In arguably their most important series of the 2026 season, the Miami Marlins (64-64) flew to Citizens Bank Park to face the Philadelphia Phillies.
The result? Not good.
The Marlins lost 5-4 Monday after a controversial seventh-inning call by the first-base umpire went Philadelphia's way, 6-4 Tuesday after Miami blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning and 4-1 Wednesday in the series finale, when the Marlins' bats went cold against Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola.
Miami finishes the six-game road trip 2-4 after taking two of three from the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Sure, you can say that with 34 games remaining and Miami sitting four games behind the San Diego Padres for the final National League Wild Card spot, there's still a ton of baseball to be played.
But Miami just showed us that it doesn't have what it takes to take down the best teams in the National League.
Heck, have you taken a peek at Miami's September schedule?
It is a brutal one, folks.
Before we talk about that, Miami has an off day Thursday before opening a six-game homestand at loanDepot park Friday against the Washington Nationals for three games, followed by three against the Boston Red Sox from Aug. 24-26.
Okay, back to Miami's tough September slate.
The month will begin with three road games against the Kansas City Royals, who have been out of the playoff hunt for some time now.
Then the Marlins will open a nine-game homestand against the Chicago Cubs, with outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in strong position to win the National League MVP Award, followed by the New York Mets, who will be looking to play spoiler after the Marlins spoiled their playoff dreams in the 2025 season finale, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and their loaded roster featuring Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and others.
The Marlins will also head out West for three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks and a series at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres, the team Miami is currently chasing.
That will be part of a nine-game road trip that ends at Wrigley Field against the Cubs, marking the Marlins' final road trip of the season.
That's the problem. Miami doesn't have much room for error.
The Marlins can certainly make up ground over the next 34 games, but they'll have to prove they can beat the teams standing between them and their first playoff berth under manager Clayton McCullough.
After what we just saw in Philadelphia over a three-day span, that's becoming harder to believe.
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