Miami Marlins look to keep their playoff hopes going as second half begins
During a recent postgame news conference, Tyler Phillips looked down at his T-shirt — one featuring a depiction of his team’s group photos in front of their dugout taken after wins — and repeated the phrase inscribed on it to describe the current state of the Miami Marlins.
“We’re the Fightin’ Fish, man,” Phillips said. “We’re gonna fight to the last pitch.”
The Fish certainly have been fightin’ — for their spot in the standings and for respect across the league.
And they have certainly gotten the league’s attention during the past month and a half.
Despite getting swept by the Cleveland Guardians in their final series before the All-Star break, the Marlins remain one of MLB’s hottest teams. They have gone 26-11 since June 1, tops in the league in that span. That success moved Miami from eight games under .500 to 52-45 overall. That has the Marlins in the National League’s third wild-card spot, two-and-a-half games behind the Chicago Cubs for the top wild-card position and three games behind the Atlanta Braves for the top spot in the NL East.
It has Miami chasing a grand goal.
“We want October baseball here in Miami,” said shortstop Otto Lopez, who was one of Miami’s two All-Star representatives in Philadelphia this week.
The Marlins’ pursuit of that playoff push continues Friday when they open a three-game series at the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers (59-37).
“We come out to Milwaukee, and we’re going to start the second half and look at we’re getting back to just trying to win series, just try to play a good brand and take care of the things you can control,” second-year Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “That’s all we can do. We can’t control what other teams are doing around the league. We have to just go out and put ourselves in position to have chances to win.”
Three things will be paramount for the Marlins as they move forward with the second half of the schedule.
1). Key players who have turned the corner recently need to keep up their production. That includes ace Sandy Alcantara (7-1 record, 3.09 ERA over 55 1/3 innings in eight starts since June 1) and outfielder/first baseman Kyle Stowers (.258 average, .895 on-base-plus-slugging, nine home runs, 31 RBI since June 1).
Stowers’ surge in particular along with the emergence of players such as Lopez, outfielder Heriberto Hernandez, rookie catcher Joe Mack and catcher/first baseman/designated hitter Liam Hicks has lengthened Miami’s lineup.
2). Starting pitching continues to be a strength. In addition to Alcantara’s return to form, righties Max Meyer and Eury Perez will be reaching uncharted territory as they pitch deeper in seasons than they ever have. Janson Junk’s return from the injured list just before the break was needed. And Phillips will continue to help with the back end of the rotation for now as well.
3). Getting healthy. Miami’s relief pitching in particular has taken a hit as of late. Righties Anthony Bender (right shin stress reaction) and William Kempner (right elbow strain) plus lefty John King (left lateral ankle sprain) have all been sidelined during the past three weeks. That’s in addition to lefty Andrew Nardi (rib cage stress reaction), who has been out since late May and isn’t expected back until September at the earliest.
Beyond them, rookie outfielder Owen Caissie (right calf strain), who has held his own in a platoon role in right field, is also out until potentially the start of August.
And then there’s the all-important trade deadline on Aug. 3. If the Marlins stay in contention, they could be in position to add to the roster to prepare themselves for the final stretch of the season. Miami in an ideal scenario would add a right-handed bat (a third baseman would make sense) and pitching (be it a back-end starter or high-leverage relievers).
Exactly how aggressive would they be? And how much would they be willing to sacrifice, whether it’s from their prospect pool in the minor leagues or dealing from strengths on the active roster to get players to cover their weaknesses?
Only time will tell.
Miami has 16 games until the trade deadline: Three game series at Milwaukee and the Houston Astros, three games each at home against the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies and a four-game set at the New York Mets. Milwaukee and Philadelphia are the only teams from that quintet currently occupying playoff spots.
“I always have to separate my fandom from my ownership,” Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said in an interview on Marlins Radio on July 3. “We have … all of July pretty much left for the push for the trade deadline. I’m looking forward to this club operating so efficiently and winning so many games that we’re right there.”
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