The Miami Marlins must go 5-4 down the stretch to have an even mark on the year, but they will battle a buzzsaw in the playoff-bound Padres at Petco Park in the opener of a three-game series
With just a handful of games left in the 2026 regular season schedule, the Miami Marlins will take the field tonight at Petco Park to battle the San Diego Padres.
For the Fish (76-77), the goal for the rest of the way is to finish with at least 81 wins, ensuring that they will have been even or better for the duration of this year. While that's not anything to shout about, the feat would be a solid accomplishment: With nine games to play, the team only needs to go 5-4. So, a break-even mark is certainly attainable.
Standing in the way will be the Padres (84-69), it's been an opposite close to the campaign. They have won nine of their last 10 games and are currently trying to close in on the final Wild Card slot in the National League. Trailing the defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers by nine games, they can't win the division. But entering play on September 18, they have a commanding four-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the opportunity to advance to October.
So, in essence, it's a tale of two teams heading into tonight's showdown in San Diego. But considering some of the wild, walk-off affairs we have seen from Miami recently, they are always worth the price of admission. They will try to trip up the Fathers as they start this three-game road series.
A Youthful Pitching Match-Up
It should be an interesting showdown between two starters who are trying to establish their roles heading into 2027. The Marlins will send righty Tyler Phillips to the hill. He's 5-6, with a 3.55 ERA, 96 strikeouts, and 51 walks in 119 innings pitched. For the Padres, fellow righthanded pitcher Nick Pivetta, who is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA, 31 strikeouts, and a 1.00 WHIP in 25 innings pitched. It will be the seventh start of the season for the San Diego starter.
So, with both pitchers even, the biggest question will be how the Fish will counter the red-hot Padres, whose September surge has catapulted them ahead of the competition. The two teams were once fighting it out for the Wild Card, but when the Fish folded following the All-Star Game, San Diego jockeyed with several teams before pulling away from the pack.
It would be easy to write off the final few series of the season in South Florida, but the Fish faithful would like to see the team set the tone for 2027. That starts with this series and the final two. After they wrap things up in Southern California, the Marlins go on their final road trip of the year to take on the Chicago Cubs in a three-game set. They will play their final trio of contests at home against the likely NL East Champions, the Atlanta Braves.
