Marlins take 2 of 3 from Royals, fall 3 back in wild card
The Marlins took 2 of 3 from the Royals in Kansas City, falling 7-3 in Thursday's finale, leaving them 3.0 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot with an elimination number of 10 as the Cubs visit tonight.
Alcantara and two homers power a road series win
The Marlins opened the set in Kansas City with a 6-3 win Tuesday, then made it two straight Wednesday, beating the Royals 9-6 as Heriberto Hernández and Agustín Ramírez both went deep — Hernández finishing 1-for-4 with a homer and an RBI, Ramírez matching him line for line. Sandy Alcantara worked into the sixth that night, allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits across 6.0 innings with 2 strikeouts.
Royals6-3Royals9-6Royals3-7Kansas City salvaged the finale Thursday, beating Miami 7-3 to avoid the sweep and send the Marlins home at 71-70. Kyle Stowers exited that game with left hamstring tightness and is day-to-day, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com.
3 games out with an elimination number of 10
At 71-70, the Marlins sit 3.0 games behind Arizona for the final National League Wild Card spot, with San Diego just 0.5 games ahead of the Diamondbacks and both within reach. Miami's elimination number is 10 — the combined losses and rivals' wins that would end the postseason bid.
The club has gone 3-2 over its last 5, a stretch that has kept pace without closing distance on the clubs directly above it. Chicago and Philadelphia have separated near the top of the race, up 5.0 and 5.5 games, leaving the real fight below them among Arizona, San Diego, Miami, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
Upcoming
The Marlins host the Cubs tonight at loanDepot park, with Janson Junk taking the ball for Miami against Chicago's Shota Imanaga. Junk is 6-8 with a 4.11 ERA and got no decision in his last turn against Washington, working just 4.2 innings on 65 pitches. Imanaga, 8-10 with a 4.01 ERA, was rocked for 6 earned runs across 5.0 innings in his last start against Cincinnati — neither starter has given his team much length recently.
Chicago is favored tonight, and the total points toward a low-scoring game despite both starters laboring last time out — a sign the market is banking more on the bullpens than the men who begin it. For that number to hold, Junk and Imanaga will each need to find more than they had in their last starts, or Miami's bullpen will need to hold up again after a series that already leaned on it.