Cubs survive rally, send Marlins below .500 as Miami’s playoff hopes fade

Miami Marlins admin September 6, 2026 0 Comments

Cubs survive rally, send Marlins below .500 as Miami’s playoff hopes fade

The Marlins’ fleeting, flickering hopes of a playoff berth grew dimmer Saturday when the Cubs beat them for the second day in a row, continuing an inauspicious start to an important nine-game homestand.

The 6-5 loss dropped the Marlins below .500 at 71-72 and left them four games behind the Padres and 3.5 games behind Arizona entering Sunday. The Cubs (81-62) and Philadelphia (79-62) remain in strong position for the first two wild card spots.

Marlins right-hander Ryan Gusto, who entered with a 1.88 ERA in his previous six starts, had his worst outing since July.

Cubs designated hitter Michael Conforto homered to center to lead off the third, and Ian Happ hit a two-run single to push the lead to 3-0. An RBI single by center fielder Peter Crow-Armstrong (who has 39 homers and 94 RBI) made it a 4-0 game in the fourth, much to the delight of many Cubs fans in a crowd of 26,141.

Miami loaded the bases against Cubs right-hander Javier Assad with no outs in the fourth and scored two, the latter of which came home on a controversial Joe Mack at-bat in which left fielder Happ dropped a fly ball after transferring it from his glove to his throwing hand. Owen Caissie, who drove in Miami’s first run on a fielder’s choice, was thrown out at second, and the play was ruled a fielder’s choice, with a run scoring.

But Nico Hoerner’s two-out RBI single in the fifth extended the Cubs’ lead to 5-2, and that was all for Gusto, who allowed a season-high 10 hits and five runs in 4 ⅔ innings.

With the Marlins down 5-2, two outs and one run runner on in the fifth, the Cubs removed Assid in order to have lefty Caleb Thielbar face the left-handed-hitting Griffin Conine, who promptly homered into the upper deck in right field, his 15th of the season. Before that 450-foot homer – which traveled 110.7 mph – Conine had no extra base hits (and just three RBI and 10 hits) in 48 at bats against southpaws this season.

Michael Busch cracked an RBI single off Calvin Faucher in the sixth, before Kyle Stowers’ home run – a solo shot and his 19th of the season – in the seventh pulled Miami to within 6-5. But Jakob Marsee grounded out with runners on first and second and two outs in the seventh.

Then, in the eighth, Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman made a nice scoop of a Javier Sanoja grounder for the third out, preventing Esteury Ruiz from scoring.

In the ninth, Kyle Stowers grounded out and Heriberto Hernandez struck out. Conine then walked after a Marlins challenge overturned a called third strike on a 3-2 count. But Otto Lopez flew out to right to end it.

“We clawed back again but we didn’t get over the hump,” manager Clayton McCullough said.

The Cubs will go for the sweep at 1:40 p.m. Sunday, with Clay Holmes opposing the Marlins’ Tyler Phillips.

This and that

▪ Stowers returned to the lineup as a designated hitter and hit leadoff after missing one game with a hamstring injury. He went 2 for 3 with a walk and a homer.

▪ A return by right-hander Max Meyer this season does not appear likely. Meyer, who hasn’t pitched since July 18, continues to be troubled by a neck injury and hasn’t begun throwing. He’s arbitration eligible this winter, and if he doesn’t return this season, he won’t do any damage to his sterling record and ERA (9-1, 2.68).

▪ Closer Peter Fairbanks, who has been sidelined since Aug. 25 with median nerve irritation on his throwing arm, said he felt fine after a throwing session Saturday. He could return as soon as Wednesday, when he’s eligible to come off the injured list.

▪ Shortstop Otto Lopez was named the winner of the Marlins’ Heart and Hustle award, an honor given to a player on every big-league team. Former players vote on the award.

This story was originally published September 5, 2026 at 7:34 PM.