The Miami Marlins enter the final road series of the year on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs with not much to play for the rest of the way.

However, that's not the case for the Cubbies, who are hot and heavy in the National League Wild Card race in the last week of the year. So for Chicago (87-69), there will be plenty of fire and fury vs. the Florida squad. They have been trying to fend off the hottest team in baseball, the San Diego Padres, who just swept the Fish at Petco Park over the weekend.

For Miami (76-80), a valiant effort in 2026 wilted in the summer heat, and they are essentially just tying up loose ends. They will have a handful of games to evaluate talent for next year, particularly on the pitching staff. That is, they will assess the names that haven't been decimated by injury already. Many of the team's hurlers have either had surgery or are facing it before Spring Training in 2027.

One of the emerging arms in manager Clayton McCullough's arsenal is Janson Junk, who is vying to be the fourth starter in the Fish's future rotation. He will make the start in Game 1 vs. Chicago. The righty is 6-9, with a 4.50 ERA, 78 strikeouts, and 31 walks in 114 innings. But he's surrendered 122 hits and has a 1.34 WHIP, which has held him back from taking that next step.

As of press time, the Cubs had not named their starter for the series opener.

The Marlins have played 18 games in September thus far and have posted a 7-11 record. And as much as the pitching staff has drawn criticism in the season's second half, the recent stretch has seen an anemic offense from the South Florida Nine.

This month, the Fish have hit .238, with 16 home runs, 46 RBI, and a .431 slugging percentage. They have scored just 47 runs in that span

Miami's offense averaged only 2.35 runs per game in September, with a .238 batting average and 16 homers. That low run production is particularly notable given that the club hit 16 home runs during those 20 games.

“We came into this season expecting to be one of the six National League teams who would play beyond the regular season," McCullough said recently. "And we're not gonna be able to do that.”

One Marlin who hasn't struggled at the plate has been middle infielder Otto Lopez, who is still (somewhat) in the thick of the race for the National League Batting Title. With six games remaining in the schedule, the speedster is hitting .305 and is in third place. Ahead of him are Arizona Diamondbacks' catcher Gabriel Moreno at the .307 mark.

They both trail three-time batting champion Luis Arraez, the Philadelphia Phillies second baseman, whose .313 paces the NL. Arraez has already captured hitting crowns in both the AL and the NL, from 2022-2024. His title in 2022 came while he was a member of the Marlins.