Miami Marlins: Miami Marlins pick good day to lose

After battling back to .500, the Miami Marlins were handled easily by the Philadelphia Phillies. Fortunately they didn’t lose any ground in the wildcard.

Depending on how you look at it, the Miami Marlins either chose a good time to lose a game, or squandered an opportunity. After taking both games of a Tuesday doubleheader against the Phillies, they were taken to task by Mark Leiter Jr. on Wednesday.

Justin Nicolino lasted only 2.2 innings. The Marlins mustered only two runs. And the Fish fell below the even mark again. They have one more game against the Phillies before they return to Miami. They hope to return back at .500.

On the night of the Marlins loss, defeats by nearly every team ahead of them in the wildcard standings helped ease the pain.

First and foremost, Miami is looking to get over .500 and stay there. There is reasonable expectations that they’ll be able to do that. Beyond being a middling team, though, they have inclinations to secure a wildcard berth.

More from Marlin Maniac

The Diamondbacks and Rockies once controlled the wildcard with a deathgrip. They’ve fallen off the pace and allowed other teams to catch up. The Brewers are within three games, the Cardinals within four, and the Marlins are at 5.5 back.

Loses by the Diamondbacks, Rockies, and Brewers on Wednesday night benefited the Miami Marlins.

You could make the argument that those are the nights that the Marlins need to notch a win most. And you wouldn’t be wrong. Eventually, the Marlins are going to have to win on nights where the teams they are chasing lose. That’s the only way to make up ground.

But they won’t win every night. And considering the ground they have to make up, you have to feel like things bounced their way last night.

Only the St. Louis Cardinals managed to pick up ground in the wildcard.

100-win season in the books

With Wednesday nights loss, the Miami Marlins officially closed the books on the possibility of a triple-digit win season. Now with 63-losses on the year, 100-wins is no longer a possibility. What a shame. Marlins fans were hoping to end the year on a 41-game winning streak.

But the realistic possibility of a wildcard berth looms. Miami might considered a long shot, even at 5.5 games out, but why start throwing up your hands now? It’s baseball. Weird stuff happens.

Next: Miami Marlins control their playoff destiny

They remain only 5.5 games back in the wildcard despite losing to the Phillies on Wednesday night. A poor start from Justin Nicolino is mostly to blame, but the offenses was stymied all night also. They’ll look to get back into the win column in the series finale today at 1:05pm.

Home/Marlins News