Losing streak puts playoff spot in jeopardy
ATLANTA
Miguel Rojas individually, and the Marlins collectively, are trying to stay in the moment. The cliche “one game at a time” mantra is becoming as big of a rallying cry as “Why Not Us?” was for this team before the 60-game season began.
The finish line is so close, a postseason berth is almost in their reach.
And yet here stand the Marlins, falling into a rut at arguably the worst possible time. A four-game losing streak is not what the Marlins wanted or anticipated in the home stretch of the season. They can’t afford to let it linger, either. Not with time running out.
The Marlins entered Thursday’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves with a half-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies (28-29) for second place in the National League East. The top two teams in each division plus the next best two teams in each league advance to the postseason this year.
They close the season with three games against the Yankees in New York.
But even as the stakes intensify with each passing game, players are rallying around and trying to get back to the performance that put them in the position to be in a playoff hunt heading into the final week of the season.
“The mood is still the same,” Rojas said. “We’re just looking at what’s ahead of us, but we’re not going to look too far . ... We have a chance to win a baseball game and be one game ahead of the Phillies. That’s what we’re going to look for right now. That’s what we’re going to focus on. That’s the mentality that we’ve been approaching the season with this whole year. We’re looking forward to keep doing that.”
They’ll need to do it fast. After all, there’s not much time left for the reset to take place and their margin for error continues to thin.
The Marlins’ easiest path to clinch a postseason berth is to simply stay ahead of Philadelphia in the standings, which can be done by winning three games or at least matching the Phillies’ winloss total over the weekend.
Should the Phillies jump the Marlins
in the NL East standings, Miami would need a lot of help to secure a wild card spot.
“Obviously, we need to win games,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “So you have to be concerned to the point that we have to win some games. You just can’t limp your way in. From this point, we know we have to win games. But I’m not concerned at all about that group falling apart. They’ve bounced back all year long.
“Every day feels like a game we feel like we have to win.”
Their schedule to close out the year isn’t doing them any favors. Miami dropped its first three games against Atlanta by a combined score of 25-9. They haven’t held a lead past the first inning of any of those three games. The Yankees, meanwhile, are still competing for home-field advantage in the wild card round of the playoffs.
“We have to get outside and compete,” said starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, who is scheduled to start the first game against the Yankees on Friday.
“We have to keep our heads up.”
Rojas added: “These things can happen at any point in the year. A four-game losing streak doesn’t mean we can’t win. Let’s start a winning streak.”
For their playoff hopes, Miami is going to need one.
ROSTER MOVES
The Marlins placed right-handed pitcher Josh A. Smith on the 10-day injured list with a fractured nail, optioned right-handed pitcher Nick Neidert, reinstated outfielder Magneuris Sierra from 10-day IL and recalled left-handed pitcher Dan Castano from ATS.
Sierra’s return is arguably the most important of the bunch. He was hitting .278 with seven RBI, eight runs scored and four stolen bases in 15 games before being sidelined by a hamstring injury. He gives Mattingly another lefthanded-hitting option with speed off the bench to use for situational hitting, pinch-running or lateinning defensive replacement.
THIS AND THAT
Mattingly said the starting pitching rotation will stay on track for the three games against the Yankees. That means Alcantara will face J.A. Happ on Friday, with Trevor Rogers going on Saturday and Jose Urena starting Sunday. The Yankess have not announced starters for Saturday and Sunday.