When asked what quality was most important to that rise, he was candid.

“I want to say patience, but I think I was guilty a lot of nights of not being patient,” Hyde said. “I think consistent around the players. I think I hid a lot of things from them — in a good way.”

Hyde was voted American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday night after guiding the Orioles to an AL-best 101 victories just two years after a 110-loss season. Miami’s Skip Schumaker won the National League award in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Hyde led Baltimore through some very lean years before the Orioles improved to 83-79 in 2022 and he finished second in voting to Cleveland manager Terry Francona.

“I had confidence that we were going to turn this thing around, but you struggle to see when,” Hyde said. “Last year, there came a point where you saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Baltimore was more than ready to take the next step this season thanks to a sparkling core of young talent. Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson was a unanimous AL Rookie of the Year on Monday night.

“Watching Gunnar win that last night, that was an amazing feeling. So happy for him and his family,” Hyde said. “I’m fortunate to be around a great, great group of guys.”

Hyde received 27 of 30 first-place votes, with Bruce Bochy of Texas getting the other three. Two-time winner Kevin Cash of Tampa Bay finished third. Bochy and the wild-card Rangers swept AL East champion Baltimore in the Division Series on their way to winning the World Series.

Schumaker led Miami to an 84-78 record — including 33-14 in one-run games — in his first season at the helm.

“A lot of this season just didn’t make sense, and I think that’s why our staff would kind of look at each other and go, ‘Here we go again. You know it’s going to happen — down three in the eighth and you know what’s going to happen. It’s bound to happen,’” Schumaker said. “I would rather win by 10 than one, than to come from behind. There’s no doubt about that. But I think it wouldn’t have made it as special as it was this year.”

The Marlins lost to Philadelphia in the Wild Card Series.

Voting by the BBWAA occurred before the start of the postseason. Schumaker defeated Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell — who left to manage the Chicago Cubs last week — and Atlanta’s Brian Snitker in a tight race.

Schumaker received eight first-place votes, three more than runner-up Counsell. Snitker also got eight but had far fewer second- and third-place votes than Schumaker.

The Brewers remain the only current franchise that has never had a Manager of the Year. Counsell finished second for the fourth time in six years.

The Marlins have had four managers win the award — Schumaker, Don Mattingly in 2020, Joe Girardi in 2006 and Jack McKeon in 2003.

Schumaker is the ninth person to win Manager of the Year in his first full season as a big league skipper, joining Hal Lanier, Dusty Baker, Girardi, Matt Williams, Jeff Banister, Dave Roberts, Torey Lovullo and Rocco Baldelli.

“I didn’t expect to manage,” said Schumaker, who played for the Cardinals, Dodgers and Reds from 2005-15. “I dreamt of playing in the major leagues one day, and then I fell in love with coaching and then I got this opportunity.”

Hyde is the ninth Manager of the Year who didn’t play in the majors, joining Buck Showalter, Jim Leyland, Joe Maddon, McKeon, Jim Frey, John McNamara, Snitker and Mike Shildt.

Prior to joining the Orioles, Hyde was a bench coach for the Chicago Cubs under Maddon, and it was Maddon who announced the winners Tuesday night on MLB Network.

Hyde became the fourth Baltimore manager to win, following Showalter in 2014, Davey Johnson in 1997 and Frank Robinson in 1989.

When asked what quality was most important to that rise, he was candid.

“I want to say patience, but I think I was guilty a lot of nights of not being patient,” Hyde said. “I think consistent around the players. I think I hid a lot of things from them — in a good way.”

Hyde was voted American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday night after guiding the Orioles to an AL-best 101 victories just two years after a 110-loss season. Miami’s Skip Schumaker won the National League award in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Hyde led Baltimore through some very lean years before the Orioles improved to 83-79 in 2022 and he finished second in voting to Cleveland manager Terry Francona.

“I had confidence that we were going to turn this thing around, but you struggle to see when,” Hyde said. “Last year, there came a point where you saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Baltimore was more than ready to take the next step this season thanks to a sparkling core of young talent. Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson was a unanimous AL Rookie of the Year on Monday night.

“Watching Gunnar win that last night, that was an amazing feeling. So happy for him and his family,” Hyde said. “I’m fortunate to be around a great, great group of guys.”

Hyde received 27 of 30 first-place votes, with Bruce Bochy of Texas getting the other three. Two-time winner Kevin Cash of Tampa Bay finished third. Bochy and the wild-card Rangers swept AL East champion Baltimore in the Division Series on their way to winning the World Series.

Schumaker led Miami to an 84-78 record — including 33-14 in one-run games — in his first season at the helm.

“A lot of this season just didn’t make sense, and I think that’s why our staff would kind of look at each other and go, ‘Here we go again. You know it’s going to happen — down three in the eighth and you know what’s going to happen. It’s bound to happen,’” Schumaker said. “I would rather win by 10 than one, than to come from behind. There’s no doubt about that. But I think it wouldn’t have made it as special as it was this year.”

The Marlins lost to Philadelphia in the Wild Card Series.

Voting by the BBWAA occurred before the start of the postseason. Schumaker defeated Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell — who left to manage the Chicago Cubs last week — and Atlanta’s Brian Snitker in a tight race.

Schumaker received eight first-place votes, three more than runner-up Counsell. Snitker also got eight but had far fewer second- and third-place votes than Schumaker.

The Brewers remain the only current franchise that has never had a Manager of the Year. Counsell finished second for the fourth time in six years.

The Marlins have had four managers win the award — Schumaker, Don Mattingly in 2020, Joe Girardi in 2006 and Jack McKeon in 2003.

Schumaker is the ninth person to win Manager of the Year in his first full season as a big league skipper, joining Hal Lanier, Dusty Baker, Girardi, Matt Williams, Jeff Banister, Dave Roberts, Torey Lovullo and Rocco Baldelli.

“I didn’t expect to manage,” said Schumaker, who played for the Cardinals, Dodgers and Reds from 2005-15. “I dreamt of playing in the major leagues one day, and then I fell in love with coaching and then I got this opportunity.”

Hyde is the ninth Manager of the Year who didn’t play in the majors, joining Buck Showalter, Jim Leyland, Joe Maddon, McKeon, Jim Frey, John McNamara, Snitker and Mike Shildt.

Prior to joining the Orioles, Hyde was a bench coach for the Chicago Cubs under Maddon, and it was Maddon who announced the winners Tuesday night on MLB Network.

Hyde became the fourth Baltimore manager to win, following Showalter in 2014, Davey Johnson in 1997 and Frank Robinson in 1989.

Miami-Dade County police chiefs took on the role of servers, offering meals to over 300 military veterans and active-duty members.

“We’re here today celebrating all the veterans in the area, commemorating, getting together, having some food, running into veterans we hadn’t seen in some years. I came to this the last two years in a row, and it’s always been wonderful,” said Veteran James Haritos.

The Marlins organize this event annually as a gesture of gratitude to veterans for their service, bringing the community together ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Bendix had spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball career in the Rays’ front office, initially as an intern in 2009. He worked his way up to becoming the team’s senior vice president of baseball development, then general manager, a position he held since December 2021.

Tampa Bay had become his home. The team was his family. And he couldn’t see anything prying him away.

“I’m good where I am, truly,” Bendix recalled thinking when he learned of the Marlins’ interest. “I had a phenomenal situation with the Rays, been there for 15 years, had a lot of success, worked with phenomenal people. … The concept of not working there anymore, it needed to be the exact right situation with the right people in place, frankly, with the right owner.”

But in a deal that came together in just a few weeks, the Marlins convinced Bendix to leave Tampa Bay to become their new president of baseball operations. The Marlins announced the hiring last week, and Bendix was formally introduced by the team at its ballpark on Monday as the third president in club history.

What changed?

“I talked to Bruce,” Bendix said Monday, referring to Miami’s chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman.

During a hiring process that Bendix described as “thorough,” his comfort with the idea of a career change grew as he realized that both he and Sherman’s principles were almost perfectly aligned.

“And that was enough to get me to say, ‘You know what, if I’m going to leave an excellent situation. It has to be the perfect fit,’” Bendix said. “And this is a perfect fit.”

Sherman said that Bendix was “one of many, many” names that the Marlins sifted through during their search for a new leader.

Bendix will take over the department previously overseen by Kim Ng, who had been Miami’s general manager for three seasons. Ng left last month after she and Sherman could not agree on the structure of the department going forward; the Marlins had exercised a contract option to keep Ng in 2024, but Ng declined.

“I was hoping Kim would stay,” Sherman said. “I wish Kim nothing but the best. Terrific lady. Not lost on me, we’re in the playoffs, and I think she’ll be just fine. We had hours and hours and hours of conversations, Kim and I. She made the election not to continue. I respect that decision she made.”

Ng had a hand in constructing a roster that put Miami in the playoffs for the first time since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and the first time in a full season since the Marlins won the 2003 World Series. Miami lost to Philadelphia in the Wild Card Series last month.

The 38-year-old Bendix, a graduate of Tufts, outside Boston, has been part of a Tampa Bay team that has provided a blueprint for consistent success for nearly a decade. The Rays have made the playoffs in each of the past five seasons and have baseball’s fourth-best regular-season record over that span, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston and Atlanta. Tampa Bay lost in the wild card round this year to eventual champion Texas.

The Rays’ success has come with a payroll that consistently ranks among the bottom third of the 30 teams, with many clubs spending at least $100 million more than Tampa Bay each year. The Marlins are another team that isn’t among the league’s big-spenders but are hoping to replicate some of Tampa Bay’s achievements.

“I’m not blind to Tampa’s success,” Sherman said. “We’re not going to be the 29th payroll. I think they’ve averaged the 29th highest payroll for about a decade or more, and they have the (fourth)-most wins. And that’s like off the charts on any statistical analysis. Whatever secret sauce he has … hopefully he brings that to this organization over multiple years.”

Sherman added he will give Bendix plenty of room to shape the organization. Sherman will weigh in as needed, but he expects that to be infrequently.

Bendix is inheriting a team with strong pitching but struggled before this season to attract high-profile hitters. Miami does have the National League batting champion Luis Arraez, who has expressed interest in a possible longterm contract.

Still, the Marlins recorded the sixth-fewest hits and fifth-fewest runs last season.

Bendix said he’s simply looking for “really good players” when asked his philosophy on roster construction.

“The thing that the Rays always told themselves that I will bring here is that it’s constant evaluation and it’s constantly looking to improve,” Bendix said. “And you have to always be looking to innovate, to try new things, to not be afraid to fail, because we need to maximize every part of the organization that we possibly can. We need to create every edge that we can. And it does not matter how successful any team has been to this point, you always need to be constantly improving.”

Bendix had most recently been the Rays’ senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager. He and the Marlins struck the deal over the weekend, and Miami formally announced it Monday.

“Peter has a great reputation within baseball and is committed to achieving sustained excellence in all areas of Baseball Operations,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said in remarks distributed by the club. “I am looking forward to working alongside Peter to bring the Marlins back to the playoffs.”

The Marlins announced Bendix’s hiring one day before the start of baseball’s annual general managers’ meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Bendix will take over the department previously overseen by Kim Ng, who had been general manager of the Marlins for the last three seasons. Ng elected to leave the team last month after she and Marlins owner Bruce Sherman evidently could not agree on the structure of the department going forward; the Marlins had exercised a contract option to keep Ng in 2024, but Ng declined.

“Peter is an established industry leader with an extensive skillset and deep experience that will continue the momentum we have made on the Major League level, while also strategically building the foundation for sustained success through player acquisition, development, and scouting at all levels,” Sherman said.

Bendix spent 15 seasons with the Rays, starting as an intern and getting promoted to senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager in December 2021.

The 38-year-old Bendix moved up the Rays’ ladder briskly: after his time as an intern, he became assistant of baseball operations, coordinator of baseball research and development, and director of baseball development — eventually becoming vice president of that department before getting promoted to the GM role.

“I would like to thank Bruce for his confidence in entrusting me with such an important role,” Bendix said.

Bendix has been part of a team that won consistently, something the Marlins haven’t been able to do. Tampa Bay has made the playoffs in each of the last five seasons — it lost a wild-card series this year to eventual World Series champion Texas — and have baseball’s fourth-best regular-season record over that span, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston and Atlanta.

The Rays did all that with a payroll that consistently ranks in the bottom third on the 30-team MLB list, with many teams spending $100 million more — sometimes much more — than Tampa Bay does on players each year.

He’ll be asked to do much of the same in Miami, another team that isn’t among the big-spenders but that made the wild-card round of this year’s playoffs. The Marlins lost that series to Philadelphia.

The Marlins have batting champion Luis Arraez coming back next season along with first baseman Josh Bell — who exercised his $16.5 million option — but will be without ace right-hander Sandy Alcantara, who will miss 2024 because of surgery on his elbow.

The 31-year-old Cuban agreed before the 2022 season to a three-year contract guaranteeing $36 million.

Soler hit .269 with 36 homers and 75 RBIs this year, becoming a first-time All-Star. This was his best season since he had an American League-high 48 homers and 117 RBIs for Kansas City in 2019.

A 10-year big league veteran, Soler has a .243 career average, 170 homers and 452 RBIs with the Chicago White Sox (2014-16), Kansas City (2017-21), Atlanta (2021) and Miami.

His Marlins deal included salaries of $12 million for 2022 and $15 million for 2023 and an option that escalated from $9 million to $13 million based on plate appearances this year.

Ng, 54, became the majors’ highest-ranking woman in baseball operations and the first female GM in the four major North American professional sports leagues in a groundbreaking hire in November 2020.

The Marlins exercised their team option for her to return for the 2024 season, Sherman said in a statement, but Ng declined her mutual option.

“Last week, Bruce and I discussed his plan to reshape the Baseball Operations department. In our discussions, it became apparent that we were not completely aligned on what that should look like,” Ng told the Athletic on Monday. “I felt it best to step away. I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Marlins family and its fans for my time in South Florida. This year was a great step forward for the organization.”

When the Marlins first hired her, Ng said at the time that it was the product of years of determination and an honor.

“When I got into this business, it seemed unlikely a woman would lead a major league team,” she said then, “but I am dogged in the pursuit of my goals. My goal is now to bring championship baseball to Miami.”

The Marlins were a dormant franchise before they made the postseason during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, which was Year 3 in the rebuilding effort of former CEO Derek Jeter, who brought in Ng.

Miami reached the playoffs that year for the first time since 2003 and swept the Chicago Cubs in their Wild Card Series. Atlanta then swept the Marlins in the National League Division Series, but Miami showed flashes of promise and brought in Ng at the end of that season to help surge the club forward.

Ng won three World Series rings while spending 21 years in the front offices of the Chicago White Sox (1990-96), New York Yankees (1998-2001) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2002-11). Before joining the Marlins, she was an MLB senior vice president for nine years.

“Kim’s appointment makes history in all of professional sports and sets a significant example for the millions of women and girls who love baseball and softball,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said at the time of Ng’s hiring. “The hard work, leadership, and record of achievement throughout her long career in the national pastime led to this outcome.”

Miami went 220-266 during Ng’s tenure, including an 84-78 record this past season.

She oversaw the rebuilding of the Marlins’ roster into one that wants to contend in the future. Last October, she hired former Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker, and he helped lead the Marlins to a postseason berth in his first year as manager.

Miami lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series earlier this month.

Ng’s departure comes after Jeter, baseball’s first Black CEO, stepped down as both CEO and shareholder last offseason after being with the team since 2017.

Jeter said at the time that “the vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead.”

Ng was the fifth GM in the Marlins’ history. Sherman said the club will immediately begin its search for new leadership.

“We thank Kim for her contributions during her time with our organization and wish her and her family well,” Sherman said.

“I give this game my all,” the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner said in a social media post. “I give this city my all, and so I promise I will not take a day off as I push to be back better than ever.”

Alcantara started experiencing discomfort in his arm during a Sept. 3 outing against Washington in which he pitched eight innings. His injury was initially reported as a forearm strain, but was later diagnosed as a UCL sprain — an injury that typically requires Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery. His timeline for return was unknown as he’d hoped to rejoin Miami for a late-season playoff push.

Alcantara experienced forearm tightness following rehab outing with Triple-A Jacksonville on Sept. 21, and the setback ended his season.

“Very frustrating for me, a guy who likes to compete,” Alcantara told reporters before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers last month. “I feel sorry for the fans, my family, my son, my friends because I’m not going to be out there this year. Just try to be ready for next year, I don’t know. Stay positive.”

In 28 starts this season, the 28-year-old Alcantara posted a 4.14 ERA and pitched three complete games. The right-hander went 7-12 in 184 2/3 innings, with 151 strikeouts and 48 walks.

The Marlins made the postseason as the NL’s second wild-card team and were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in their three-game Wild Card Series.

Miami’s current rotation includes left-handers Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and Trevor Rogers, as well as 20-year-old right-hander Eury Pérez.

And while the Marlins’ postseason was short lived — ending Wednesday night after a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies — it marked a major milestone for Ng. In just three seasons as the Marlins’ top executive, Ng took what had been one of the lowest-ranked teams in its division to the postseason for only the fourth time in franchise history.

Ng was hired in late 2020 by then-Marlins CEO and part-owner Derek Jeter. It made her the first-ever woman general manager — not only in professional baseball, but in the four major North American men’s sports — and the second person of Asian descent to become an MLB GM.

Her hiring followed 30 years of experience in the MLB, including with the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, two of the winningest teams in the league. Ng had also interviewed for other GM roles at least five times.

When she joined the Marlins, the team was facing serious struggles, including the loss of big-name players, low attendance and a limited budget. But Jeter knew that Ng, who had been the Yankees’ assistant GM during three straight World Series-winning seasons when he played with the team, was up to the task.

“Kim was the first person I called,” Jeter told the “Today” show in 2021 of Ng’s hiring. “She was the only person I called.”

The 2023 MLB season was Ng’s first full year without Jeter in the Marlins’ front office, after the former Yankees star stepped down as CEO and a shareholder of the team in February 2022.

His light trot, then — slam! — the thud of his bat as the lumber spiked the turf, well, Stott doesn’t remember that, either. This playoff highlight was a blur. He yelled something at his Phillies teammates, who had already turned the dugout into a jubilant mosh pit.

What did he say? Who knows? Stott couldn’t hear himself or anyone else near him — the slam set off pandemonium inside another packed Phillies ballpark.

“I was running around the bases in kind of a blackout,” Stott said. “I don’t know, I have to go back and watch it.”

Stott’s grand slam punctuated a postseason sweep and Aaron Nola tossed seven shutout innings in a performance worthy of a playoff ace that led to a 7-1 win over the Miami Marlins in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday night.

“We know we’re a really good team and we’ve just got to continue to do that,” slugger Bryce Harper said inside a rowdy, boozy clubhouse.

After making quick work of the surprising Marlins, it’s time for an anticipated rematch.

J.T. Realmuto also homered as the Phillies advanced to another best-of-five Division Series against Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and the Braves. Game 1 is Saturday in Atlanta. The Phillies did not announce a scheduled starter.

The NL champion Phillies finished third last season in the NL East at 87-75, a full 14 games behind the 101-win Braves, only to beat them in four games in the NLDS. The Braves were even better this season with a major league-best 104 wins and a sixth straight NL East crown — clinched last month in Philadelphia — while the Phillies again earned a wild card with 90 wins.

“It’s going to be an electric series and we can’t wait,” Harper said.

More postseason thrills are surely ahead.

Stott provided one Wednesday when he turned on reliever Andrew Nardi’s first-pitch fastball in the sixth and launched it into the right-field seats for a 7-0 lead. He slammed his bat as he ran down the first-base line, and the Stott Shot sent Phillies fans into a delirious frenzy with the countdown to a clinch officially on.

Nola followed Game 1 starter Zack Wheeler’s excellent effort with one of his own, and had 46,000 fans on their feet chanting “Let’s Go, Nola!” when he needed a lift.

“He went through a lot this year because he struggled at times and there were the home runs and the big innings and things like that, but he just kept grinding and he kept fighting, kept working,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Finally, he found some stuff at the end of the year, and he’s been lights out.”

The one knock on Nola, eligible for free agency after the World Series, is his trouble with shutdown innings. After Realmuto went deep to make it 3-0 in the fourth, Nola ran into a jam in the fifth. He put runners on first and second with one out before he got Jesús Sánchez to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Nola picked — more than pitched — his way out of Miami’s only other serious threat.

The Marlins briefly caught a break in the third when Jon Berti’s deep drive into the left-center gap knocked off left fielder Cristian Pache’s glove for a one-out double. Berti then inexplicably tried to steal third and was busted by Nola as the righty went into his delivery. Nola noticed Berti taking off and, instead of throwing a pitch, simply stepped toward third and threw him out.

“I feel like there was a little momentum shift,” Nola said. “For a pitcher, it’s definitely a plus to pick a guy off in a situation like that, especially when a guy that can run is on second base with less than two outs.”

Those are the kind of mistakes a postseason novice like the Marlins make.

“I think the culture changed,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “I believe that there’s a new standard in that clubhouse now. Now it’s up to them to protect that standard, honestly.”

With fans again waving their red rally towels, many wearing Phillies overalls popularized by backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, and the team on the brink of a clinch, the Phillies had their way with Miami starter Braxton Garrett.

Philadelphia again had six 20-homer hitters in the lineup but — a night after failing to go deep in Game 1 — again stitched together runs against Garrett.

Kyle Schwarber ripped an RBI double to right in the third that scored Pache for a 1-0 lead. Pache raced around the bases from first, his helmet still bouncing on the dirt as he slid headfirst into home. Trea Turner, the $300 million shortstop, smacked an RBI single that scored Schwarber for a 2-0 lead.

By then, the Game 2 victory seemed inevitable.

After all, there’s a reason the Phillies call the postseason Red October: They just don’t lose at Citizens Bank Park. At least, not often.

The Phillies, who won the 2008 World Series at home, moved to 24-11 in the postseason at the ballpark, the top postseason winning percentage for any team in any park (minimum 20 games).

Realmuto crushed his fourth career postseason homer off David Robertson in the fourth to make it 3-0.

“I think we’ve got a really good club, and I think we’re built for series-type baseball,” Thomson said.

BRING A BROOM

The Phillies joined Minnesota, Arizona and Texas in pulling off first-round sweeps as all four Wild Card Series ended in two games. There have been seven sweeps — including the Phillies over St. Louis last season — in the eight Wild Card Series during the first two years of expanded playoffs.

SLAM STAT

Shane Victorino hit the other postseason grand slam for the Phillies in Game 2 of the 2008 NLDS off Milwaukee’s CC Sabathia.

The game would have been resumed Monday had it impacted the postseason but was not because the Marlins were assured of the second NL wild card and Arizona the third.

Major League Baseball, after consulting the Elias Sports Bureau, said Wednesday the score reverted to 1-0 under 7.02 (b) (4) (A) of the Official Baseball Rules, which deals with suspended games.

“If one team is ahead, the team that is ahead shall be declared the winner (unless the game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead, in which case the score upon the completion of the last full inning shall stand,)” the rule states.

Bryan De La Cruz singled leading off the ninth against Grant Hartwig and Garrett Hampson struck out. Jazz Chisholm Jr. greeted Anthony Kay with a double and scored on Yuli Gurriel’s pinch-hit single. Xavier Edwards flied out and Jon Berti singled Gurriel to second before the game was interrupted by rain at 9:41 p.m. Umpires waited until 12:58 a.m. and then suspended the game.

All those statistics have been wiped out.

Hartwig gets a win, raising his record to 5-2. Jesús Luzardo drops to 10-10 after allowing a leadoff single in the eighth to Brett Baty, who scored on Rafael Ortega’s two-out single against Andrew Nardi.

Miami finished 84-78, earning the second wild card on a tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks because the Marlins won the season series 4-2.

New York wound up 75-87, fourth in the NL East and their poorest record since 2017.

Mets manager Buck Showalter, who was fired Sunday, gets an additional win. He was 176-148 in two seasons with New York and has a 1,727-1,665 record in 22 seasons as a major league manager, including stints with the New York Yankees (1992-95), Arizona (1998-2000), Texas (2003-06) and Baltimore (2010-18).

The ring one, of course. Nick Castellanos had no desire to turn his moment on second base into a NSFW moment in the postseason.

The All-Star slugger did — with millions briefly confusing the gesture for the obscene finger — direct his ring finger toward a joyous Phillies dugout, sending a message that the defending NL champions are chasing the World Series ring they were denied by Houston last year.

“That’s why we’re playing this month,” Castellanos said.

Zack Wheeler struck out eight in a sensational effort, José Alvarado preserved the lead with a pivotal strikeout and Philadelphia opened a resolute postseason push with a 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins in the opener of their NL Wild Card Series on Tuesday night.

“As soon as I stepped foot out of the dugout to go stretch out there in the bullpen, the crowd went nuts and I got chills,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler quickly started dealing and got the run support needed to put the Marlins on the ropes.

Led by Kyle Schwarber’s 47 homers, the Phillies had six players in the Game 1 lineup with at least 20. But they didn’t need the Schwarbombs and Alec Booms to get the job done, as every starter had at least one hit, without a home run.

Castellanos added an RBI double in the eighth inning to score Bryce Harper — who knocked off his helmet as he steamrolled past a stop sign — and the Phillies moved within a victory of an NL Division Series matchup against Atlanta.

“Bryce does that all the time and he’s miraculously safe more often than not,” Castellanos said with a laugh.

Wheeler allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings. Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

Phillies fans held signs that read “Un-phinished Business” and they were downright delirious when injured slugger Rhys Hoskins fought back tears and threw the ceremonial first pitch.

Castellanos did, too. He wore Hoskins’ No. 17 on the side of his cap this season in tribute to the first baseman who spiked his bat on a home run last season in an NLDS victory.

“He symbolizes Philadelphia, honestly more than any of the signees that have come here after the fact,” Castellanos said.

The Phillies won 11 postseason games last season, two shy of the ultimate goal and their first World Series title since 2008. The theme of unfinished business — as it is for so many World Series losers — was a key element that permeated throughout the clubhouse this season.

“We’ve got to get back after it this year, and it’s a different team,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I believe it’s a better team, to be honest with you.”

Here they are again, this time with star shortstop Trea Turner, playing big games in October — and with Wheeler in top form.

Wheeler, on the short list of great free-agent signings in team history, brought the heat from the start. He threw nine fastballs in the 97-99 mph range in the first inning, the hardest a pitcher who struck out 212 batters has thrown all season.

The veteran right-hander never backed down as 45,662 fans at Citizens Bank Park roared on every K.

Wheeler’s slider, nasty. His sinker, filthy.

Wheeler is simply grateful for another postseason shot a year after he was lifted with a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning of Game 6 in the World Series against Houston. Yordan Alvarez hit a three-run homer off Alvarado later in the inning and the Astros soon clinched the World Series.

That was last season.

This time, Wheeler took a two-hit shutout into the seventh and was pulled after allowing consecutive infield singles with two outs, the second one by Bryan De La Cruz driving in Miami’s only run.

Alvarado struck out pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel with two runners aboard to protect a 3-1 lead. The left-hander retired two batters in the eighth, and Jeff Hoffman got the third out of the inning.

The Marlins finished with seven hits.

“I think they know what’s at stake,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “They know what tomorrow means. We’re going to do the same thing we’ve always done.”

Wheeler threw only 46 pitches through four innings — while Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo labored through 90 over the same span.

The 26-year-old Luzardo was raised in South Florida and grew up rooting for Marlins stars such as Juan Pierre and Miguel Cabrera.

Luzardo was 6 years old when he attended Game 3 of the 2003 World Series, won by the Marlins, and was thrilled when he was traded to Miami ahead of the 2021 season.

His first postseason start for his childhood team hardly went as planned.

Johan Rojas, the No. 9 hitter, hammered away at Luzardo with a nine-pitch at-bat for a single that opened the third. He scored on Alec Bohm’s RBI double to left field.

Luzardo gave up run-scoring singles to Bryson Stott and Cristian Pache that made it 3-0 in the third.

“We’ve just got to keep this going,” Harper said. “Leave no doubt.”

FIRST PITCH

Hoskins choked back tears, patted his chest in appreciation and even waved a rally towel before he threw the first pitch. The slugging first baseman has not played this season after he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. The 30-year-old Hoskins — playing on a $12 million, one-year contract — might have made his last appearance at Citizens Bank Park.

Hoskins said he will head to Florida on Wednesday to face live pitching with hopes he could return to the Phillies if they make the World Series.

“As much as I want to be here, this is part of the way that I get a chance to be on the field with these guys again,” Hoskins said. “I’ve got to do everything I can to give myself that opportunity.”

MANUEL RECOVERS

Former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel posted a picture on social media of him watching the game from a hospital room. Manuel led the Phillies to the 2008 World Series title. He suffered a stroke in September.

UP NEXT

The Marlins send LHP Braxton Garrett (9-7, 3.66 ERA) to the mound Wednesday night against Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.46). Nola went 2-2 in last year’s postseason — winning a game in each of the first two rounds, then losing one in each of the next two. Garrett gave up three runs over five innings in each of his two starts vs. the Phillies this season.

The first female GM of a major North American sports franchise understood she was a pioneer. A symbol, too. She embraced the daunting task of taking a franchise with limited support and turning it into a contender while being careful to avoid setting a timetable for success.

Timetables invite judgment. Ng simply doesn’t see the world that way.

“You’re never sure when it’s all going to come together,” Ng said.

So rather than create some arbitrary deadline, Ng focused on the process of drafting and developing talent and sifting through rosters elsewhere in search of pieces she felt might fit.

The process gained traction last winter with the hiring of relentlessly upbeat first-year Skip Schumaker, who won the job during the first hour of his interview with owner Bruce Sherman. It picked up speed with the arrival of All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez and the addition at the trade deadline of veterans like first baseman Josh Bell.

And suddenly there Ng was on Saturday night, her hair drenched in a mix of Budweiser and bubbly, wearing a black T-shirt that read “Take October” in the Miami Marlins’ signature teal. The clubhouse mood was giddy after the Marlins clinched the franchise’s fourth playoff berth in its 31-year history with a 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Asked how a team that will finish the season with a negative run differential around 50 and injury issues made it to the postseason, Ng smiled as she tried and occasionally failed to dodge a steady stream of beer showers.

“This team has just exemplified heart and they know it,” she said. “And I think that is the driver of this group.”

Miami likely will have the worst run differential of a postseason team in major league history. The Marlins lost ace Sandy Alcantara to an elbow injury in early September while lineup fixtures like Arraez and Jorge Soler battled health issues down the stretch.

Still. Miami entered Sunday a remarkable 33-13 in one-run games, the best winning percentage (.718) in the National League since 1980, a full 13 years before Charlie Hough threw the franchise’s first pitch.

“They’ve proved to themselves they can do it,” Schumaker said.

Over and over and over again.

Miami’s clinching victory in some ways symbolized its season. Star centerfielder and video game cover model Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit an early homer. A walk, a bunt single, a sacrifice and a forceout grounder gave them the lead for good. Eight relievers combined to get 27 outs, the last four by newish closer Tanner Scott.

It is not the way Schumaker drew it up. Yet the utility player who got every bit of ounce he could out of his talent during an 11-year big-league career has become the manager perhaps uniquely qualified to handle a roster that is better than the sum of its parts.

“He said (during his interview) ‘I have certain unconditional aspects of how I manage’ and boy, he managed that way,” Sherman said. “The motivation he got from these guys, unbelievable.”

Motivation that wavered but never fully waned, even as Miami trudged through an uneven first five months of the season in which it did little more than find a way to hang around.

“There’s been like four times this year where I just to myself I’m just like ‘Man, I don’t know if we can do it,’” catcher Jacob Stallings said. “Just treading water and every time we (seem close to out of it), I mean we just do something crazy.”

Like sweeping rival and NL East winner Atlanta in mid-September immediately after a draining series loss in Milwaukee threatened to blunt their momentum.

Like rallying for two runs in the ninth inning at Citi Field against the New York Mets on Thursday, a game suspended by rain at nearly 1 a.m.

Like coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the eighth inning on Friday night, the sixth time this season they’ve roared back from three runs or more after the seventh, the most by any team in the majors in the modern era.

Miami’s 17-9 sprint through September culminated in a postgame party near the mound at PNC Park on Saturday night while a small cadre of fans behind the dugout shouted “Lets Go Marlins!”

Heady territory for a team with an opening day payroll of a relatively modest $91 million, a team that had dropped at least 93 games in each of the last four non-pandemic-shortened seasons.

“It’s not about payroll, it’s about what you got in here,” Sherman said, pointing to his heart. “And these guys had it in here.”

Maybe because the people like the woman Chisholm calls “Momma Kim,” showed them the way.

“Our staff, our front office, they’re a family and they showed us how to be a family,” Chisholm said. “And it starts at the top with Sherman, to Kim to Skip. It all starts from there. We just watch them and they help us. It’s fun to see how much work they put in.”

A job that Ng insists is still far from finished.

“I need to go back to my (introductory) press conference where I said ‘Failure is not an option,’” she said. “And that has really come full circle … So we’re here but we still have more work to do.”

Jazz Chisholm hit his 19th home run, Josh Bell delivered a late two-run double and the Marlins clinched the fourth playoff berth in franchise history with a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.

Miami locked down one of the two remaining National League wild card spots behind Chisholm’s drive, a dash of small ball and another lockdown performance by a bullpen that has carried a sizable share of the load over the last month.

A.J. Puk (7-5) and seven other relievers kept the Pirates in check, rendering any scoreboard-watching pointless.

“I feel like we’re just the biggest family in the league,” Chisholm said in a giddy postgame clubhouse. “I feel like nobody is as connected as us as a team. I feel like when someone gets going, everybody gets going. That’s the plan here and we’re just family and we’re coming in together.”

Miami began the day with its magic number whittled to one following another late comeback victory on Friday night.

One officially dropped to zero when closer Tanner Scott wrapped up his 12th save by striking out the side in the ninth, setting off a celebration on the field and behind the Miami dugout, where a small clutch of fans chanted “Lets Go Marlins!”

“Before the game we called it ‘Clinch Day’ and we weren’t expecting any other day to be Clinch Day except today,” Chisholm said. “And that’s what we did and we handled it today.”

Buoyed by first-year manager Skip Schumaker’s relentless optimism and a “why not us” approach, the largely anonymous Marlins — who finished with 93 or more losses in each of the previous four non-pandemic-shortened seasons — will be in the playoffs next week while big spenders like the New York Mets and San Diego Padres will be watching from home.

“We’ve been living for six years with ‘Let’s Go Mets’ in our stadium all the time,” Marlins owner Bruce Sherman said. “Mets didn’t finish. Yankees didn’t finish. San Diego didn’t finish. Payrolls three times our and look what we did.”

What the Mets and everyone else will see is a team that keeps finding a way despite a roster bereft of stars outside of the electrifying Chisholm, who was 5 years old growing up in the Bahamas in 2003 the last time the Marlins made the playoffs at the end of a 162-game regular season.

Little was expected in 2023, yet the Marlins entered September at 67-67 and on the fringe of an underwhelming wild card race before hitting the gas over the last four weeks.

Miami used a 17-9 September surge to vault over San Francisco, Chicago and surprising Cincinnati in the standings.

Jon Berti had three hits for the Marlins and started the go-ahead rally with a leadoff walk in the sixth off Quinn Priester (3-3), beginning a sequence that symbolized Miami’s “whatever it takes” approach.

Garrett Hampson bunted for a hit when Nick Gonzalez was late covering the bag at first. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice by Jacob Stallings and Berti put the Marlins in front 3-2 by beating shortstop Liover Pegeuro’s throw home on a sharp grounder by Jorge Soler. Bell’s sacrifice fly pushed the advantage to 4-2.

Bell — who spent five years with the Pirates from 2016-20 before bouncing from Washington to San Diego to Cleveland to Miami — provided the Marlins with some welcome insurance in the eighth with a long drive to center that drove in Berti and Soler.

“Thought I’d celebrate here years and years ago,” Bell said. “But just to be able to celebrate here now, is icing on the cake.”

A night after rallying from three runs down after the seventh inning for the sixth time this season — the most by any MLB team since 1900 — the Marlins made sure no such dramatics were required.

“This team has just exemplified heart and they know it,” said general manager Kim Ng, the first female GM in Major League Baseball history. “And I think that is the driver of this group.”

Endy Rodriguez had three hits and drove in a run for the Pirates. Jared Triolo and Ke’Bryan Hayes added two hits each. Bryan Reynolds provided an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth that trimmed Miami’s lead to three, but the Pirates would get no closer.

Priester, a first-round pick in the 2019 amateur draft, put together 5 1/3 workmanlike innings as he tries to position himself for a spot in the starting rotation in 2024. Priester allowed four runs on 10 hits with a walk and three strikeouts to finish his rookie season with a 7.74 ERA in 10 games (seven starts).

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: 2B Luis Arraez did not play while nursing an ankle injury. Arraez’s batting average remains a major league-leading .354 as he closes in on becoming the first player in MLB history to win batting titles in different leagues in consecutive seasons.

UP NEXT

The series wraps up on Sunday. It’s unclear whether the Marlins will have to return to New York on Monday to finish a suspended game against the New York Mets.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Yuri Gurriel had consecutive run-scoring hits that put the Marlins ahead 2-1 Thursday night, but umpires soon ordered the tarp on the field and the game was suspended by rain at 12:58 a.m. after a 3-hour, 17-minute delay.

“Without getting into the details, obviously, this is an unfortunate incident,” said Marlins general manager Kim Ng, who declined comment when asked if the suspension could have been avoided or if the game could have been completed in the ninth.

Miami moved into the third and final NL wild card spot when the Chicago Cubs lost at Atlanta.

Miami (82-76) is a half-game ahead of the Cubs (82-77), who finish with three games at NL Central champion Milwaukee. The Marlins close with three games at Pittsburgh and would have to return to New York on Monday to complete the game against the Mets if it’s needed to determine a postseason spot.

Miami holds the tiebreaker against the Cubs after winning the season series 4-2.

San Diego (79-80) avoided elimination for another night because Miami couldn’t finalize a win.

The game would be resumed at the point of suspension if needed to determine a playoff berth. Under rule 7.02 (b) (4) (A), if the game isn’t needed to decide a postseason spot, the game would be called and the score would revert to a 1-0 Mets victory.

Ng spoke for less than a minute. No other players or staff members spoke with reporters as the Marlins prepared for their flight to Pittsburgh.

With rain letting up slightly, the tarp had been removed around 12:20 a.m. Miami manager Skip Schumaker became involved on the field in an animated conversation with umpire crew chief Alfonso Márquez, a member of the Mets’ grounds crew and New York senior vice president of ballpark operations Sue Lucchi.

A few minutes later, the tarp went back on the field. The Mets vacated their dugout shortly thereafter.

“We had two or three potential start times,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “We were ready to go and then it kept closing. It would open and we would go quick and pull the tarp, but underneath is wet too.”

The opening game of the three-game series was postponed Tuesday due to soggy conditions at Citi Field, where the infield was uncovered for at least some of the four straight days in which Tropical Storm Ophelia pelted New York City.

“The other day was a little bit of a show — there’s a word in front of it,” Schumaker said Thursday afternoon as rain fell during his pregame availability.

The rainout Tuesday necessitated a doubleheader Wednesday, affecting Miami’s pitching plans in the final days of a playoff race and angering team officials, according to a report by The Athletic. Mets owner Steven Cohen apologized to the Marlins before the teams split Wednesday’s doubleheader.

The heaviest rains Thursday weren’t expected to arrive until closer to midnight, but after Rafael Ortega snapped the scoreless tie with an RBI single in the eighth inning, the Marlins mounted their rally in a downpour.

Bryan De La Cruz singled leading off the ninth against Grant Hartwig and Garrett Hampson struck out. Chisholm greeted Anthony Kay with a double and scored on Gurriel’s pinch-hit single. Xavier Edwards flied out and Jon Berti singled Gurriel to second before the game was interrupted at 9:41 p.m.

“We knew that they obviously wanted to play and that game has implications for them,” Mets starter David Peterson said. “So we were kind of just told to wait and hang around and see what happens.”

Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo allowed four hits, struck out 10 and walked one in 7 1/3 innings Thursday. His 208 strikeouts are the most for a Miami left-hander.

Peterson struck out eight in seven innings for the Mets, lowering his ERA to 5.03. He was demoted to Triple-A on May 16 with an 8.08 ERA but recorded a 3.38 ERA in his final 19 appearances following his recall June 26.

“Long, pretty boring,” Peterson said of the delay. “Ready to go home.”

THEY WEAR IT WELL

Mets announcers Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez wore suits honoring the trio of Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy and Lindsey Nelson, who were the team’s radio and TV broadcasters for the franchise’s first 17 seasons. Cohen, Darling and Hernandez are concluding their 18th season in the SNY booth.

Cohen wore a checkerboard suit similar that evoked memories of the striped suit worn by Murphy. Hernandez wore a plaid suit, a la Nelson, while Darling sported a beige suit similar to the single-colored jacket worn by Kiner.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Tanner Scott returned from paternity leave, one day after his wife gave birth to a son. RHP Emmanuel De Jesus was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans. … INF Luis Arraez (left ankle), who leads the NL with a .353 average, took batting practice but didn’t play. … OF/DH Jorge Soler returned to the lineup as the DH after sitting out Wednesday’s second game with a sore side.

Mets: CF Brandon Nimmo is slated to have an MRI Friday afternoon after hurting the AC joint in his right shoulder while making a diving attempt to catch Soler’s sinking liner in the fourth. … IF/OF Jeff McNeil (left elbow) was placed on the injured list after an MRI revealed a slightly torn UCL. New York recalled IF Danny Mendick from Triple-A Syracuse. … RHP Denys Reyes was recalled from Syracuse and LHP Joey Lucchesi was optioned to the same affiliate.

UP NEXT

Marlins: Have yet to announce their pitching plans.

Mets: With rain in the forecast all day Friday, New York RHP Tylor Megill (8-8, 4.92 ERA) is slated to start Friday against a former teammate, Philadelphia RHP Taijuan Walker (15-5, 4.35 ERA).

Jesús Sánchez also went deep and the Marlins took advantage of an error by rookie third baseman Brett Baty to score twice in the ninth inning. Miami is tied for the third NL wild card with the Chicago Cubs, who lost 6-5 in 10 innings at NL East champion Atlanta. Both teams are 82-76 with four games left.

Francisco Lindor had three homers and six RBIs in the doubleheader, becoming the fourth Mets player with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season.

In the opener, Pete Alonso was 4 for 4 with a homer, Lindor drove in four runs and the Mets tagged Braxton Garrett early in rolling to an 11-2 rout.

Alonso barely missed a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning of the nightcap when his two-out double caromed off the top of the left-field wall. After an intentional walk to Lindor, left-hander Matt Moore (5-1) retired DJ Stewart on a popup.

Miami loaded the bases against Adam Ottavino (1-7) with nobody out in the ninth on two singles and an intentional walk. Xavier Edwards scored the go-ahead run when Baty flubbed a grounder by pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel. One out later, Bryan De La Cruz added an RBI single.

Andrew Nardi got three outs for his third save.

Lindor hit a two-run homer right-handed in the opener, then a pair of solo shots from the left side off starter Johnny Cueto early in the nightcap.

When he connected leading off the fourth, Lindor immediately pumped his fist and pointed toward New York’s dugout. That drive made the $341 million shortstop the fourth player in Mets history with a 30-30 season. He joined Howard Johnson, Darryl Strawberry and David Wright, the last to accomplish the feat in 2007.

Lindor’s 15th career multi-homer game and first this year gave him 96 RBIs.

After hitting a single, double and triple in the first game, Berti launched his seventh home run of the season to start the nightcap. Sánchez also had a solo shot off Kodai Senga, who surpassed 200 strikeouts in the final start of his splendid rookie year. The right-hander waved to the crowd of 24,966 as he walked off to a standing ovation after whiffing Jake Burger for No. 200 to end the third.

Senga allowed three hits in five innings and struck out eight to finish 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts in his first big league season since arriving from Japan. The only Mets rookie with more was Dwight Gooden, who holds the major league rookie record with 276 strikeouts in 1984.

Gooden sat in the front row behind the Mets’ dugout Wednesday.

Burger was ejected by plate umpire Ramon De Jesus when he threw down his helmet after taking a called third strike with the bases loaded to end the seventh. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker came out to argue and also got tossed.

The first game was a makeup after the series opener was postponed Tuesday night because of unplayable field conditions. The infield at Citi Field wasn’t covered with a tarp for at least some portion of last weekend, when rain from Tropical Storm Ophelia began pelting New York City for four straight days.

The tarp was on the field Tuesday, but when showers finally subsided in the late afternoon and the tarp was removed, the messy field was too soggy to play.

That forced a doubleheader Wednesday that affected Miami’s pitching plans in the final days of a heated playoff race — angering team officials, according to a report by The Athletic.

Mets owner Steven Cohen apologized to the Marlins and their fans on social media for the postponement.

“It’s been weird, but it’s no excuse,” Garrett said.

Even on dry fields, New York (72-86) has been a thorn in Miami’s side all season. The Mets are 8-4 against the Marlins, outscoring them 59-34 with one meeting remaining.

Alonso, Lindor and Mark Vientos each launched a two-run homer to help the Mets build a 6-0 lead in the opener for Joey Lucchesi (4-0), who took a shutout into the seventh.

Alonso scored a career-high four runs and finished a triple short of the cycle in busting out of a 3-for-38 slump. He also was hit by a pitch in the eighth.

Garrett (9-7) gave up the homers to Alonso and Lindor. The left-hander permitted four runs and three hits in four innings after allowing only two earned runs in 21 2/3 innings over his previous four starts. He had yielded three runs or fewer in each of his past 10 starts.

“I had trouble with my cutter today, keeping it up in the zone,” Garrett said. “I’m really proud of the season, and hopefully it’s not the last one.”

POWER COMPANY

Alonso tied Howard Johnson for fourth place in Mets history with 192 home runs.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: All-Star infielder Luis Arraez (sprained left ankle) sat out the opener and wasn’t in the starting lineup for the second game, either. Arraez leads the majors with a .353 batting average. … RHP Huascar Brazobán (left hip impingement) was reinstated from the injured list Tuesday night when closer Tanner Scott went on the paternity list.

Mets: RF Starling Marte (right groin strain) will not return this season.

UP NEXT

Marlins LHP Jesús Luzardo (10-9, 3.73 ERA) starts the finale of the three-game series Thursday night against LHP David Peterson (3-8, 5.37).

The series opener between the Marlins and New York Mets was postponed Tuesday night because of unplayable field conditions caused by Tropical Storm Ophelia. The game will be made up Wednesday as part of a single-admission doubleheader beginning at 4:10 p.m.

It’s a crucial series for Miami, which is a half-game out of a National League playoff spot with six to play. The Mets are eliminated from postseason contention.

“We just want to go out there and enjoy this opportunity. Everybody’s been trying to tell us, at least, that we don’t deserve to be here,” Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “We’re as together as we’ve ever been this season.”

Three straight days of rain in New York left the Citi Field infield a soggy mess when the showers finally subsided late Tuesday afternoon and the tarp was removed.

Members of the Mets’ grounds crew worked for about three hours attempting to dry and smooth the infield and get the surface in playing shape. A message on the scoreboard long before the scheduled 7:10 p.m. start alerted fans the game would be delayed, and another message read: “Tropical Storm Ophelia brought heavy precipitation to the area. We are trying to make the field conditions playable.”

Major League Baseball representatives huddled on the field with Marlins general manager Kim Ng, manager Skip Schumaker, Mets manager Buck Showalter and others at 6 p.m. and then again at 8 p.m.

Approximately 20 minutes later, New York announced the game was postponed and rescheduled for Wednesday.

“Due to the significance of the game for the Marlins, every effort was made to make the field playable for tonight,” the Mets said.

Braxton Garrett (9-6, 3.53 ERA) had been slated to pitch for Miami against Joey Lucchesi (3-0, 2.88) in a matchup of left-handers. Garrett was pushed back to the first game Wednesday, and the Marlins said their starter for the nightcap was TBA.

Kodai Senga (12-7, 2.96) was scheduled to make his final start of a splendid rookie season Wednesday for New York.

“We want to play today. I mean, that’s definitely the case. But if it’s a doubleheader, it’s a doubleheader,” Schumaker said Tuesday in the dugout about 5:45 p.m.

“When I first walked out there, it wasn’t great. I’d say it was definitely unplayable a couple hours ago. You can see they’re working really hard for us to get out there to play the game, and I don’t think Buck or I would ever put our players at risk if we think it’s unplayable — just rather play a doubleheader the next day. But I do feel like they’re doing the best they can to make it playable.”

Miami (81-75) is 3-7 against the Mets (71-85) this season, getting outscored 46-28, and has lost its last seven series at Citi Field dating to 2021.

“They’ve kicked our butt all year, honestly. And I don’t think they’re just going to go away because they have six games left and they’re out of it,” Schumaker said. “That coaching staff over there, they’re used to winning and I don’t think they’re going to let this season just end and roll over, that’s for sure. They’ve got too many good players over there for that to happen.

“So I anticipate a really good series, and I don’t think that we’re going to lose our edge at all, whether it’s weather or where we’re at in the wild card or anything like that. We’ve always been pretty consistent on winning today.”

The Marlins conclude the regular season with three games in Pittsburgh this weekend.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: All-Star infielder Luis Arraez (sprained left ankle) was not in the posted lineup and is day-to-day, Schumaker said. Arraez leads the majors with a .353 batting average. … OF Avisaíl García (left hamstring strain) is with the team and going through baseball activities, including a running progression. … RHP Huascar Brazobán (left hip impingement) threw two innings Sunday for Triple-A Jacksonville and was scheduled to work out Tuesday with the big league team in New York. … LHP Trevor Rogers (biceps strain) is throwing from 90 feet.

Mets: RF Starling Marte (right groin strain) was unable to play a simulated game because of the wet weather and it remains unclear if he’ll return this season. … Rookie catcher Francisco Álvarez was back in the lineup. He exited Sunday’s game in Philadelphia with a bruised finger on his left hand after getting struck in the same spot by multiple foul balls.

ROSTER MOVES

Miami optioned RHP Jeff Lindgren to Triple-A Jacksonville and recalled LHP Enmanuel De Jesus from its top farm club. RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez was sent outright to Jacksonville.

WAITING GAME

As a sparse crowd sat through the delay, the large videoboard in center field showed Game 2 of the Eastern League championship series between Double-A Binghamton, a Mets affiliate, and Erie, a Detroit Tigers farm club.

Josh Bell also went deep, Jorge Soler had three hits and Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubled twice for the Marlins, who remained one game behind the Chicago Cubs for the third NL wild card spot. Milwaukee’s division lead over the second-place Cubs was cut to six games.

“This is what you play for — meaningful games in September down the stretch,” Berti said. “We just have a really tight-knit group of guys here. It just makes that much more fun and we’re going to keep doing it.”

Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (7-7) allowed one run and five hits in five-plus innings with five strikeouts.

“What really helped me today is keeping everything under control,” Cabrera said through a translator. “It’s not letting the speed of the game control me. I am feeling more confident now.”

Xavier Edwards stepped in for injured Miami infielder Luis Arraez and had three hits and two stolen bases. Arraez, the major league batting leader at .353, didn’t play after he aggravated a sprained left ankle Saturday. Arraez rolled his ankle during pre-game infield drills Tuesday then slipped on the dugout steps before the ninth inning Saturday.

“We’ve talked about next man up for the majority of the year,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. “We’ve had a lot of injuries. Every team has a lot of injuries. It tests your depth and tests our staff’s belief in guys and just letting them know that we believe in them. I think there’s leadership in that clubhouse that helps that a lot. We don’t get to where we get to without that part of our clubhouse.”

Berti homered in the second on a slider from Freddy Peralta (12-10), who gave up four runs and nine hits in three innings. Bell’s solo homer and Bryan De La Cruz’s two-run single boosted the lead to 4-0 in the third.

Milwaukee closed on Tyrone Taylor’s RBI single in the fifth before Berti completed a 13-pitch at-bat with a two-run homer off Julio Teheran in the bottom half, Berti’s sixth home run this season. Berti’s only other multihomer game was on May 4 last year against Arizona.

“He kept throwing strikes and I kept fouling them off,” Berti said. “At some point he was going to throw a ball eventually but he just kept attacking. Fortunately, I got a good one there at the end.”

After winning four of the first five against Miami this season, including a 16-1 rout in the series opener Friday, the Brewers will attempt to clinch the division at home Tuesday.

“They’re playing for a lot as well and they came out and played two good games,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “There’s no reason to be disappointed right now. We put ourselves in a great position.”

Miami went 46-35 at home, up from 34-47 last year, and finish the regular season with three-game series at the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates.

ATTENDANCE UPTICK

Miami drew 17,538 Sunday and finished with home attendance of 1,162,819, an increase of 255,332 from last year but still the NL low. Miami topped 1 million for the first time since drawing 1,583,014 in 2017.

MILESTONE FOR SCOTT

Marlins closer Tanner Scott struck out the side in a perfect ninth, giving him 101 strikeouts. He is the first left-handed Miami reliever to reach triple digits.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: RHP Elvis Peguero (right elbow infusion) threw before the game and is expected to progress to a bullpen session in the next two days.

Marlins: OF Avisaíl García (left hamstring strain) continues with baseball activities and running progression. He will begin base running drills the next few days.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Adrian Houser (7-4, 4.35) will start the opener of a three-game home series against St. Louis on Tuesday. The Cardinals will go with LHP Zack Thompson (5-7, 4.57).

Marlins: LHP Braxton Garrett (9-6, 3.53) starts Tuesday’s series opener at the Mets, who go with LHP Joey Lucchesi (3-0, 2.88).

Pinch runner Garrett Hampson scored the winning run on a wild pitch by reliever Joel Payamps (6-5).

Burger drew a leadoff walk before Bryan De La Cruz’s single to right advanced Hampson to third. Payamps’ slider got past catcher William Contreras and Hampson sprinted home.

“Obviously, a very good ball club over there, so anything we can do to get a win from them and hopefully ride momentum going into (Sunday),” Burger said.

Miami’s Luis Arraez went 1-for-5 and his major league-leading batting average dropped to .353. Carlos Santana hit the 300th homer of his career and Christian Yelich had career hit 1,500 for Milwaukee.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said Arraez didn’t play the top of the ninth after he slipped on the dugout steps heading to his position. Arraez sprained his left ankle on Tuesday when he stepped on a baseball during infield drills and missed the last two games of Miami’s series against the New York Mets.

“Another freak injury,” Schumaker said.

Andrew Nardi (8-1) pitched a scoreless eighth and Tanner Scott closed with a perfect ninth for his 10th save.

“You ask anybody in that clubhouse — that’s why I’m so proud of them — whatever it takes,” Schumaker said. “I know other guys say it but they literally believe that.”

The Brewers erased a 4-0 deficit with a four-run sixth on William Contreras’ infield single and Santana’s three-run homer over wall in center off reliever A.J. Puk.

“It was great in the dugout, game-tying three-run homer,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of Santana’s milestone. “Really happy for him and it’s something to be proud of.”

Marlins starter Jesus Luzardo allowed three hits, struck out four and walked three in five innings. His outing ended after Contreras’ single.

“Frustrating the way it ended,” Luzardo said. “But I felt good. Felt strong overall. My pitches were doing what I wanted to. Not too upset about it, especially after the win.”

Miami struck quickly on Burger’s three-run homer in the first. Burger drove the first pitch from starter Brandon Woodruff over the wall in left for his 34th homer and ninth since joining the Marlins Aug. 1.

“He has a really good fastball and just reacted to the slider there,” Burger said. “You have to honor his fastball always because it’s an electric one.”

Nick Fortes’ sacrifice fly in the fourth made it 4-0.

Woodruff, who threw a complete-game shutout against Miami in a home win Sept. 11, was lifted after five innings. The right-hander gave up four runs, six hits, struck out six and walked two.

Earlier Saturday, Marlins ace right-hander Sandy Alcantara said he will not pitch again this season after experiencing a setback during a minor league rehab start Thursday. Alcantara, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, went on the injured list Sept. 6 because of a right forearm flexor strain.

SPECIAL REUNION

Arraez’s parents received visas from their native Venezuela and arrived in Miami on Thursday. They had never seen their son play in a major league game until the series against Milwaukee.

ROSTER MOVE

The Marlins selected the contract of RHP Jeff Lindgren from Triple-A Jacksonville and placed RHP Eury Pérez on the 15-day injured list because of left SI joint inflammation.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Huascar Brazoban (left hip impingement) threw one inning in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Jacksonville on Thursday and is scheduled to throw two innings on Sunday.

UP NEXT

RHP Freddy Peralta (12-9, 3.71) will start the final game of the series for the Brewers on Sunday while the Marlins will go with RHP Edward Cabrera (6-7, 4.35).

The Marlins’ ace experienced forearm tightness following his outing with Triple-A Jacksonville Thursday. Alcantara was rehabilitating from a forearm flexor strain that sent him to the injured list Sept. 6. He had hoped to rejoin the club as it contends for an NL wild card spot.

“Very frustrating for me, a guy who likes to compete,” Alcantara told reporters before the Marlins played the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday. “I feel sorry for the fans, my family, my son, my friends because I’m not going to be out there this year. Just try to be ready for next year, I don’t know. Stay positive.”

Alcantara plans to meet meet with Marlins general manager Kim Ng, manager Skip Schumaker and his agent in the coming days to determine the next steps.

“We’ll have a conversation on the decisions we have to make,” Alcantara said. “If we have to decide on surgery or not, I don’t know. We just have to get together.”

Alcantara completed four scoreless innings in his rehab start. The Jacksonville appearance followed pain-free throwing programs and bullpen sessions.

“I was so happy before I went to the minor leagues. Felt great with my bullpens,” Alcantara said. “This is heartbreaking.”

The 28-year-old Alcantara had a 14-9 record and 2.28 ERA, while leading the majors in innings (228 2/3) and complete games (3) to become the Marlins’ first Cy Young Award winner in 2022. Alcantara struggled this season and finished 7-12 and 4.14 ERA. He experienced discomfort after a start at Washington Sept. 3, sidelining him for the first time in his big league career with an arm-related injury.

Miami, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds curently are in contention for the final NL wild card berth.

“That is one of the things which frustrates me the most, knowing that I won’t be out there with my teammates and giving my best,” Alcantara said. “Now, I just have to keep supporting them.”

Christian Yelich and Josh Donaldson homered during a 12-run second inning and the Brewers clinched their latest playoff berth Friday night with a 16-1 rout of the Miami Marlins.

Milwaukee, assured at least a National League wild card, trimmed its magic number to one for wrapping up the NL Central title. The Brewers, who have won four straight, can secure the crown with another victory Saturday over Miami or a loss by the Chicago Cubs to Colorado.

It’s the fifth postseason trip in six years for the Brewers — by far the best stretch in franchise history.

“The way we’ve played and the confidence these guys have in each other, it’s a playoff team,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We deserve to be there the way this team has played the last six weeks.”

The defeat dropped the Marlins one game behind the Cubs for the third and final NL wild card.

Yelich also launched a three-shot in the sixth as he returned to the lineup after missing 11 of the previous 12 games because of lower back tightness.

“You haven’t seen game action for a few weeks and you kind of don’t know where your timing is going to be,” Yelich said. “Took a bunch of swings the last few days and checked the health boxes.”

Corbin Burnes (10-8) benefited from the early run support and scattered two hits over five scoreless innings. He struck out six. The 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner had not won since July 20.

“Twelve runs – I didn’t know that was possible,” Burnes said. “Obviously, it makes the next innings go a little easier.”

Milwaukee sent 15 batters to the plate against relievers Steven Okert (3-2) and Bryan Hoeing during the second-largest inning in team history. The Brewers scored 13 runs in the fifth to beat the California Angels 20-7 on July 8, 1990.

Two-run homers by Donaldson and Yelich started and capped the scoring. Mark Canha also hit a two-run double, Carlos Santana and Blake Perkins added RBI doubles, and William Contreras, Sal Frelick and Brice Turang had run-scoring singles. In his second at-bat of the inning, Donaldson had another RBI with a groundout.

“We had great at-bats, took what was available, walks, going first to third, running the bases well and obviously a couple of big swings there,” Yelich said. “Just proud of the guys tonight and hope to keep it going.”

The only teams to clinch playoff berths with more lopsided wins were the 2001 Atlanta Braves and 1996 New York Yankees. Atlanta beat the Marlins by 17 runs, and the Yankees routed Milwaukee by 17.

Miami’s Luis Arraez was hitless in one at-bat as his major league-leading batting average stayed at .354. Arraez missed the previous two games because of a left ankle sprain and was replaced after the Brewers built the early double-digit lead.

Jon Berti homered for Miami in the eighth.

“I think everybody just wants to eat, get the hell out of here and come back (Saturday),” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Do the best they can to flush it and try to win a game.”

Marlins opener JT Chargois was lifted after getting two outs and walking two in a bullpen game for Miami.

BLOWOUTS

The Brewers also had a lopsided win over Miami in the first game of their series in Milwaukee on Sept. 11. They scored five runs in the sixth inning of a 12-0 rout.

ODD MOUND MATCHUP

Position players Jacob Stallings of Miami and Rowdy Tellez of Milwaukee were the last pitchers used — and neither allowed a run. Stallings featured a combination of changeups and slow curves clocked under 50 mph to throw two scoreless innings. Tellez got the final three outs in the ninth to secure the postseason spot.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (right forearm flexor strain) experienced forearm tightness after his four-inning rehab outing Thursday with Triple-A Jacksonville. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner is returning to Miami for evaluation.

UP NEXT

Brewers RHP Brandon Woodruff (5-1, 1.89 ERA) will start the middle game of the series Saturday. LHP Jesús Luzardo (10-9, 3.68) goes for the Marlins.

Josh Bell had an early RBI double and Braxton Garrett did not allow an earned run in six stellar innings for the Marlins, who remained a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs for the final NL wild card.

“All wins aren’t pretty,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “That was not one of our cleanest games I’ve ever seen in my life. Baserunning and defensively, just wasn’t real clean. But when you can win those games, you feel pretty good about it.”

All-Star infielder Luis Arraez, who leads the majors with a .354 batting average, was a late scratch from Miami’s lineup because of a left ankle sprain. Arraez said he stepped on a baseball during pregame drills.

“I hope I feel better (Wednesday), but the good thing is we won and I’m happy about that,” Arraez said. “It feels sore. It’s not 100%. I’m human.”

Miami took a 3-1 lead into the ninth, but closer Tanner Scott (9-5) gave up a two-run double to Brandon Nimmo with two outs. Scott also served up Jeff McNeil’s tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning of Monday night’s 2-1 loss.

Before that, the left-hander hadn’t permitted an earned run in 18 appearances since July 31 and converted six consecutive save opportunities.

New York reliever Trevor Gott (0-5) hit Nick Fortes with a pitch leading off the bottom of the ninth. Xavier Edwards’ sacrifice bunt advanced Fortes and, after Jorge Soler was intentionally walked, Yuli Gurriel’s groundout advanced pinch-runner Joey Wendle and Soler.

Burger then lined an 0-2 pitch into center field to end it.

“I just get in the box and try to calm myself in those situations,” Burger said. “It’s easy to get outside of yourself. I’m fortunate to pick up Tanner because he’s been picking us up all year.”

McNeil hit a leadoff double in the top of the ninth and went to third on Mark Vientos’ single. Two outs later, Nimmo’s drive to deep right-center scored McNeil and DJ Stewart.

Jon Berti hit a leadoff double in the fifth for Miami and scored on a throwing error by Mets starter Joey Lucchesi to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead. Lucchesi fielded Edwards’ bunt and threw to third — which was uncovered after third baseman Ronny Mauricio also charged the ball.

“Made a mental mistake,” Lucchesi said. “You have to make sure you learn from them and not do them again. Kind of embarrassing — nobody’s there and you throw it away.”

Garrett Hampson’s RBI single in the sixth made it 3-1.

Garrett also committed a throwing error that led to the Mets’ first run in the third. Pete Alonso scored from second when Garrett fielded Francisco Lindor’s dribbler near the third-base line and made an errant toss past first.

Consecutive two-out doubles from Soler and Bell in the bottom half tied it at 1.

Garrett struck out seven and allowed five hits. The left-hander has completed six innings in five of his last six outings.

“We’re in a race here and I feel the nerves before these games,” Garrett said. “I think that’s a really good thing. I feel like I should pitch good for the team and I’ve handled it pretty well.”

The Mets had an opportunity to break it open early when Nimmo hit a leadoff single and Mauricio followed with a double in the first. But then Garrett struck out Alonso, got Lindor to ground into a fielder’s choice that cut down Nimmo at home plate, and retired Francisco Álvarez on a grounder.

“The first inning is probably the ballgame,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “We have to push something across there.”

Lucchesi’s outing ended after 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander gave up three runs and six hits, struck out five and walked two.

HONORS

The South Florida Chapter of the BBWAA chose Arraez as the Marlins’ 2023 Most Valuable Player and pitcher Eury Pérez as the team’s Rookie of the Year. Arraez was not available to receive the award during a brief pregame ceremony.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mets: Rookie 3B Brett Baty (left groin strain) missed his sixth straight game. He was available to pinch hit. … RF Starling Marte (right groin strain) moved his rehabilitation to the Mets’ spring training facility in Port St. Lucie. Marte did running drills while with the club for the series opener Monday.

Marlins: OF Bryan De La Cruz returned after a four-game absence because of right ankle discomfort and went 1 for 4.

UP NEXT

Rookie RHP Kodai Senga (11-7, 2.95 ERA) pitches the series finale Wednesday for the Mets against Marlins RHP Eury Pérez (5-5, 3.06).

Mark Vientos had an RBI single and José Butto pitched six stingy innings to help the fourth-place Mets play spoiler again with their second consecutive win over a postseason contender. New York also beat the Cincinnati Reds at home on Sunday.

“We have to show up every single day and play good baseball no matter who we’re playing,” McNeil said. “But when you have a team that’s competing for a wild-card spot, you want to play well and you want to win those games.”

Miami fell a half-game behind the idle Chicago Cubs for the third and final National League wild card. Cincinnati is also a half-game in front of the Marlins after defeating Minnesota on Monday night.

McNeil pulled a slider from closer Tanner Scott (8-5) over the right-field wall for his 10th homer. That snapped a string of seven straight scoreless outings for Scott, who hadn’t allowed an earned run in 18 appearances since July 31.

“I was just trying to get on base. Put together a good AB and have the guys behind me do it,” McNeil said. “But I was lucky enough to barrel a ball and have it get out.”

Phil Bickford (5-5) pitched a perfect eighth for the win, and Adam Ottavino closed for his 11th save.

“It was a really well-pitched game for us and them,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.

Luis Arraez had two hits for Miami and increased his season total to 201. He became the fourth Marlins player to reach 200 in a season.

Butto shut down a Miami lineup that scored 36 runs in a three-game sweep of the major league-leading Atlanta Braves last weekend. The right-hander struck out six and scattered four hits while allowing one run.

Jorge Soler nearly gave the Marlins a 3-1 lead with a two-run homer in the sixth. After he finished his trot around the bases, the umpires huddled and ruled Soler’s towering drive down the left-field line sailed foul above the pole. The call stood following a replay review, and Soler ultimately struck out.

“Of course there’s frustration,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “When you call it a home run and he trots, yeah, there’s definitely frustration. We think there’s a home run, but there’s nothing you can do. They did a crew chief review and it’s kind of out of our hands once that happens. It’s part of the game. If they saw it was a foul ball, what can you do when they call that? It’s tough.”

Butto has allowed four runs and struck out 19 over 17 1/3 innings in three outings since being recalled from the minors Sept. 1.

“When you get here, you have to take care of the opportunities,” Butto said. “No matter the situation, whether bullpen or starting, you have to do the job.”

Vientos’ run-scoring single off Marlins starter Edward Cabrera in the fifth put New York ahead 1-0. Ronny Mauricio had a one-out single and stole second. Omar Narváez walked before Vientos hit a line drive to center that scored Mauricio.

Miami tied it in the bottom half when Jesús Sánchez scored from third on Joey Wendle’s double-play grounder. Sánchez drew a leadoff walk and advanced two bases on Garrett Hampson’s single.

Cabrera was lifted after 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander gave up one run, four hits and struck out four.

ROSTER MOVES

The Mets reinstated INF Luis Guillorme from the injured list and optioned INF Jonathan Araúz to Triple-A Syracuse.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mets: OF Starling Marte (right groin strain) is with the club in Miami. Marte has appeared in two games since July 16.

Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara (right forearm flexor strain) said he felt good after throwing his second bullpen. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has been sidelined since Sept. 6.

UP NEXT

Mets LHP Joey Lucchesi (3-0, 2.83 ERA) starts the middle game of the series Tuesday night against LHP Braxton Garrett (9-6, 3.67).

The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has been sidelined since Sept. 6 because of a right forearm flexor strain. Alcantara felt discomfort while pitching against Washington on Sept. 3.

“Everything was great,” Alcantara said of his approximately 20-pitch session before a series opener against the New York Mets. “I used all my pitches like I would in a game.”

The 28-year-old Alcantara has been one of the most durable starting pitchers in the major leagues the last four years. He led the majors in innings and complete games last season while becoming Miami’s first Cy Young winner.

Before going on the injured list with the first arm-related issue of his big league career, Alcantara had thrown 184 2/3 innings and three complete games, going 7-12 with a 4.14 ERA and 151 strikeouts.

“I just have to trust the process,” Alcantara said. “I feel good. I can pitch this year, hopefully.”

Miami began Monday tied for the final NL wild card.

“I think anything’s possible,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said of Alcantara’s return. “You can never doubt Sandy and where he’s at. Physically, he feels really good. We take it day by day and we’re not changing our course at all.”

Jorge Soler, Jake Burger and Nick Fortes also went deep, and Luis Arraez had three hits for the Marlins, who are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the third NL wild card. It was Miami’s first three-game sweep over Atlanta since 2015.

“Our team is here to fight,” Chisholm said. “I don’t care about the team we go up against because I know my team is going to go out there and battle every single pitch. I felt every pitch today, everybody was ready.”

Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo struck out eight in six scoreless innings. Luzardo (10-9) allowed four hits and walked two.

Miami outscored Atlanta 36-11 in the series after getting outscored 83-29 while losing nine of the previous 10 meetings between the division foes this season. The Marlins managed only five runs in four games against Milwaukee before facing the Braves.

“Baseball is just weird,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “It doesn’t make any sense, honestly. As soon as you think you’ve got this thing figured out, something else happens.”

Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. missed his second straight game because of right calf tightness.

In addition to his homer, Fortes doubled twice and singled for his first career four-hit game. He began Sunday hitting .199.

“Hopefully it will kick-start me as well,” Fortes said. “I’ve been working with a lot of stuff and it’s not how you start but how you finish. Trying to finish strong and help the team as much as I can.”

Chisholm’s shot over the wall in right-center capped a five-run third against Braves starter Charlie Morton. Josh Bell hit an RBI single before Chisholm became the first Marlins player to hit grand slams in consecutive games.

“I’m not going to lie, it was definitely in my head,” Chisholm said about hitting a second slam. “But I wasn’t trying to hit a homer. I just knew I can and tried to touch it. Probably my easiest swing of the year.”

Four consecutive two-out walks by Morton in the fifth increased Miami’s lead to 6-0 and ended his outing. Morton (14-12) gave up six runs and six hits. He walked five and struck out five.

“I don’t have a great chance to beat anybody giving up six runs,” Morton said. “I’m not going to start worrying about the three games that we had here against a team that’s been playing really good baseball.”

Arraez’s RBI single and Soler’s two-run homer off Dereck Rodriguez in the sixth made it 10-0. Activated from the injured list earlier in the day, Soler drove Rodriguez’s fastball into the left-field seats for his 36th homer.

“He’s won a lot of games for us this year. It wasn’t fun not putting his name in the lineup the last couple of weeks,” Schumaker said.

Burger also connected off Rodriguez with his two-run shot in the seventh. Rodriguez, promoted from the minors Sunday, allowed eight runs and eight hits in two innings.

Marcell Ozuna hit his 35th homer and Michael Harris II had an RBI single for the Braves in the eighth before Fortes connected on a solo shot in the bottom half.

PRODUCTIVE NUMBERS

Miami’s Jesús Sánchez had three walks, a single and was hit by a pitch. … Arraez went 9 for 14 in the series and increased his major league-leading batting average to .353.

SMALLER CREW

The game was played with three umpires. Manny González, who worked the first two games, was not with the crew Sunday.

ROSTER MOVES

The Marlins optioned OF Dane Myers to Triple-A Jacksonville to make room for Soler. Miami also selected the contract of RHP Chi Chi González from Jacksonville and optioned LHP Josh Simpson to the same minor league club.

The Braves selected the contract of Rodriguez from Triple-A Gwinnett and optioned Jared Shuster to the same affiliate.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: Eddie Rosario was hit on his right elbow by a 97 mph fastball from Luzardo in the fourth. Although he needed assistance from the training staff, Rosario stayed in the game before being removed in the seventh. … LHP Dylan Lee (left shoulder inflammation) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Marlins: OF Bryan De La Cruz (right ankle discomfort) missed his second consecutive game. … OF Avisaíl García (left hamstring strain) is scheduled to increase his lower body rehab activities this week.

UP NEXT

Braves: Return home for a three-game series against Philadelphia beginning Monday, when RHP Kyle Wright (1-2, 7.48 ERA) will start against Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (11-6, 3.70).

Marlins: RHP Edward Cabrera (6-7, 4.52 ERA) will start the opener of a three-game series against the Mets at home on Monday. RHP José Butto (1-2, 3.46) pitches for New York.

Luis Arraez and Yuli Gurriel also went deep for the Marlins, who became the first NL East team to win a series against the division champions. The Braves were 11-0-1 in their previous series against division opponents.

“This team has handled us the whole year, handled the league,” said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, whose club was 1-9 against Atlanta before winning the first two of the series. “We knew that we weren’t going to shut them out. We had to keep punching back whenever they scored.”

Matt Olson hit his major league-leading 52nd homer and overtook Andruw Jones as Atlanta’s single-season home run leader. Jones hit 51 in 2005.

Josh Bell drew a two-out walk against Braves reliever Kirby Yates (7-2) before Burger made it 7-5 with a drive over the wall in center for his 32nd homer and seventh since he joined Miami on Aug. 1.

“When I hit it, I didn’t think that it was gonna go out,” Burger said. “In my head I’m like, ‘Dang, get on your horse, get going.’ We needed that run. And then it went out and I kind of blacked out there for a little bit.”

Gurriel singled, and Jesús Sánchez and Garrett Hampson walked before Chisholm connected off Michael Tonkin for Miami’s first grand slam of the season.

“I didn’t even know that, honestly, that it was the first grand slam,” Chisholm said. “It feels great, especially how we’re playing right now.”

Miami (77-72) is in a three-way battle with Cincinnati and Arizona for the third NL wild-card spot.

“It shows the fight we have,” Chisholm said. “We just came out with a vengeance and have that fight in our heart. We’re not going to be bottom feeders every year.”

Ozzie Albies hit his 30th homer and became the fifth Braves’ player to reach the total this season.

Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. didn’t play because of right calf tightness he experienced late in the series opener Friday. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Acuña felt better Saturday but with the club already having clinched the division, it wasn’t worth the risk playing him.

“He said he felt better when he woke up,” Snitker said. “Still it’s enough to take him out. There’s no need to chance it.”

The Braves threatened in the eighth when they loaded the bases against reliever Andrew Nardi with two out. Tanner Scott (8-4) relieved and retired Orlando Arcia on a groundout to third.

Steven Okert followed Marlins starter Bryan Hoeing and allowed solo homers to Michael Harris II in the fifth and Olson in the sixth that tied it at 5. Hoeing completed 4 1/3 innings, retiring 13 of the final batters he faced. The right-hander allowed three runs, four hits and struck out two on 56 pitches.

Gurriel’s three-run blast and Arraez’s leadoff shot against Braves starter Jared Shuster in the first erased a 3-0 deficit.

Shuster gave up five runs and six hits over three innings.

Austin Riley’s solo shot followed Albies’ two-run blast that gave Atlanta the quick lead.

HARRIS MOVES UP

With Acuña’s absence, Harris took over the leadoff spot in the lineup for the first time this season and second in his young career. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year, who has hit ninth in 86 games this season, also doubled and singled in addition to his homer.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: OF Bryan De La Cruz (right ankle discomfort) did not play. He left after the third inning Friday. … RHP Huascar Brazoban (left hip impingement) threw a bullpen session Friday.

UP NEXT

RHP Charlie Morton (14-11, 3.42) will start the series finale for the Braves Sunday against Marlins LHP Jesús Luzardo (9-9, 3.82).

In their first game since winning the division title Wednesday, the Braves lost star slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. after 7 1/2 innings because of right calf tightness. Acuña went to his position after grounding into a double play to end the top of the eighth but left before a pitch was thrown in the bottom half.

“I feel good, it just felt like a cramp,” Acuña said through a translator. “Let’s see how I come in (Saturday) and I’m feeling and if I can play.”

Jake Burger and Garrett Hampson each had two hits for the Marlins, who began Friday a half-game from the third NL wild-card spot.

“Coming back against a team like that just shows you the growth of our team and the belief they have in there,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “They really believe they can do this. Whatever happens, I’m super proud of the fight that they have.”

Down 6-4, the Marlins rallied with a five-run seventh against relievers Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand (4-2). Arraez’s solo shot off Johnson cut it to 6-5 for his first career multi-homer game. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-out single against Hand and scored from first on Hampson’s tying single to deep center. After Hand walked pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel and hit Xavier Edwards, Stallings drove in three runs with a shot to the corner in left.

“I just kind of had a feeling I was going to get it done,” Stallings said. “It’s just really cool to come through for the guys. Obviously a huge game for us.”

Acuña said he initially felt the discomfort while chasing Chisholm’s hit in the seventh. The 25-year-old Acuña sustained a season-ending knee injury on the same field two seasons ago and missed the Braves’ 2021 World Series championship run.

“Every game gives me anxiety because I try to be one of those players that plays every single day,” Acuña said of any unease about another possible health setback occurring on the same field.

A.J. Puk (6-5) struck out three in 1 1/3 innings of relief for the win. Andrew Nardi pitched a scoreless eighth and Tanner Scott worked a perfect ninth for his ninth save.

“It seems like someone is coming through every day,” Schumaker said. “But Arraez set the tone at the top. He’s had an incredible year.”

The Braves erased an early four-run deficit and went ahead 6-4 on Ozzie Albies’ two-run single off reliever David Robertson in the sixth.

Albies completed a 10-pitch at-bat with a soft line drive up the middle that scored lead runner Orlando Arcia. Acuña sprinted home from first as he ran on the pitch and beat Chisholm’s throw to the plate.

Braves starter Bryce Elder settled down after a difficult first two frames and completed five innings of four-run ball. Elder gave up nine hits and struck out six.

The Marlins struck quickly with a three-run first. Arraez hit a leadoff homer, Bryan De La Cruz had a run-scoring single and scored on Jesús Sánchez’s RBI triple. Burger’s double preceded De La Cruz’s hit for a team cycle in the inning.

Burger made it 4-0 with a run-scoring single in the second.

“I just came out flat, wasn’t very sharp and wasn’t executing pitches,” Elder said. “I was kind of pleased with the last couple of innings but the first was just kind of sloppy and paid for it.”

Atlanta cut the deficit on Michael Harris II’s leadoff shot and Austin Riley’s RBI single off Miami starter Johnny Cueto in the third.

Sacrifice flies from Acuña in the fourth and Eddie Rosario in the fifth tied it at 4.

Cueto was lifted after four innings. The veteran right-hander gave up three runs and seven hits and struck out two.

SPECIAL NUMBER

Atlanta’s Matt Olson and Miami’s Jorge Soler, the clubs’ respective nominees for the 2023 Roberto Clemente Award, were allowed to wear jersey No. 21 in the tribute throughout the major leagues honoring the late Hall of Famer on Friday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: RHP Jesse Chavez (left shin microfracture) struck out the side in a perfect inning during his second rehab outing with Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Marlins: De La Cruz left after the third because of right ankle discomfort. … Soler (right oblique strain) hit off the machine for the second consecutive day Friday. … RHP Sandy Alcantara (right forearm flexor strain) continues to play catch and is being evaluated daily.

UP NEXT

LHP Jared Schuster (4-3, 5.26) will start the second game of the series for the Braves on Saturday, while the Marlins will go with RHP Bryan Hoeing (2-2, 4.04).

The Brewers won three of four from the Marlins this week and extended their division lead to 4 1/2 games over the Chicago Cubs. The Marlins remain just outside of playoff position as they pursue one of the NL’s three wild-card spots.

Milwaukee trailed 2-1 in the fifth inning when Andruw Monasterio hit a leadoff single off Marlins starter Eury Pérez (5-5). Monasterio moved to second on Brice Turang’s bunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Taylor’s double to left.

Taylor then attempted to score on Sal Frelick’s two-out single, which was fielded by right fielder Jesús Sánchez. Although Taylor initially was ruled out, the call was overturned after replays showed he had eluded catcher Jacob Stallings’ tag while sliding home and putting his right hand on the plate.

Frelick was the last batter Pérez would face. The 20-year-old right-hander struck out seven and allowed five hits, three runs and no walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The Brewers extended their lead to 4-2 in the seventh against Steven Okert. Turang hit a leadoff single, stole second and came home on Taylor’s double to left.

Brewers starter Adrian Houser, who had been dealing with an elbow issue, came off the injured list and made his first appearance since Aug. 27. Houser (6-4) struck out five and allowed five hits and two runs in five innings.

Elvis Peguero, Abner Uribe, Joel Payamps and Devin Williams combined to allow one hit and one walk in four innings of shutout relief. Williams retired the side in order in the ninth for his 34th save in 38 opportunities.

The Marlins took an early lead thanks in part to Luis Arraez, who led off the game with a hit for the third straight day.

After leading off Tuesday’s game with a homer and beginning Wednesday’s matchup with a single, Arraez opened Thursday’s contest with a double. Arraez advanced to third on Jake Burger’s single and scored on a Sánchez sacrifice fly.

The Brewers capitalized on some daring base running from William Contreras to tie the game in the fourth.

After Contreras hit a leadoff double, he took off for third on Willy Adames’ fly to left and made it to third safely with an awkward slide. That enabled him to come home on Rowdy Tellez’s sacrifice fly to center.

Miami regained the lead in the top of the fifth before falling behind in the bottom half of the inning.

Xavier Edwards led off the top of the fifth by beating out a bunt single as Houser failed to field the ball cleanly. Edwards advanced to second when Dane Myers grounded out and scored on Stallings’ single to left.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers LF Christian Yelich missed his sixth straight game with a sore lower back. OF Mark Canha sat out a second consecutive game with a sore left wrist.

Brewers LHP Aaron Ashby is continuing his rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Biloxi. Ashby isn’t expected to pitch in the majors this season as he recovers from arthroscopic shoulder surgery.

BREWERS’ MOVE

The Brewers made room for Houser on the roster by optioning RHP Colin Rea to Triple-A Nashville.

UP NEXT

Marlins: Begin a three-game home series with the NL East champion Atlanta Braves. In Friday’s series opener, RHP Johnny Cueto (1-4, 6.15 ERA) pitches for the Marlins and RHP Bryce Elder (12-4, 3.38) starts for the Braves.

Brewers: Stay home to begin a three-game series with the Washington Nationals. The scheduled starting pitchers for Friday’s game are LHP Wade Miley (7-4, 3.30) for the Brewers and RHP Jake Irvin (3-5, 4.20) for the Nationals.

After dropping the first two games of the four-game series, Miami (75-71) moved within one-half game of Cincinnati and Arizona for the final NL wild-card spot.

Garrett (9-6) struck out seven and walked two. The Marlins turned two double plays behind the 26-year-old left-hander, who didn’t allow a runner past second base.

“It was one of those days I could kind of feel it in the bullpen, the sinker had a little extra sink,” Garrett said.

“I’ve really learned to trust myself in the zone, not being a hard-throwing guy with just put-away stuff all the time,” he said. “I’ve just been happy with the confidence that’s grown, the competitiveness.”

Manager Skip Schumaker said Garrett’s “fastball command of where he wanted to put it was really, really effective. It does feel like he’s getting stronger now.”

Three relievers completed a seven-hitter for Miami, with Tanner Scott working the ninth for his eighth save. Tyrone Taylor reached on a throwing error by third baseman Jake Burger leading off the ninth. Scott then retired Victor Caratini, Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer.

Colin Rea (5-6) followed opener Trevor Megill and allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings for the Brewers, who were shut out for the 11th time this season.

“It’s three in a row, really, where he’s done his job,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s given us a chance to win and he’s done that all three times.”

Rea pitched nine innings over his two previous outings, giving up four runs and striking out 12.

In the fifth, Jesús Sánchez singled and was awarded second base when first baseman Carlos Santana stepped into his team’s dugout after catching a foul ball by Bryan De La Cruz. Sánchez scored on Xavier Edwards’ single.

Miami made it 2-0 in the seventh when De La Cruz doubled off Andrew Chafin and Garrett Hampson followed with a double against Bryse Wilson.

“I feel like I’m at my best self right now and just trying to enjoy it,” said Hampson, who started the game at shortstop and moved to center field in the fourth inning, replacing Jazz Chisholm Jr.

“It just feels good to play in these meaningful games, fist-pumping every out late in the game there in center field, just feels awesome to be part of a group that is really fighting to stay alive and fighting for a playoff spot,” Hampson added.

Miami’s Luis Arraez went 2-for-4, raising his major league-leading average to .349.

Milwaukee started the eighth with singles by William Contreras and Santana off Andrew Nardi. But Willy Adames hit into a double play and Josh Donaldson struck out.

FIRST-TIMER

Megill made his first career start after 93 relief appearances, throwing a scoreless first.

“I’m used to coming in later in the innings, where guys are more aggressive. Today was a lot more patient at-bats,” he said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara, who went on the injured list on Sept. 6, has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, Schumaker said. Schumaker wouldn’t say whether he expects the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner to return this season. … Chisholm (right knee discomfort) left after grounding into a double play in the fourth. He said he expects to play Thursday.

Brewers: LF Christian Yelich (back) missed his fifth consecutive game. … LF Mark Canha (left wrist), who left Tuesday’s game in the third inning, is day to day, Counsell said.

UP NEXT

Milwaukee RHP Adrian Houser (5-4, 4.58 ERA) makes his first start since a stint on the IL with a right elbow injury as the series concludes Thursday. Miami will start RHP Eury Perez (5-4, 2.90 ERA).

After dropping the first two games of the four-game series, Miami (75-71) moved within one-half game of Cincinnati and Arizona for the final NL wild-card spot.

Garrett (9-6) struck out seven and walked two. The Marlins turned two double plays behind the 26-year-old left-hander, who didn’t allow a runner past second base.

Three relievers completed a seven-hitter for Miami, with Tanner Scott working the ninth for his eighth save. Tyrone Taylor reached on a throwing error by third baseman Jake Burger leading off the ninth. Scott then retired Victor Caratini, Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer.

Colin Rea (5-6) followed opener Trevor Megill and allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings for the Brewers, who were shut out for the 11th time this season.

In the fifth, Jesús Sánchez singled and was awarded second base when first baseman Carlos Santana stepped into his team’s dugout after catching a foul ball by Bryan De La Cruz. Sánchez scored on Xavier Edwards’ single.

Miami made it 2-0 in the seventh when De La Cruz doubled off Andrew Chafin and Garrett Sampson followed with a double against Bryse Wilson.

Milwaukee started the eighth with singles by William Contreras and Santana off Andrew Nardi. But Willy Adames hit into a double play and Josh Donaldson struck out.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara, who went on the injured list on Sept. 6, has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, manager Skip Schumaker said. Schumaker wouldn’t say whether he expects the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner to return this season. … CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. (right knee discomfort) left after grounding into a double play in the fourth.

Brewers: LF Christian Yelich (back) missed his fifth consecutive game. … LF Mark Canha (left wrist), who left Tuesday’s game in the third inning, is day to day, manager Craig Counsell said.

UP NEXT

Milwaukee RHP Adrian Houser (5-4, 4.58 ERA) makes his first start since a stint on the IL with a right elbow injury as the series concludes Thursday. Miami had not announced a starter.

Milwaukee (81-63) is a season-high 18 games above .500 and reached the mark for the first time since it finished the 2021 season at 95-67.

Donaldson hit a solo home run deep into the second deck in left with one out in the fourth off Edward Cabrera (6-7) to put the Brewers in front 2-1. It was Donaldson’s 11th homer of the season and first as a Brewer. Donaldson, who also singled and drew a pair of walks, began the season with the Yankees but was released in August and later signed by Milwaukee to a minor league deal. He was called up from Triple-A Nashville on Monday.

“Cabrera has great stuff and we didn’t have a lot of great swings against him. To put a run on the board with one swing, that’s what Josh offers,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s why we were interested and on a night like tonight it plays out big.”

Donaldson said he’s looking for ways to contribute as he adjusts to his role with the Brewers.

“Just coming in here and being positive and taking advantage of every opportunity that I can get and help the team win,” he said. “I feel good with my body right now and what I’m able to do.”

Peralta (12-8), who entered having gone 5-0 with a 2.09 ERA over his last eight starts, surrendered a leadoff homer to Luis Arraez on the third pitch of the game but then retired 19 of the next 20 batters and recorded nine strikeouts to reach 200 for the season.

“I’m excited about that and grateful,” Peralta said. “Before the season, that was one of my goals.”

Peralta gave up one run and two hits in 6 1/3 innings and didn’t walk a batter. He threw 95 pitches, 67 for strikes.

“I thought in a strange way that maybe the home run was a good thing for Freddy,” Counsell said. “It seemed to lock him in. I thought he was just excellent tonight. Both off-speed pitches were really, really good.”

Peralta has walked one batter over his last three starts.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said he thought his team would build on Arraez’s leadoff homer but Peralta didn’t give in.

“We had a lot of energy coming in today. But he was pretty dominant,” he said. “It was challenging for us tonight.”

Devin Williams retired the side in order in the ninth to record his 33rd save in 37 tries.

JT Chargois opened for the Marlins and faced the minimum in the first before Cabrera entered in the second and walked the first three batters he faced. After striking out Brice Turang, Cabrera walked Andruw Monasterio to force in the tying run. Cabrera retired the next two as the Brewers left the bases loaded.

Cabrera gave up one hit and two runs in 4 2/3 innings, while walking six and striking out five.

William Contreras’ sacrifice fly in the seventh extended the Brewers lead to 3-1.

The Marlins managed just two hits in losing for the fourth time in the last six games.

“It’s tough. We faced two of the best arms in the league the last two days,” Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings said. “But we’ve been a resilient group all year.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Sixto Sánchez pitched for the first time in nearly three years, tossing 18 pitches in a one-inning rehabilitation appearance on Tuesday for Double-A Pensacola as he works his way back from shoulder issues. Sánchez, who threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session Saturday, gave up one hit while walking one and striking out two.

Brewers: LF Christian Yelich missed a fourth consecutive game due to lower back soreness but is progressing and could be back in the lineup in a day or two, Counsell said. … Mark Canha, who replaced Yelich in left, departed in the third for a pinch-hitter after experiencing left wrist soreness. … LHP Aaron Ashby (left labrum) isn’t expected to return to the Brewers bullpen this season. Ashby is expected to pitch at Double-A Biloxi this week and Triple-A Nashville next week.

Only Woodruff could keep it going.

Woodruff delivered Milwaukee’s first complete-game shutout since 2021, and the NL Central-leading Brewers collected a season-high 17 hits in a 12-0 blowout of the Miami Marlins.

Milwaukee’s lopsided victory came one night after the Brewers lost 4-3 at New York despite Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams and Abner Uribe holding the Yankees hitless for the first 10 innings.

“Opportunities like this just don’t come around much,” Woodruff said of his first nine-inning complete game. “Especially after the game yesterday, it wasn’t on my mind, but it was a long game and we used a lot of guys, and we played well enough to win that game yesterday and we just didn’t. So today I just wanted to go out and give my team a chance to win. Thankfully, I was able to finish it off.”

Woodruff’s only previous complete game came in a 4-2 loss to St. Louis in a seven-inning doubleheader matchup during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He recorded the Brewers’ first complete-game shutout since Adrian Houser threw a three-hitter in a 4-0 triumph over the Cardinals on Sept. 4, 2021.

Manager Craig Counsell agreed to let Woodruff (5-1) go out for the ninth, but he said the veteran right-hander couldn’t go over 105 pitches. Woodruff gave up two hits in his final inning, but Counsell let him stick around to complete the six-hitter on his 106th pitch.

“Getting out there and warming up and having those warmup pitches, my heart was just racing, to be honest,” Woodruff said. “The first couple of pitches weren’t even close, and I just talked to myself a little bit and told myself to settle down and to just try to keep making pitches. Thankfully I did a good enough job to get through it. Yeah, I was nervous, for sure.”

Woodruff’s outstanding performance came six days after he allowed two hits over seven innings in a 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over his last four starts, Woodruff has yielded just three runs in 28 innings.

Luzardo (9-9) was on a similar run heading into the night, allowing two runs in 18 innings over his previous three starts. But he gave up six runs and 10 hits Monday.

Luzardo said he “just felt little out of whack mechanically.”

“I’ve just got to be better,” he said. “There’s no excuse for it.”

Milwaukee’s onslaught began right from the start. Mark Canha led off the bottom of the first with his 10th homer, sending a 2-2 changeup from Luzardo over the left-field wall.

“You point to the first at-bat,” Counsell said. “Any starting pitcher that’s been on a roll and you greet him with a leadoff home run, it knocks anybody on their heels a little bit.”

Willy Adames finished with three hits and four RBIs. Tyrone Taylor went 3 for 5 with two runs and two RBIs. Canha, William Contreras, Andruw Monasterio and Sal Frelick added two hits apiece.

The Brewers scored three runs in the third and two in the fifth against Luzardo.

Milwaukee added five more runs — four earned — off Daniel Castano in the seventh. Adames highlighted that inning by driving in three runs with a bases-loaded triple down the left-field line.

Miami fell so far behind that catcher Jacob Stallings pitched the eighth. Joey Wiemer hit an RBI double off him.

DONALDSON’S DEBUT

Josh Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, went 1 for 4 with an RBI single in his Brewers debut. He signed a minor-league deal with Milwaukee after he was released by the Yankees.

The base hit was Donaldson’s fifth single of the season. During Donaldson’s 33 games with the Yankees this year, 10 of his 15 hits were homers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Sixto Sánchez is expected to work either one inning or 20 pitches in a rehabilitation appearance Tuesday for Double-A Pensacola as he attempts to come back from shoulder issues that have prevented him from pitching in the majors since 2020. Sánchez threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session Saturday.

Brewers: LF Christian Yelich missed a third straight game due to a sore lower back. … RHP J.C. Mejía (shoulder) was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Mejía last pitched on Aug. 13.

UP NEXT

RHP Freddy Peralta (11-8, 3.89 ERA) will pitch for the Brewers and JT Chargois (1-0, 3.63 ERA) will start for the Marlins on Tuesday.

Dane Myers broke up a no-hit bid by Phillies starter Ranger Suárez with a one-out double in the seventh. Yuli Gurriel drove in two runs for the Marlins, who pulled within a half-game of Arizona for the final National League wild card. Miami has won eight of 10 after taking two of three games from Philadelphia.

“Proud of the guys how they came back,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said.

Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber homered for the defending NL champion Phillies, who are two games in front of the Chicago Cubs for the league’s top wild card. Philadelphia will next host the major league-leading Braves for four games, beginning with a doubleheader on Monday.

“Let a couple slip away,” Turner said. “Doubleheader tomorrow. Try to win two. It’s what’s in front of us. Today’s over. Tomorrow’s the only thing we can focus on.”

Miami went ahead in the eighth with two runs off Seranthony Domínguez (4-4). Josh Bell led off with a single and, two batters later, De La Cruz belted a 97 mph fastball 421 feet to the batter’s eye in center field for a two-run shot that gave the Marlins a 5-3 lead.

“Was trying to connect with the ball, get a base hit,” De La Cruz said through a translator.

Tanner Scott, the seventh Miami pitcher, got five outs for his seventh save.

“He’s been incredible for me,” Schumaker said.

Suárez got the first out of the seventh before walking De La Cruz. Myers then roped a double to right-center that was just out of the reach of center fielder Brandon Marsh.

“Sparked us,” Schumaker said.

After Gurriel’s two-run double pulled the Marlins to 3-2, Phillies manager Rob Thomson lifted Suárez for lefty Matt Strahm. Nick Fortes laced a two-out RBI single off Strahm that tied it.

The Phillies threatened in the bottom half when they loaded the bases with two outs against David Robertson (6-6), but he struck out Alec Bohm to retire the side.

“Big day for him, and big day for us,” Schumaker said about Robertson.

Philadelphia pulled within a run in the eighth on Nick Castellanos’ RBI double off Andrew Nardi and had runners on second and third with one out when Schumaker pulled Nardi for Scott, who struck out Edmundo Sosa and Schwarber to keep Miami in front.

Scott hit Turner with a pitch and walked Bryce Harper to start the ninth before getting Bohm to ground into a double play and striking out Bryson Stott to end it.

Turner put Philadelphia ahead 2-0 with a two-run shot off lefty opener Steven Okert in the first. Schwarber led off the third with a 416-foot drive off right-hander Bryan Hoeing.

Suárez struck out a career-high 10 batters.

TREMENDOUS TREA

Turner has been red hot over his last 31 games since a standing ovation from Phillies fans helped him out of a slump. Turner is batting .376 (47 for 125) with nine doubles, 14 home runs and 36 RBIs since Aug. 4. He has at least one hit in all but three games during that stretch.

SCHWARBER STRONG

Schwarber tied his career high for RBIs with 94 when he went deep in the third. The reigning NL home run champion upped his season total to 43 homers. Atlanta slugger Matt Olson leads the majors with 48.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: Stott was back in the lineup after getting drilled in the ribs by a pitch from Marlins lefty Enmanuel De Jesus on Saturday night. Thomson said X-rays were negative.

Marlins: 2B Luis Arraez, leading the majors with a .350 batting average, was not in the lineup after fouling a ball off his foot Saturday night. He was available to pinch hit, Schumaker said. … OF Jazz Chisholm Jr. fouled a ball hard off his right foot in the second inning but stayed in the game.

UP NEXT

Marlins: Open a four-game series at Milwaukee on Monday night. LHP Jesús Luzardo (9-8, 3.59 ERA) starts for Miami.

Phillies: Host the Braves on Monday for a day-night doubleheader to start a four-game series. Phillies RHP Taijuan Walker (15-5, 4.15 ERA) opposes Atlanta RHP Charlie Morton (14-11, 3.32) in the opener. Philadelphia RHP Michael Lorenzen (8-9, 3.95) starts the nightcap. Atlanta hadn’t announced its Game 2 starter.

The Kiwanis of Little Havana and the Miami Marlins Foundation got some help from local organizations and leaders to collect and distribute school supplies.

More than 600 baseball and softball players picked up their supplies at Franjo Park in Cutler Bay, Saturday.

Billy the Marlin was on hand to greet the children.

Schwarber hit his 42nd this season and his three RBIs gave him 93, one shy of his career best set last season. He led the National League a year ago with 46 homers. Schwarber may set career highs in both categories — all while his batting average hovers under .200 this season.

Schwarber’s shot into the Phillies’ bullpen off Marlins starter Johnny Cueto (1-4) broke open a five-run second inning. Nick Castellanos, in his first game since the All-Star was dropped to eighth in the lineup, added a two-run double.

The Marlins entered just one game out of an NL wild-card spot and had defeated the Phillies — the wild-card leaders — a night earlier. Cueto, though, labored from the start and threw 92 pitches in 3 2/3 innings.

The Marlins’ best chance in the wild-card race is trying to catch Arizona for the third spot. The Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Saturday for their fourth consecutive victory.

Miami, though, gamely rallied on a stormy night in Philly against erratic right-hander Aaron Nola

Garrett Hampson hit a solo shot and the Marlins got run-scoring doubles from Jacob Stallings and Josh Bell that cut it to 5-4 in the fifth. Nola couldn’t escape the fifth, his second straight start where he couldn’t get out of the inning. Nola, who gave up seven hits and struck out six, heard scattered boos from Phillies fans as he trudged off the mound.

No worries. The Phillies offense — which boasted three players with 85-plus RBIs and had seven hitters with double-digit homer totals — erupted again when Marsh ripped a double in the fifth that made it 8-4.

Jeff Hoffman (4-2) tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win and three other relievers shut down the Marlins.

BIG LEAGUE DEBUT

Marlins reliever Enmanuel De Jesus allowed Marsh’s double and struck out three over 4 1/3 innings of relief in his first MLB outing.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies 2B Bryson Stott was pained and clutched his side after he was drilled in the ribs by De Jesus in the fifth. Phillies trainers checked on Stott but he remained in the game.

FALLING STAR

Castellanos went from All-Star to the eight hole.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson counted on a demotion in the batting order as the solution to jump-start the slumping slugger.

Castellanos hasn’t been the same since played in the All-Star game. He hit .162 in July and grounded into three double plays in a loss this week at San Diego. He’s walked only 31 times this season and has struck out a career-worst 163 times.

Thomson said Castellanos, who had two hits, took the demotion like a pro.

“I’m sure he’s not exactly happy and I don’t blame him for that,” Thomson said. “He’s an experienced guy. For the most part, he’s been our most consistent hitter, especially in the first half.”

Third baseman Alec Bohm moved to the cleanup spot.

Thomson briefly moved shortstop Trea Turner to eighth in the lineup during a slump earlier this season. Turner rebounded and entered Saturday on a 16-game hitting streak. Thomson said the opportunity is there for Castellanos to regain his cleanup spot.

“I’m confident he’s going to start hitting again, and when he does we’ll think about moving him again,” Thomson said.

UP NEXT

The Phillies send LHP Ranger Suarez (2-6, 3.91 ERA) to the mound to wrap the three-game set. The Marlins did not name a starter.

Bryan De La Cruz added a pair of hits for Miami, a half-game behind Arizona for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League. The Marlins have won seven of eight.

“These guys fight and don’t quit,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “They believe they can do it.”

Trea Turner returned from a two-game absence on the paternity list to homer for the Phillies. Defending NL champion Philadelphia (77-63) is in first place in the wild-card race, two games in front of the Cubs (76-66) and four games clear of Arizona (74-68). Miami (73-68) is just behind the Diamondbacks.

David Robertson (5-6) pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the victory, and Tanner Scott tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixth save in nine tries.

“Really good job by the bullpen,” Schumaker said.

The Marlins dug out of a 2-0 hole, tying it in the sixth on Sánchez’s two-out, two-run pinch homer off Seranthony Domínguez. The 414-foot drive came on a 2-2, 91 mph slider.

“Momentum swing right there,” Schumaker said. “Great swing and huge time of the game.”

Miami went ahead in the seventh on Stallings’ leadoff home run to left against lefty Matt Strahm (8-4).

Turner returned to Philadelphia’s lineup a day after he and his wife, Kristen, announced the birth of their second child, Tatum. He clubbed the third pitch he saw off Marlins starter Eury Pérez over the fence in left to extend his hitting streak to 16 games and his RBIs streak to 10.

The Philadelphia shortstop traded some autographs in exchange for the ball.

“Pretty cool moment,” Turner said.

Turner played on little sleep.

“Last night was a little rough,” he said. “It’s part of being a dad. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the third on Bryce Harper’s RBI single to center that scored Turner, who had singled and stole second.

Philadelphia threatened in the seventh against two Marlins relievers, but Steven Okert fanned Turner with runners on first and second before Andrew Nardi induced Nick Castellanos into an inning-ending groundout with the bases loaded.

FOR STARTERS

Pérez, Miami’s 20-year-old rookie standout, gave up two runs on four hits in five innings to raise his ERA to 2.90.

Phillies lefty Cristopher Sánchez tossed five scoreless innings, giving up four hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

SLAP SHOT

Five members of the Philadelphia Flyers took part in batting practice prior to the contest. Defenseman Travis Sanheim hit a pair of home runs and forward Travis Konecny also went deep.

STELLAR STOTT

Phillies 2B Bryson Stott made a run-saving, diving catch to end the first inning. With runners on second and third, Stott ranged to his right to snare Yuli Gurriel’s liner.

Stott also led off the second with a 10-pitch walk, in addition to singling in the fourth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara (right forearm strain) traveled with the club to Philadelphia for the start of a seven-game road trip. The reigning NL Cy Young winner was placed on the injured list Wednesday after experiencing discomfort in his last start Sunday.

UP NEXT

Marlins RHP Johnny Cueto (1-3, 5.54) was set to face RHP Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.55) on Saturday night.

Josh Bell grounded a single up the middle with two outs in the seventh for the only hit off Pepiot. Caleb Ferguson allowed Garrett Hampson’s leadoff single in the eighth and Evan Phillips finished the two-hitter with a perfect ninth.

“There’s a little bit of disappointment because, obviously, you want to have one of those special moments,” Pepiot said. “But it’s baseball. The guy got on base and hit a good pitch. Anything can happen in the game.”

Pepiot (3-0) was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City before the game to take the place of Urías, who was put on the restricted list following his arrest Sunday in Los Angeles on suspicion of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. A 26-year-old right-hander starting his third stint with the Dodgers this season, Pepiot struck out three and induced nine groundouts, throwing 60 of 84 pitches for strikes.

“It was the fifth inning, nobody was talking to me anymore. Then I looked up and I saw the zero,” Pepiot said of when he became aware of the perfect-game bid. “Everyone was sliding by me and then no one would sit near me.”

Chris Taylor had five RBIs that included his 15th home run, a double and a single. Miguel Rojas and Will Smith had three hits each.

“The way we started the series and how we’ve played the past few games, we found ourselves offensively today,” Rojas said. “It made it very satisfying.”

Bell’s single helped Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decide to lift Pepiot.

“I was going to give him every opportunity to finish that game,” Roberts said. “He’s big. He’s physical. I didn’t have trainers telling me to take him out of the game.”

Miami, which had won six straight, dropped a half-game behind Arizona for the NL’s last wild card, tied with Cincinnati. The Marlins were shut out for the 11th time.

“That’s why this game is crazy,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “Just when you think you have it figured out, it just punches you right in the mouth.”

Los Angeles pitched its 14th shutout, one behind Atlanta’s major league-leading total.

Marlins starter Braxton Garrett (8-6) allowed one run, three hits, three walks and a hit batter in 3 2/3 innings.

Will Smith hit an RBI single in the third, and Taylor singled in a run in a two-run fifth that included Kiké Hernández’s run-scoring double.

Freddie Freeman doubled down the right-field line in the sixth. Th ball bounced into foul territory, where a ball person grabbed it and threw the ball in the stands. Umpires determined Mookie Betts had rounded third and allowed him to score.

Amed Rosario hit a two-run single and Taylor an RBI double.

Taylor added a three-tun homer in the eighth off Smeltzer.

DEFENSIVE GEMS

Pepiot was aided by his defense. Shortstop Rojas dived and stopped Luis Arraez’s hard smash and threw out Arraez at first. Second baseman Rosario also denied Arraez of a hit when he made a leaping catch of his liner in the seventh.

“You feel happy trying to help the team any way you can and making that type of play,” Rosario said.

FROM THE COURT TO THE MOUND

Recently retired Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem threw the ceremonial first pitch. The 43-year-old played his entire 20-year NBA career in Miami.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara will travel with the club on its seven-game trip to Philadelphia and Milwaukee after being placed on the injured list because of a right forearm strain Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Dodgers: RHP Emmet Sheehan (3-1, 5.31) will start the opener of a three game series at Washington Friday. The Nationals will go with LHP MacKenzie Gore (7-10, 4.28).

Marlins: RHP Eury Pérez (5-4, 2.86) is the scheduled starter of the opener of a three-game series at Philadelphia, which starts LHP Christopher Sánchez (2-3, 3.48).

Alcantara is sidelined because of a right forearm strain, while Soler will miss time because of a right oblique strain.

“This is something that broke my heart, but it is what it is,” Alcantara said before Miami’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. “You want to be healthy all your career, but one day you’re going to fall down.”

Alcantara said he first experienced discomfort during his last outing against Washington on Sunday. The right-hander completed eight innings in the 6-4 win.

“I didn’t feel anything bad, but I talked to my trainer about it,” Alcantara said. “Knowing of the hard work that I put on my body, I just have to take it.”

Alcantara missed a start this season because of biceps tendonitis, but has been one of the most durable pitchers in the major leagues the last five seasons.

The 27-year-old Alcántara topped the majors in innings and complete games last season and became Miami’s first Cy Young Award winner. Although he struggled during the first half and is 7-12 with a 4.14 ERA this season, Alcantara again leads the majors in complete games with three and is second in innings (184).

Soler leads the club in homers with 35 and earned his first All-Star selection this season. The native of Cuba missed five games because of right hip tightness before returning Tuesday.

“It is not ideal at this time of year, but these things happen in the game,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “It gives another guy an opportunity to step up because we’re right in the middle of this thing.”

The Marlins began Wednesday a half-game behind Cincinnati in the race for the NL’s third wild-card spot. Miami has not reached the playoffs in a 162-game season since the 2003 club’s run to the World Series title.

Right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera and outfielder Dane Myers were recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville to take Alcantara’s and Soler’s spots on the roster.

The Dodgers played their first game since the arrest of star pitcher Julio Urías late Sunday on a felony charge of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. Urías did not travel with the Dodgers to Miami.

“I was shocked like everyone was,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. “So, now just being of the mind of let the process run its course and see how it plays out. But, like I said from the onset — just an extremely and unfortunate circumstance for everybody.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr., Josh Bell and Jake Burger also homered to help Miami (71-67) win its fifth straight after falling under .500 for the first time since May 25.

“Luckily we slugged tonight,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “That was kind of the story.”

Los Angeles reliever Ryan Yarbrough (7-6) hit Burger with a pitch before De La Cruz drove a cutter into the seats in left-field for his 18th homer and a 5-3 lead. Chisholm followed with a solo blast

“I was looking for something inside and thank God, it happened,” De La Cruz said in Spanish.

During their win streak, the Marlins have homered 12 times.

“We’re making good contact and the ball is taking off,” De La Cruz said. “We continue to battle every day and putting in the required work so things turn out positive in the game.”

Andrew Nardi (7-1) pitched a scoreless eighth and Tanner Scott got the last three outs for his fifth save. It was Nardi’s first appearance since getting hit on three of his pitching fingers off a comebacker against Tampa Bay Aug. 30.

“He hasn’t been on the mound for a while so you don’t know how he feels,” Schumaker said. “It shows you what kind of stuff this guy has. Nardi has really grown this year into a high-leverage role.”

The Dodgers tied it at 3 on Chris Taylor’s homer against reliever A.J. Puk leading off the seventh. Puk followed Jesús Luzardo, who threw six innings and 90 pitches of two-run ball. Luzardo scattered four hits and struck out six.

“All my pitches were working,” Luzardo said. “Thankfully, as the game went on, I felt like I got stronger.”

Bell hit a two-run homer in the fifth that put Miami ahead 3-2. Jorge Soler reached on a one-out walk before Bell connected off Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw with a drive to center.

Kershaw gave up three runs, five hits, walked five and struck out three over five innings.

“It wasn’t great mechanically and control and all that stuff wasn’t great,” Kershaw said. “I just need to keep going at it. There’s really nothing else to do. Just try to pitch better.”

Consecutive RBI singles from Freddie Freeman and Will Smith in the third gave Los Angeles a 2-0 lead.

Miami cut the deficit on Burger’s leadoff shot in the fourth. Burger drove the first pitch from Kershaw into the Marlins’ bullpen for his 31st homer and sixth since he joined Miami Aug. 1.

WORTH REMEMBERING

A video tribute recognizing Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas’ lengthy stay in Miami was played before the bottom of the first. Rojas played the previous eight seasons with the Marlins before re-joining the Dodgers in an off-season trade. The 34-year-old Rojas, who began his career in Los Angeles, and pitcher Ricky Nolasco are the second-longest tenured Marlins behind retired infielder Luis Castillo, who played 10 seasons with the club.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: C Austin Barnes needed attention after he was hit on the side of the head by a backswing from Nick Fortes in the seventh. He stayed in the game but was pinch hit for in the ninth.. RHP Walker Buehler (Tommy John surgery) completed two scoreless innings on 24 pitches in a rehab outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday. … INF Max Muncy (left shoulder soreness) took batting practice but didn’t play.

Marlins: RHP Sixto Sánchez (shoulder) increased his velocity to 94 mph while throwing live batting practice Tuesday.

UP NEXT

RHP Lance Lynn (10-10, 5.81) was set to start for Los Angeles on Wednesday. The Marlins will go with RHJ JT Chargois (1-0, 3.78) as an opener.

Sandy Alcantara worked eight strong innings as the Marlins moved three games over .500 in September for the first time in a full season since their 73-69 start in 2010. Miami entered Sunday’s action one game back in the race for the third and final wild-card berth in the National League.

“You hope to come in here and win a series,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “Four out of four was kind of icing on the cake. The way we pitched today and this series was why we won all four of those games, and our offense came alive.”

With the game tied at 4 in the ninth, the Marlins moved ahead as Arráez scored on an errant throw on an attempted double play ball on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s grounder to first. Later in the inning, Miami added an insurance run when a pop into shallow right field by Bryan De La Cruz fell for a hit and Chisholm scored.

Arráez went 2 for 4 and scored twice. He raised his major league-leading batting average to .356, 15 points higher than the Texas Rangers’ Corey Seager (.341).

“I feel a little tired because we are human, but I am glad I am healthy,” Arráez said. “I just do the same what I do to starting the year. I had struggling months, but it’s past. I’m a human. I’m not perfect. I just go there and try to do my job.”

Miami jumped out to a three-run lead in the top of the first on the strength of Arráez’s 375-foot opening homer and two walks with the bases loaded as Nationals starter Josiah Gray struggled at the outset. In the first, the 25-year-old right-hander gave up three hits and three walks. Gray has had trouble with his command the last six starts, issuing 20 walks, and has not recorded a victory since July 22.

Gray lasted four innings, allowing three runs on four hits with four walks and two strikeouts. He threw 86 pitches, 51 for strikes.

Alcantara (7-12) gave up a homer to Lane Thomas in the bottom of the first, but prevented the Nationals from any long rallies. He scattered nine hits, allowed four runs, two earned, struck out three and walked two. He threw 94 pitches, 63 for strikes.

“I feel good about it,” Alcantara said. “First inning, I tried to come out and compete pitch by pitch. I get into trouble in the fifth inning, but that didn’t stop me to keep fighting. I throw eight innings and we win the game.”

The Marlins have won each of Alcantara’s last eight starts against the Nationals, dating to September 2021.

Tanner Scott worked the ninth inning and earned his fourth save.

Thomas went 3 for 5 with his 23rd homer of the season and drove in a pair of runs. Kyle Finnegan (6-4) took the loss.

TRAINERS ROOM

Nationals: RHP Tanner Rainey continues his rehab assignment at Triple-A Rochester as he returns from Tommy John surgery. Manager Dave Martinez says Rainey will have a few more outings.

“He is feeling better,” Martinez said. “He was a little achy after his last outing, but he said he thought that was going to be the norm.”

UP NEXT

Marlins: Open a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday with LHP Jesus Luzardo (9-8, 3.62 ERA) scheduled to start. Luzardo is coming off two scoreless outings in a row.

Nationals: After a day off Monday, open a two-game set against the New York Mets on Tuesday night. LHP Patrick Corbin (9-12, 4.90 ERA) makes his first start at Nats Park since August 17.

___

Jesús Sánchez and Bryan De La Cruz each hit a three-run home run off Washington starter Trevor Williams (6-9), who has given up a league-leading 33 this season. Burger’s two gave him 30 homers this season and five since arriving in a trade Aug. 1 from the Chicago White Sox.

“There’s obviously a lot of energy in the dugout, and we’re just having fun,” Burger said. “We’re just playing our style of baseball and just trying to have as much fun as possible.”

Cueto (1-3) allowed two solo home runs in five-plus innings, including one to Lane Thomas in the sixth that ended his afternoon after allowing three earned runs on 77 pitches. That was in line with manager Skip Schumaker’s expectation that the 37-year-old would be monitored and limited in his first start since Aug. 15.

“Every time I go to the mound, my mentality is to win games,” Cueto said through an interpreter. “All I can do is try to help the team.”

His teammates provided plenty of run support thanks to more Miami power hitting. Home runs have accounted for 68.9% of the Marlins’ offense — 31 of 45 runs — since Aug. 18.

“I think it’s more about us just trying to drive the ball and not trying to hit home runs,” Burger said.

De La Cruz and NL-batting leader Luis Arraez each went 4 for 5. Arraez, making a rare start at first base, picked up his first four-hit game since July 15 to raise his average to .355 before getting taken out in the eight inning to get some rest.

Eight of the nine runs Williams gave up were earned, the other coming after shortstop CJ Abrams dropped a fly ball in shallow left field for his 19th fielding error of the season. Thomas also dropped a ball in right as part of an uninspired performance by the last-place Nationals, who have lost four in a row and six of their past seven.

Manager Dave Martinez said Williams had problems locating pitches and left many up in the zone.

Among the bright spots for Washington, recently recalled Drew Millas singled in the seventh for his first major league hit.

“I love watching those,” Martinez said. “He forgot to take his shin guard off, his foot guard — everything else. He started throwing it at (first base coach Eric Young Jr.). It’s pretty cool. To see these guys get their first hit is pretty awesome.”

MARLINS LOSE LÓPEZ

Miami lost right-handed reliever Jorge López to the AL-leading Baltimore Orioles, who claimed him off waivers Saturday. López had a 9.26 ERA in 12 appearances with the Marlins since they acquired him from Minnesota in late July.

“We think he’s a good pitcher,” Schumaker said. “Just didn’t really work out how he wanted it to work out, I think, at times as far as the outings are concerned.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Schumaker said outfielder Jorge Soler, out of the lineup a fourth consecutive game because of right hip tightness, was feeling better and likely to avoid the injured list.

UP NEXT

RHP Sandy Alcantara (6-12, 4.23 ERA) starts for the Marlins in the series finale Sunday afternoon against All-Star RHP Josiah Gray (7-11, 4.05) and the Nationals.

Miami (68-67) moved over .500 with its second straight win over the Nationals. The Marlins entered the game three games back of San Francisco in the race for the NL’s third and final wild-card spot.

“Guys know what’s at stake,” Hampson said. “Guys know the long grind of a season. This last month here, it would be disappointing if we didn’t finish off strong because we feel like we’ve had a really good year and played really good baseball. We know what’s in this clubhouse and we know we’re a playoff-caliber team.”

CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas and Travis Blankenhorn hit solo homers for Washington, which has lost three in a row for the first time since a five-game skid July 3-7. The Nationals have dropped five of their last six.

Miami second baseman Luis Arraez went 2 for 4 with a walk and raised his major league-leading average to .350. He remained tied with Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez for the third-most multi-hit games this season with 48, behind only Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. (58) and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (54).

Miami mustered just one hit in the first five innings against Washington’s bullpen before former Marlin Robert Garcia (0-1) entered to start the 11th. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a leadoff single, and Bryan De La Cruz plated automatic runner Jake Burger with another hit. Pinch-hitter Jon Berti’s single scored Chisholm, but De La Cruz was thrown out trying to get to third.

Mason Thompson relieved Garcia, and Hampson sent a 2-0 sinker to left-center for his second homer of the season.

“The spot starts we’ve been giving him all year, whether it’s third base, shortstop, second, left, center, it feels like he’s just come through,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said.

Both teams scored in the 10th. With one out and runners on second and third, Josh Bell hit a sharp grounder to a drawn-in Abrams at shortstop. Abrams didn’t have a play on Xavier Edwards at the plate, but threw out Arraez at third.

The Nationals responded when Thomas singled in Abrams, the Nationals’ automatic runner, to lead off against Tanner Scott (7-4).

Arraez singled off Jake Irvin to lead off the game and scored on Chisholm’s RBI single. Miami sandwiched two walks around Arraez’s double in the third to load the bases, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Burger and a force-out by Chisholm.

Irvin, a rookie right-hander, allowed three runs in five innings, striking out four in his seventh consecutive no-decision.

Abrams led off the first with a homer to right off Eury Perez. Thomas and Blankenhorn went deep in the third.

Perez yielded three runs in 4 2/3 innings and struck out five.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: OF Jorge Soler (right hip tightness) was out of the lineup for the third day in a row, but Schumaker said he was available off the bench. … LHP Andrew Nardi played catch two days after taking a line drive off his hand. … Miami recalled Edwards and RHP Geoff Hartlieb from Triple-A Jacksonville. … Schumaker said he anticipated RHP Johnny Cueto (viral infection) will be activated “soon.”

Nationals: Washington recalled RHP Amos Willingham from Triple-A Rochester and selected Blankenhorn from Rochester. To make room on the roster, the Nationals requested unconditional release waivers on RHP Rico Garcia, who had a 12.00 ERA in three games and had been on the injured list since July 30.

ROBERTSON’S RESET

Miami RHP David Robertson pitched a scoreless sixth after allowing eight runs over his last four outings and taking the loss in three of the games. It was the first time Robertson pitched before the seventh inning since serving as an opener for Tampa Bay on Sept. 24, 2021.

“He needed that,” Schumaker said. “You could tell he was excited coming in the dugout. It kind of took the weight off his shoulders a little bit.”

UP NEXT

Marlins: Did not announce a starting pitcher for Saturday’s game.

Nationals: RHP Trevor Williams (6-8, 4.82) is 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA in three starts against the Marlins this season.

Jake Burger added his 28th home run of the season for Miami, which climbed back to .500 after losing eight of 10. The Marlins (67-67) entered three games behind San Francisco for the NL’s final wild card.

“We knew coming into this series it was big, and now we’re flipping the page on August and going into September tomorrow,” Burger said. “Obviously, from here on out, every single game is huge.”

Braxton Garrett (8-5) and three relievers combined on a three-hitter.

Miami’s Luis Arraez singled twice, raising his major league-leading average to .349. With his 47th multihit game, Arraez tied Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez for third, trailing Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. at 57 and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman at 54.

Washington lost for the fourth time in five games. The Nationals went 17-11 in August, their first winning month this season.

Garrett (8-5) allowed one run and three hits over six innings. The Marlins are 19-7 in the left-hander’s starts this season.

JT Chargois, Steven Okert and A.J. Puk each followed with a hitless inning. Miami pitchers struck out just two, matching their season low of Aug. 14 against Houston. The two strikeouts by Nationals batters was the team’s fewest since Aug. 4 last year at Philadelphia.

Joan Adon (2-1) yielded Josh Bell’s single leading off the fifth and hit Burger with a sinkerball. Chisholm drove a curveball into the Nationals’ bullpen in right for a 5-0 lead.

“He threw me a really good changeup the pitch before, so I was sitting on changeup,” Chisholm said. “He hung a curveball. I can hit a curveball that’s right down the middle, so it was there and I took it for a ride.”

Adon surrendered five runs in five innings. While he only walked one, Adon threw two wild pitches and hit two batters.

“He just couldn’t repeat his mechanics,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “His arm was lagging a little bit on some pitches. That’s why I think he got a little wild. We’ll get it back and get him squared away.”

Burger homered in the ninth against Joe La Sorsa, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

Miami took the lead on Bryan De La Cruz’s RBI double in the first and added a run on Arraez’s double-play grounder in the fourth.

Washington scored on CJ Abrams’ sacrifice fly in the fifth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: OF Jorge Soler (right hip tightness) was out of the lineup for the second day in a row. … X-rays were negative on LHP Andrew Nardi, who left Wednesday’s game against Tampa Bay after taking a line drive off his hand. “That ball was hit very hard and it wasn’t a glancing blow,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “It hit him. The fact we’re not losing him for an IL stint, we feel very lucky.” … RHP Sixto Sánchez (shoulder) had a 20-pitch batting practice session Thursday and is scheduled to throw again Tuesday.

Nationals: OF Lane Thomas was scratched from the lineup with back tightness. … Washington placed LHP MacKenzie Gore on the bereavement list. … RHP Tanner Rainey recorded two outs Thursday in a rehabilitation assignment appearance for Rochester, the first time he has pitched on back-to-back days since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. … RHP Thaddeus Ward (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Thursday. He is scheduled to pitch again Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Marlins: RHP Eury Perez (5-4, 2.68 ERA) is 1-0 with an 0.82 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11 innings in two starts against Washington as a rookie.

Nationals: RHP Jake Irvin (3-5, 4.30) has a 1.45 ERA over 18 2/3 innings in his last three starts, each of which resulted in a no-decision.

José Siri hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning and Yandy Díaz added two singles for the Rays, who trail AL-leading Baltimore by 2 1/2 games in the East Division and maintained their 5 1/2-game lead in the race for the AL’s top wild-card spot. With the win, Tampa Bay improved to 81-52, ensuring the Rays will go a seventh straight season without a losing record.

“We’re playing good baseball and trust each other,” Arozarena said. “And we have to continue playing strong to maintain the positive results.”

Miami slugger Jorge Soler left the game in the seventh inning due to right hip tightness. Soler, who has 35 homers this season, swung at a pitch from Tampa Bay reliever Erasmo Ramírez and stepped away from the plate.

Aaron Civale (7-3) overcame a 32-pitch first inning and worked five innings of two-run ball. The 28-year-old right-hander allowed seven hits and struck out five in his fifth start since arriving in Tampa Bay in a trade from Cleveland on July 31.

“At that point it was reset and let go what’s happened and do my best moving forward,” Civale said of getting through the first inning. “It’s just one pitch at a time, trying to slow the game down the best I can.”

Trailing 1-0 after one inning and 2-1 after three, Siri’s double capped a three-run sixth against Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara and put Tampa Bay ahead 4-2.

Paredes ended a nine-pitch at bat with a game-tying single that scored Brandon Lowe, who had reached on a leadoff double that fell between right-fielder Soler and second baseman Luis Arraez. Alcantara hit Vidal Bruján with a pitch before Siri’s line drive to the corner in left chased the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.

Alcantara (6-12) gave up four runs, seven hits, walked two and struck out four in 5 2/3 innings for the Marlins (66-66), who are 13-27 since the All-Star break.

“Tough one for Sandy with the fly ball to start the inning,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “(Soler) broke back at first and came in. One of those fall-right-in-between type of deals.”

Tampa Bay broke it open with four runs against relievers Steven Okert and George Soriano in the seventh. Harold Ramírez hit a pinch-hit RBI single off Okert before Soriano gave up a two-run homer to Arozarena and a solo shot to Lowe.

“Alcantara was really good again,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We got some big hits right there the last inning, none bigger than José with the two-run double.”

Arozarena’s homer, his 21st, surpassed the previous season high he set in 2021 and ’22.

Paredes connected off Jorge López with a three-run blast in the ninth.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a solo homer in the third to put Miami ahead 2-1.

Luke Railey’s sacrifice fly in the second tied it at 1 after Chisolm’s RBI single in the first had given Miami a quick lead.

Civale allowed four singles in the first inning, but retired Yuli Gurriel on a force with two out and the bases loaded.

Díaz returned to the Rays’ lineup after he was struck by a pitch on his left forearm against the New York Yankees Saturday and missed Sunday’s game.

EYE ON THE STORM

While preparing for the opener of the two-game set against Miami, the Rays also monitored the path of Hurricane Idalia. Storm models project the storm will landfall over Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday.

“We live in Florida. It’s hurricane season and we’ve taken the right steps,” Brandon Lowe said. “We know the precautions to take and make sure my family is safe.”

FOUNDATION LAUNCH

Chisholm recently launched the Jazz Chisholm Foundation, which will provide equipment and resources to youth baseball and softball leagues in Florida and the Bahamas, where Chisholm is from.

ROSTER MOVE

The Rays signed RHP Chris Devenski to a major league contract and placed him on the bereavement list. Devenski was released by the Angels earlier Tuesday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: INF Taylor Walls (left oblique strain) played the first of three scheduled rehab games with Triple-A Durham on Tuesday.

Marlins: RHP Johnny Cueto (viral infection) threw two innings of live batting practice before the game.

UP NEXT

RHP Zach Eflin (13-8, 3.55) will start the series finale for the Rays on Wednesday, while the Marlins will go with LHP Jesús Luzardo (9-8, 3.77).

Hosting the star-studded event on Monday, Chisholm received love from many of his pro-athlete friends such as newcomers Marlins Josh Bell and Jake Burger.

Both of them said that playing with Chisholm was big reason as to why they were excited to join the team.

Also in attendance was Dolphins player Brandon Jones.

The reason for the event was for Chisholm to give back to the game that gave him so much, especially in the Bahamas.

“We were talking about this for when I started playing professional baseball and I told my agent, I told him and I said, ‘Listen, as soon as I can make it happen, I want to make it happen,” Chisholm said. “It’s been in the works for four years, three and a half years right now. I mean, they’ve been doing a great job, especially to get it launched now around this time where I’m kind of established in the big leagues now and I can actually go back and help make an impact on the kids in my community, especially in the Bahamas and in Miami.”

During the event, Chisholm’s grandmother, who introduced him to baseball, is expected to speak.

Luis Arraez reached on a leadoff single in the third inning before Soler connected against Trevor Williams, giving Miami a 2-1 lead. It was Soler’s 19th go-ahead homer of the season, extending his major league lead.

“Soli has been winning game after game for us and he won another game for us today,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said.

Jacob Stallings had two hits for the Marlins, who had dropped six of seven to fall back to .500.

“A good win for us that we needed badly,” Arraez said. “It’s been a tough second half for us. Everybody wants to win. We just need to continue playing hard.”

Washington wasted a strong performance by Williams (6-8), who allowed five hits and walked two in a season-high seven innings. The Nationals had won five of six and 11 of 14.

“The offense just couldn’t score any runs,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We had a couple of opportunities and couldn’t capitalize on them. That’s how it goes.”

Washington threatened in the ninth against Tanner Scott. Keibert Ruiz and Ildemaro Vargas hit one-out singles, but Scott retired Jacob Young on a double-play grounder for his third save in five opportunities.

Scott replaced David Robertson as Miami’s closer after Robertson squandered a 2-1 lead Saturday. It was Robertson’s third blown save since the Marlins acquired the veteran reliever from the New York Mets on July 29.

“We still have a lot of confidence in him,” Schumaker said. “We acquired him for a reason — to get us out of high-leverage situations and that’s still going to happen. So I don’t want you to think because of what happened last night you won’t see him again.”

Miami reliever Bryan Hoeing (2-2) pitched four-plus innings of one-run ball for the win. Steven Okert, A.J. Puk and Andrew Nardi each pitched a hitless inning before Scott closed it out.

Hoeing departed after he was struck by Joey Meneses’ leadoff comebacker in the sixth. Hoeing limped noticeably after Meneses’ single but said later he was fine.

“He was my last batter no matter what,” Hoeing said. “When Skip came out, he said you’re coming out either way. I didn’t like to go out with a base hit.”

Washington jumped in front on Dominic Smith’s groundout in the third. CJ Abrams hit a leadoff single and advanced on Lane Thomas’ double. Smith hit a one-out dribbler to first that scored Abrams.

JT Chargois opened for Miami and got three outs before Hoeing took over.

BACK IN A FAMILIAR SPOT

Arraez went 1 for 4 in his return to the leadoff spot after hitting second or third in the previous 16 games. His batting average dropped 23 points to .351 during the span.

“I’m happy wherever I am in the lineup,” Arraez said. “Things haven’t gone as I expected. I got on base and scored a run. I hope to continue doing the little things to help the team win.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: OF Victor Robles (lumbar spine back spasms) continues rehabbing in Washington.

Marlins: LHP Trevor Rogers (left biceps strain) started playing catch at the club’s spring training complex in Jupiter.

UP NEXT

Nationals: RHP Josiah Gray (7-10, 3.85 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series at Toronto on Monday. RHP Kevin Gausman (9-8, 3.23 ERA) pitches for the Blue Jays.

Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara (6-11, 4.16 ERA) starts the opener of a two-game home set against Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The Rays have not named a starter.

With a baseball in hand and a smile from ear to ear, Gabriel couldn’t be happier.

The 9-year-old on Saturday reunited with Marlins player — and friend — Jorge Soler at loanDepot Park.

“It feels great,” said Gabriel.

Speaking with 7News, the boy’s father said he started noticed something was wrong with his son.

“The first time I knew something was off with Gabe was during baseball, and he forgot how to hold his bat, and his running became really, really slow,” said the parent, also called Gabriel.

Gabriel was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor that required extensive treatment. Soon his time on the field was replaced with treatment.

Soler first met Gabriel as a patient at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. The two of them played catch on the hospital floor as the boy gained his strength back

Fast forward to three years later, and Gabriel is able to run up to his hero for a hug.

“He was starting his chemotherapy, saw him right there, we connected, started playing catch,” said Soler through a translator. “His parents had a baseball, so we started playing catch there, and it feels great just to see him now, to see how big he is, how healthy he is.”

On Saturday, Soler spent the afternoon with Gabriel again, along with other Nicklaus Children’s patients for a day of fun at the ballpark

It was a day a day that Gabriel’s family didn’t think would come.

“It’s incredibly special to be here with my son. This is something that a few years back, I didn’t think I was going to be able to share with him,” said the boy’s father. “Going to a baseball game with your son is something that has to happen as a dad, and I thought that was taken away from me for a while, but here we are.”

Now in remission, Gabriel was given words by Soler to live by.

“‘Stay strong,'” he said.

Gabriel’s father said Soler and his family frequently check up on his progress and how he is doing in school.

Down to their last strike, the Nationals tied it on Alu’s hit off David Robertson (4-5) that scored pinch runner Jacob Young from second and moved Chavis to third. Chavis then scored the tiebreaking run on Miami catcher Jacob Stallings’ passed ball.

“You always want to be in those at-bats,” Alu said. “That’s who all of us are. It was fun to be there and got it done.”

Robertson allowed a leadoff triple to Lane Thomas and hit Joey Meneses with a pitch. Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez dove and stopped Dominic Smith’s grounder and threw Thomas out at home for the force. Carter Kieboom popped out before Alu’s grounder to center field on a full count.

“It shows that this team plays 27 outs and we’re just a scrappy team,” Alu said. “We’re getting it done and firing on all cylinders.”

Jorge Soler’s 34th homer, a solo shot off Jordan Weems (4-0) in the eighth, put Miami ahead 2-1.

Kyle Finnegan pitched a scoreless ninth around a leadoff single to Bryan De La Cruz to pick up his 24th save and finish the Nationals’ 11th win in 14 games. It also secured their fifth consecutive series victory.

“It was a well-played game,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “I’m glad we came out on top and now we gotta get one more (Sunday).”

Robertson is 0-3 and has squandered three save opportunities since Miami acquired him from the New York Mets July 29. The veteran right-hander heard jeers from the crowd of 13,966 when he finished the inning.

“It’s just a (bad) outing by me. Went out there and blew the game for the guys,” Robertson said. “It was pathetic.”

After sitting a season-high 14 games over .500 at the All-Star break, the Marlins dropped to 65-65 with their sixth loss in seven games.

“That one hurt, that’s just the bottom line,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “It’s not lack of effort. All the guys are giving everything they’ve got and I think that’s why it makes it even tougher.”

Miami rookie starter Eury Pérez allowed one unearned run over six innings. The 20-year-old scattered two hits and struck out seven in his 15th major league start.

Jake Irvin was just as effective in his six-inning outing for Washington. The right-hander gave up one run and four hits while striking out three.

“The way we’re playing ball right now, I just have to keep us in the game and those guys are going to do their thing,” Irvin said.

Pérez retired the first 11 until Meneses’ double. Marlins shortstop Joey Wendle then fielded Smith’s soft grounder but threw errantly to first, allowing Meneses to score from second for a 1-0 Nationals lead.

The Marlins tied it on Josh Bell’s solo shot in the sixth. Bell drove the first pitch from Irvin over the wall in left for his 19th homer and eighth since joining Miami on Aug. 1.

WEB GEMS

Marlins CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. robbed Thomas of a homer with his leaping catch at the wall in the first. Chisholm also made a diving grab of CJ Abrams’ sinking line drive to end the eighth.

ROSTER MOVE

The Nationals selected the contract of outfielder Young from Triple-A Rochester and optioned outfielder Jeter Downs to the same minor league club. The 24-year-old Young, Washington’s seventh round selection in the 2021 draft, is hitting .305 with five homers and 58 RBI while playing at three class levels this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: C Keibert Ruiz had the day off. Martinez said Ruiz visited a dentist earlier Saturday. . OF Stone Garrett (fractured left fibula) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Marlins: RHP Matt Barnes (left hip impingement) moved his rehab to Miami after initiating it at his home in Connecticut. … RHP Anthony Bender (right elbow surgery) continues to throw bullpen sessions at the club’s spring training complex in Jupiter.

UP NEXT

RHP Trevor Williams (6-7, 4.95) will start the series finale for the Nationals while the Marlins will go with RHP JT Chargois (1-0, 3.56) as the opener in a scheduled bullpen game.

Carter Kieboom homered, Michael Chavis had two hits and Joey Meneses drove in three runs for the Nationals, who have won 10 of 13 and moved ahead of the New York Mets and out of the NL East cellar for the first time since June 2.

“Confidence is really good right now and that’s a key factor,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “But these young guys are starting to understand how to play the game. Everything’s going well right now and I’m proud of these guys.”

Adon (2-0) kept Miami hitless until Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s two-out single in the sixth. Chisholm’s grounder, which got under shortstop CJ Abrams, originally was ruled an error but the scoring decision reversed after Luis Arraez lined a single to center.

The 25-year-old right-hander struck out three and hit a batter in his fourth start since his Aug. 5 recall from Triple-A. Adon went 1-12 last season and was optioned to the minors after a four-inning, six-run outing at Miami July 7, 2022.

“I still have the same locker when I got sent down last year,” Adon said. “It was on my mind a little bit before the game. But I said to myself, let’s do it today.”

Before Chisholm’s and Arraez’s singles, Miami had two batters reach against Adon. Jorge Soler hit a fly ball that centerfielder Alex Call dropped for a two-base error in the first and Adon hit Bryan De La Cruz with a pitch in the fifth.

“All my five pitches were working today,” Adon said. “I have confidence in all my pitches.”

Miami has lost five of six and is 12-25 since the All-Star break.

Meneses had an RBI groundout in the first after Abrams’ leadoff single, and Kieboom’s second homer this season, a two-run drive off Braxton Garrett (7-5) built a 3-0 lead in the sixth.

“I’m not trying to do too much, not trying to put on added pressure,” said Kieboom, who missed the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and spent the first five months this season in Triple-A.

Washington doubled its lead in the seventh against Steven Okert and Jorge López on Meneses’ two-run double and Keibert Ruiz’s RBI single.

“That’s the key to having an offense – one after another, keep the line moving,” Kieboom said.

Miami snapped a 21-inning scoreless skid in the seventh on Jesús Sánchez’s two-run triple and Nick Fortes’ RBI double against Mason Thompson, who faced five batters without retiring any.

Chisholm hit into a run-scoring forceout against Robert Garcia that cut Miami’s deficit to 6-4, and Soler grounded into an inning-ending double play. Garcia pitched a perfect eighth and, after Call’s RBI single in the ninth, Hunter Harvey worked around De La Cruz’s leadoff single in the bottom half for his 10th save in 15 chances.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to get to the starting pitcher. We haven’t done a good job of that lately,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “We kind of dug ourselves in a hole.”

Garrett allowed three runs and seventh hits in six innings.

CLOSE CALL

Nationals right-fielder Lane Thomas favored his shoulder, neck and chin area after he collided with Call in center on the error that allowed Soler to reach. Thomas sat on the field while tended to by an athletic trainer and remained in the game.

“I got a little worried there, but he said he was fine,” Martinez said.

ATTENDANCE

The attendance of 12,409 raised the Marlins home season total to 918,506, topping last year’s 907,487.

ROSTER MOVE

Miami activated RHP JT Chargois from the 15-day injured list and placed RHP George Soriano on the paternity list.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: OF Stone Garrett (fractured left fibula) underwent surgery Friday. … Tanner Rainey (right elbow surgery) threw one scoreless inning in his second rehab outing with Double-A Harrisburg Thursday.

Marlins: OF Avisaíl García (left hamstring strain) underwent an imaging test on Wednesday that confirmed the injury he sustained against San Diego a day earlier.

UP NEXT

RHP Jake Irvin (3-5, 4.47) will for the Nationals on Saturday while the Marlins will go with RHP Eury Pérez (5-4, 2.91).

The team on Friday wrapped up their back-to-school supply distributions at Kensington Park Elementary.

The Marlins partnered with PNC Bank and the Kiwanis of Little Havana to provide more than 10,000 elementary school students in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties with much-needed resources.

“When I was growing up, I remember this time of the year and being excited to go back to school with all my friends,” said Marlins player Jake Burger, “so it’s just awesome, you know, helping as many kids as we’re helping.”

“At a school, we can’t do it all ourselves, so when we have community members that are willing to partner alongside us, it benefits the community, it benefits the program, and it benefits the students and families, so we’re very grateful,” said Michelle Hernandez, the school’s principal.

The Marlins have hosted a total of eight distributions to help students be ready for this new school year.