Staying alive: Marlins fight through delay, extra innings for 7th consecutive win – Marlins

The Miami Marlins pulled off an improbable comeback late Tuesday night. Held scoreless until the eighth inning, they took down the Philadelphia Phillies in 11 innings by a final score of 6-5. Heroics by Heriberto Hernández forced the game into extras, Xavier Edwards drove in the eventual winning run, and Josh Simpson turned out to be the winning pitcher.

The Marlins are still four games back of the third and final NL Wild Card spot.

“I love the sense of urgency that the guys are coming here and playing with,” said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough following the game. “They’re just playing pitch to pitch and trying to play this thing out, every out of the games. I think that’s something that we’ve seen in this group all season long. I think now knowing that we don’t have much of a leash, it’s every day do-or-die—and that might not be enough, but we’re going to keep giving it a shot as long as we have one.”

Edward Cabrera (right elbow sprain) made his first start off the injured list. He looked uncomfortable from the beginning, though his fastball velocity was impressive as usual—he averaged 97.8 mph and topped out at 99.4 mph. Kyle Schwarber gave the Phillies a first-inning lead by smacking a sinker for his 54th home run of the year. Cabrera went four innings, allowing three runs off of five hits (two homers), walked one and struck out three. He went changeup-heavy, using that pitch 39% of the time.

“I thought his stuff was was exceptional,” McCullough said. “He came out of it feeling great. The first couple innings, he didn’t really have the same kind of feel for his breaking stuff like he’s had and stressful first couple of innings. Then I thought the last couple of innings he looked good.”

Trailing 3-0 in the top of the eighth inning, Griffin Conine hit his second home run of the season off former Marlins reliever David Robertson. It was a full-circle moment for Conine, who hadn’t played in the majors since April 19 due to suffering a dislocated shoulder against this same Phillies team at Citizens Bank Park. The solo homer left the bat at 106.7 mph and went 381 feet to right field.

Also against Robertson, Otto Lopez kept the inning alive with a two-out single, which was followed by a single from Liam Hicks, who was pinch-hitting for Brian Navarreto. Lopez was able to go from first to third, and then a throwing error from Harrison Bader allowed Lopez to score and make it a one-run game.

Going into Tuesday’s game, Phillies reliever Jhoan Duran had a 1.99 ERA during a season that has solidifies him as an elite closer. After striking out Connor Norby to begin the inning, designated hitter Heriberto Hernández took Duran deep to left field, hitting the most important home run of the his career to tie the game. It was only the third home run Duran had surrendered this season.

“He’s throwing 102-103 sometimes, so I am just looking for the fastball. Doesn’t matter the count—I was ready for that fastball,” said Hernández following the game.

The Marlins turned to Calvin Faucher in the bottom of the ninth inning, but after a leadoff base hit and four total pitches, the game went into a rain delay. Play resumed one hour and nine minutes later, but the Marlins had to turn to Michael Petersen, who struck out Max Kepler, induced a fly out from Weston Wilson and line out from Bryson Stott to hold the score at 3-3.

In the top of the 10th, the Marlins knocked in two runs. Liam Hicks’ RBI single drove in Griffin Conine and moved Troy Johnston to third. Jakob Marsee drove Johnston in on a sac fly, making it a 5-3 lead.

The most puzzling sequence of the game came in the bottom of the 10th. After Otto Kemp and Harrison Bader both lined out against Petersen, McCullough opted to intentionally walk Schwarber, bringing the winning run up to the plate in Alec Bohm. Bohm’s RBI single made it a one-run game. Josh Simpson entered the game to match up with lefty Brandon Marsh, but the Phillies brought in Nick Castellanos to pinch-hit. Simpson allowed a game-tying RBI single to Castellanos before ending the inning with a strikeout.

“The decision to walk Schwarber, I didn’t really think that much about it,” said McCullough. “He’s just not going to be the one that I was going to lose it with.”

All it took in the top of the 11th was an Xavier Edwards sac fly to drive in Norby to retake the lead, 6-5.

Simpson would go back out for the bottom of the inning and induced three straight ground balls to end the game. His ERA dropped to 7.85.

Dane banged up

In the bottom of the second inning, Kepler hit a double off the right field wall. Dane Myers made a leaping attempt to catch it, but missed and suffered a painful knee injury in the process. Myers was lifted onto a cart without putting any pressure on it.

Myers’ 2025 season is over as a right knee laceration will send him to the injured list, McCullough confirmed.

Expect Joey Wiemer, who was removed from Jacksonville’s playoff game moments after Myers’ injury, to join the team in Philadelphia. Wiemer had just been optioned on Monday in a corresponding roster move to make room for Conine.

NL Wild Card update

Realistically, the Marlins need to continue to be perfect over their final five games to potentially get the third Wild Card spot, and even that may not be enough. The New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks won their matchups on Tuesday, while the Cincinnati Reds lost theirs and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants.

The Marlins’ tragic number is down to two—that is the combination of Marlins losses and Mets wins required to officially eliminate Miami from reaching the postseason.

Former rotation mates Ryan Weathers and Jesús Luzardo will face off on Wednesday. First pitch is at 6:45 pm.