Marlins best Braves in 2026 finale

The 2026 season has come and gone for the Miami Marlins.

While the year brought its many ups and downs, there will be ample time to reflect this offseason. Before they bid adieu to their 34th season of play, the Marlins had the goal of winning the final series against the NL East champion Atlanta Braves. 

Thanks to a combination of Janson Junk, a pair of home runs, and new part-time closer Sandy Alcantara, they did just that, ending the year with a 5-3 victory over Atlanta. 

How It Started

As he has consistently done this season, Janson Junk put forth a strong effort, striking out five in his 4 ⅔ innings of work. The 30-year-old ends his 2026 season with career bests in innings pitched (123 ⅔) and strikeouts (89). Junk allowed two or fewer runs in 18 of his 25 starts, finishing with a 4.22 ERA.

The lone blunder on Junk's afternoon came on a Mauricio Dubón solo home run in the top of the third. 

Clutch Pop

Sitting on 24 home runs on the final day of the season, Heriberto Hernández tied the score in his second plate appearance with a solo home run of his own. Since returning to the big leagues on May 7, Hernández hit a team-leading 25 home runs.

In the bottom half of the seventh and his final plate appearance, Griffin Conine showed the light-tower power that looks to see him be a regular in the 2027 lineup.

It was remarkably well-timed, just as longtime play-by-play broadcaster Rich Waltz made a surprise appearance in the TV booth, joining his former partner Tommy Hutton, who was working the final game of his career. Hutton, who has called Marlins games across two stints since 1997, teamed up with Waltz in 2005, a year when the club had another Conine, Griffin's father, Jeff, on the roster.  

The Closer

Adding to the ending on a high of it all, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough turned to Sandy Alcantara in the bottom of the ninth to end it where it all started. Speaking before the game, McCullough hinted at the move with a wry, "we hope things line up that way."

Alcantara, the major league leader in innings pitched at 213, entered seeking his third save of the season. The previous two came during the Marlins' last road trip.

The last time any player had a season of at least 200 innings pitched and three or more saves came in 1980 via Jerry Reuss.

As he had the prior two such outings, Alcantara wasted little time, needing just 10 pitches to lock down the win for Miami while notching save number three in the process. His final pitch, a 92 mph changeup, resulted in a swinging strikeout of Dashawn Keirsey Jr.

"After a bad season last year...I'm very happy with myself because I finished strong. I finished healthy—I got 200-plus innings," noted Alcantara.

In his first season off Tommy John surgery in 2025, Alcantara pitched a 5.36 ERA, though he still threw 174-plus innings in the process. He ends 2026 with a much more Sandy-like 3.87 mark.

Now through the final year of a five-year extension he signed following the 2021 season, Alcantara will, in his own words, "wait on the couch until the team calls" to confirm whether they are picking up his $21M club option for 2027. 

"I want to keep myself here with the Marlins. I've been with this club for nine years...I love this organization so much."

Miami concludes 2026 with an 80-82 record. At a run differential of plus-3, this year's club ties 2008's Florida Marlins for the fifth-best mark in franchise history, a 92-run improvement year-over-year. Their 168 home runs are the most since they hit 194 in 2017.

"A lot of high moments," reflected McCullough, now through two seasons as manager. "We certainly had to navigate through quite a bit of adversity."

Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix is scheduled to hold his end-of-season press conference at loanDepot park on Tuesday.