Marlins sweep Royals, pull within 2.5 in NL wild card race
Miami finished a two-game sweep in Kansas City to reach 71-69, sitting 2.5 games back of the final NL wild card spot with an elimination number of 11.
Sanoja and Stowers homer as Marlins finish the sweep
The Marlins closed out their two-game set in Kansas City by beating the Royals 6-3 on September 1 and 9-6 on September 2, extending their record to 71-69 and their run over the last 5 games to 3-2. Javier Sanoja went 3-for-5 with a homer and 1 RBI, Kyle Stowers went 2-for-5 with a homer and 2 RBI, and Jakob Marsee added a solo shot in a 1-for-4 night with 1 RBI.
Royals6-3Royals9-6Eury Pérez had a rough outing on the mound, working 4.2 innings and allowing 9 hits, 6 earned runs and 3 walks against 3 strikeouts, but the offense covered for him. Royals manager Matt Quatraro was ejected in the finale after umpires rescinded a balk call against Miami, per JomboyMedia, and the club's own account called it a spectacular series win.
Diamondbacks, Padres and Marlins bunched for the third spot
At 71-69, Miami sits 2.5 games back of the third NL wild card spot, currently held by Arizona, with San Diego just 0.5 games behind the Diamondbacks and 2 games ahead of the Marlins. Miami's elimination number is 11, tighter than Pittsburgh's 4 and Cincinnati's 3 but still well clear of Philadelphia's 19 and Chicago's 14 at the top of the field.
| NL Wild Card | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Phillies | 79 | 61 | .564 | +5.5 |
 Cubs | 78 | 62 | .557 | +4.5 |
 Diamondbacks | 74 | 67 | .525 | — |
 Padres | 73 | 67 | .521 | 0.5 |
 Marlins | 71 | 69 | .507 | 2.5 |
 Cardinals | 70 | 70 | .500 | 3.5 |
 Pirates | 68 | 72 | .486 | 5.5 |
 Reds | 67 | 73 | .479 | 6.5 |
The bullpen is getting healthier at the right time: Anthony Bender (shin) resumed throwing off a mound Tuesday and Pete Fairbanks (hand) began throwing off a mound the same day, both per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Xavier Edwards remains on the 10-day IL with a hand injury after colliding with Jorbit Vivas at second base and leaving Sunday's game, per Stephen Strom of Marlins Radio Network.
Upcoming
The Marlins are in Kansas City tonight, with Sandy Alcantara (13-8, 3.46 ERA) starting on the road against Michael Wacha (8-8, 3.32 ERA). Alcantara was a no-decision in his last outing against the Nationals on August 29, allowing 4 earned runs on 8 hits over 6.0 innings with 3 strikeouts and 1 walk. Wacha, meanwhile, was dominant in his last start on August 28 against Cleveland, throwing 8.0 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks on just 4 hits.
The market favors the Marlins tonight despite Wacha's return to form, and the total points to a high-scoring game. That reads like a bet that Alcantara's recent command issues carry over and that both bullpens get tested again after Miami's two straight wins in this same building.