Marlins Look to Bounce Back Against Phillies

The Miami Marlins are in a must-win situation Wednesday night against the Phillies.

Every game led to this moment. pic.twitter.com/nwGn2cVIph

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) October 3, 2023

Familiar Territory

This is a spot Miami is familiar with.

This season, the Marlins have had 42 comeback victories, which is tied for fifth best in the MLB.

They also went 21-31 in the first game of a series this season, but came back to win eight of those series. One of those series happened to be against the Phillies on July 7. They beat Miami 4-3, but the Marlins came back and won both Game 2 and Game 3, 5-3 and 7-3, respectively.

Game 1

The Phillies got off to a fast start that made it difficult for the Marlins to bounce back.

In the third inning, Alec Bohm had an RBI double to get the Phillies on the board 1-0. In the fourth, the Phillies scored two more runs thanks to RBI singles from Bryson Stott and Cristian Pache. They led 3-0.

Alec Bohm is CLUTCH. pic.twitter.com/03H5kpMZlL

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 4, 2023

The Marlins got on the board in the seventh with an RBI single from Bryan De La Cruz, posting the Marlins’ only run of the night.

The Phillies responded in the eighth. Bryce Harper hit a single to start off the inning. Then, Nick Castellanos was up to bat and hit into left field. Harper ignored third base coach Dusty Wathan’s signal to stop and went on to score, making a statement to end the game.

The only acceptable time to run a stop sign pic.twitter.com/lrjQFg50gZ

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 4, 2023

Harper was recently listed as the 40th most valuable player by ESPN in this season’s playoffs, which the former 2-time NL MVP could take as an insult.

The Phillies would go on to win 4-1.

Looking Ahead

Braxton Garret will take the mound for the Marlins in Game 2. When he’s started this season, the Marlins are 21-10.

The odds are against the Marlins, as only two out of 12 teams who lost Game 1 went on to win the series in MLB history. But the Marlins have embraced their role as the underdog all season.

In fact, at the beginning of the season, the Marlins only had a 23.6% to make the playoffs, and they finished as the fifth seed in the NL.

With it only being their fourth postseason appearance in franchise history, the Marlins will be looking to keep their season alive against the Phillies Wednesday night.

Every game led to this moment. pic.twitter.com/nwGn2cVIph

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) October 3, 2023