The Miami Marlins have won their last three games and are making a late-season charge toward the National League title. It’s hard to believe – given the season this organization has had – that a potential playoff berth and a shot at winning their first National League East crown in the organization’s history is a possibility.
But this being a short season, a year of the unbelievable and the right climate for the unknown to happen, the team in South Florida is right in the thick of it all, making noise and making a statement.
It’s only fitting the Miami Marlins are one of the best baseball stories this season.
“This has obviously been fun to watch the guys go through this,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after the team beat Philadelphia on Monday night. “I know they’re learning so much. This is the best style of ball to be playing, because it turns into a team. It’s not your numbers or how you’re doing. It turns into how the team is doing.”
And the Marlins have made plenty of changes this season to adapt to the changes of MLB, injuries, COVID-19 and the need to continue to chase the Atlanta Braves – the frontrunners of the division. Games against the Philadelphia Phillies, where Miami won five of seven games in the last series, has been the precursor to what should be a solid run down the stretch.
And for a writer who has stood by the prediction of a post-season berth, this looks like vindication. The Marlins have gone from a team many national writers have waiting to fall off the ledge to a story of how them not making the playoffs is a bigger story.
Kudos to Mattingly and the coaching staff for pushing buttons, being patient and waiting on their young pitching staff to return to health amid the distractions of the Coronavirus. This sets up nicely for the 2021 season where there will be changes to the roster and young prospects sinking their feet in the sand for the not to distant future.
The best story of the season might be how Pablo Lopez, the winner on Monday night, has developed into a solid stater and the go-to arm of the staff since pitchers have been moved in and out of the rotation. He was nearly unhittable – while still giving way to Sandy Alcantara and rookie Sixto Sanchez, who are considered potential aces of the staff.
“Lopez hurled seven sharp innings, allowing one run with six strikeouts,” Joe Frisaro of MLB.com wrote on Monday night.
Miami won 6-2.
Those three arms could be the difference in a division title and a fourth or fifth spot in the playoffs. And as a trio, could be one of the best in the National League next season.
The Marlins will continue to help their cause on Tuesday night, this time in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Marlins Park before facing the Washington Nationals. This is where the home team can help itself by winning this series and then taking down a division rival.
With less than two weeks left in the season, positioning is important. The Marlins look to be as solid as any team in the National League. Let’s hope they can continue to find ways to win games rather than potentially squander opportunities toward the postseason.
