second at that mark, while Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez sits in first at .316. Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson is next at .306.
With 13 games left on Miami’s schedule, Lopez still has time to make a push if he stays hot. Sunday at the ballpark carried its own extra layer, too, with the Marlins celebrating Dontrelle Willis Day. That setting only added to the backdrop for Lopez’s latest run at the plate.
There was also a fitting baseball connection attached to the day. Twenty years ago on Sep.
10, Willis threw a three-hitter shutout against the Phillies. Now it’s Lopez, a Marlins hitter, trying to catch a Phillies player in the batting title race.
The Marlins and Phillies won’t meet again this season, which takes away the chance for a late head-to-head finish. Miami will close the year at home against the Atlanta Braves.
Before that, the Marlins head to Arizona for a three-game series against the Diamondbacks. That’s another matchup where Lopez has liked the view. In 14 career games against Arizona, he has hit .368 with 21 hits and 15 RBIs.
In Other News...
Marlins Lose Owen Caissie As Promising Rookie Year Ends Painfully
The Marlins rookie outfield picture took another hit when Owen Caissie was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lumbar stress reaction, a diagnosis that came after he felt pain while running the bases and underwent a CT scan that showed a fracture. It is a frustrating finish to what had already been a stop-and-start season for the young outfielder, whose first year in Miami never really found steady rhythm.
Caissies latest setback is his second trip to the injured list this season, adding to the sense that his development was interrupted as much by health as by performance. Miami had hoped to see more of what the rookie could become over the course of the year, but with his 2026 season effectively over, the focus now shifts to recovery and to what kind of offseason reset he can make after such a difficult introduction. [Read more 🡒]
Otto Lopez Just Gave Marlins Fans A Late-Season Reason To Watch
Otto Lopez has given the Marlins something worth tracking down the stretch, and it comes at a time when the season has otherwise been defined by more long-term questions than immediate payoff. Lopez has run into slumps in each of his three seasons in Miami, but a recent eight-game stretch at loanDepot park has pushed his batting average up to .310 and offered a reminder of how much a steady bat can matter for a club trying to find any momentum it can.
The timing only made the moment feel bigger in a recent 4-3 win over the Dodgers, when Lopez delivered the go-ahead RBI single that helped the Marlins grab a rare feel-good result. Miami also had to monitor Owen Caissie after he exited with right hamstring tightness and will get imaging to sort out the injury, while the organization is preparing for another milestone with Dontrelle Willis set for induction into the Marlins Legends Hall of Fame. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Get Xavier Edwards Back Amid A Troubling New Setback
Xavier Edwards is back on the Marlins roster after a brief stay on the 10-day injured list, giving Miami a needed infield lift after he missed two weeks with a left thumb sprain. The second basemans activation came as the club made a corresponding move with Owen Caissie, who was placed on the 10-day injured list after leaving a recent game early because of a lumbar stress reaction.
For the Marlins, the timing matters because Edwards had only been out for a short stretch, while Caissies situation appears far more serious. Manager Clayton McCullough said Caissies season is likely over, leaving Miami to sort through another injury hit as it tries to keep its roster together down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]