Miami Marlins
More Miami Marlins pages
The Marlins Went 20-6 in June and Then Lost 12 Straight. They’re Still Alive.
Records current as of Aug. 26, 2026
Miami is 67-66, above .500 in late August, and roughly four games out of the final National League wild card spot.
Getting here has been the least linear season in baseball.
June was the best month in franchise memory
The Marlins went 20-6 in June — a record-setting month — and at one point held a three-game lead for the National League’s last wild card spot.
For a club that lost 100 games two years ago and finished three under .500 last season, that stretch wasn’t just good. It was the moment the rebuild appeared to have arrived early.
July nearly ended it
Then Miami went 10-15 in July, including a franchise-record 12-game losing streak from July 10 to 26.
Twelve straight losses erases a three-game cushion and most of a season’s goodwill. The skid finally ended on July 27 against Philadelphia at loanDepot park.
That the Marlins are still in the conversation a month later says more about the roster’s resilience than the June run did.
The young core is the whole story
President of baseball operations Peter Bendix and general manager Gabe Kapler built this team around players who weren’t supposed to be ready yet.
Kyle Stowers broke out in his first full season with Miami, made the All-Star team and was a Gold Glove nominee in left field. Jakob Marsee received National League Rookie of the Year votes despite playing just 55 games. Xavier Edwards at second base and Otto Lopez at shortstop give Miami one of the better defensive middle infields in the league — both were Gold Glove nominees.
Owen Caissie, the centerpiece of the Edward Cabrera trade, arrived with little left to prove at Triple-A.
The veteran additions — Christopher Morel at first base and reliever Pete Fairbanks — were deliberately chosen to be young enough to still be in their prime while bringing experience a roster this green doesn’t otherwise have.
The rotation held together
Sandy Alcantara, in his ninth season with the organization, and Eury Pérez anchor a staff that came into the year carrying real questions.
Most of those questions got answered. The rotation is the reason a team with this little experience is playing meaningful September baseball rather than counting down to the draft.
Two problems that could end it
The platoon split. Miami has been a substantially different team against right-handed pitching than against lefties. In a stretch run where opponents can plan their rotations, that’s exploitable.
The road. Miami’s home performance at loanDepot park has been the foundation of the season — it’s genuinely been the ticket. The away record is what’s kept them from separating in the wild card race.
Who they’re chasing
Chicago sits at 76-57, effectively locked in. Philadelphia is at 73-60 and playing its best baseball of the year. San Diego holds the third spot at 71-62.
Four games with about thirty to play is not a long shot, but it requires Miami to pass a team rather than simply hold position — and the Padres and Phillies are both playing well.
What has to happen
- Beat the teams ahead of them. Head-to-head games against Philadelphia and the other contenders are worth double.
- Fix the platoon problem, or hide it. Roster construction can mitigate what the lineup can’t.
- Win on the road. Home dominance got them here and won’t be enough to finish.
- Alcantara and Pérez, every fifth day. A young lineup needs the rotation to keep games close.
Second manager season under Clayton McCullough, a roster nobody expected to contend, a June that felt like a breakthrough and a July that felt like a collapse. Whatever happens in September, this franchise arrived ahead of schedule.
Miami Sports Wire covers Marlins news, schedules and game coverage all season. See the Marlins schedule for first pitch times and broadcast info, or the NL standings for the current wild card race.