MIA 5, PHI 4: From No Hits to No Defeat

As the fans of Philadelphia awaited the start of yet another exciting sport's season, with their Eagles set for a 4:25 ET kickoff, Ranger Suarez gave them another reminder to keep tabs on the Phillies down the stretch and their quest to get back to the World Series.

In the words of Yogi Berra and particularly applicable to the 2023 Marlins, "it ain't over 'til it's over." Sunday's 5-4 come-from-behind victory against the Phillies was yet another reminder of their resiliency. With the win, Miami now improves to 74-69, including an MLB-best 30-12 in one-run games.

"Ballsy, gutsy, all of those types of words and adjectives," said Skip Schumaker when reflecting on Sunday's win.

Three days after Ryan Pepiot vied for a bid at perfection, Suarez kept a zero in the Marlins hit column entering the 7th inning, authoring a career-high 10 strikeouts against 3 walks in the process.

Run support would come quickly for Suarez, as the Phillies needed just two pitches to tag a two-spot on opener Steven Okert. Kyle Schwarber would send Okert's first offering into center field for a base hit before Trea Turner continued his torrid run of hitting with a two-run homer into the Philadelphia bullpen.

The aforementioned Schwarber, who, himself, homered in Saturday's Phillies victory, made it two in two days when he sent his 43rd long ball of the season deep into the right field seats of Citizens Bank Park.

In the top of the seventh, a Jake Burger flyout brought Suarez within 8 outs of the no-hitter. But then, Bryan De La Cruz worked a 4-pitch walk before recently-recalled Dane Myers took advantage of a Suarez changeup that caught just enough of the plate to be hit over the head of center fielder Brandon Marsh for Miami's first hit.

One batter later, Yuli Gurriel would double home a pair to cut the Philadelphia lead to 1. Dating back to August 14, Gurriel had just one extra-base hit in last 30 plate appearances prior to that hit.

From one struggling Marlin to another, Nick Fortes, himself without a hit in September, singled home Gurriel to tie the score at 3-3.

One inning later, Miami would pull ahead when De La Cruz's 19th HR of the season give the Fish their fourth and fifth runs of the afternoon. With two hits Sunday, De La Cruz now owns an .867 OPS in nine September contests.

But the Phillies are not affectionately referred to as the "Fightin' Phils" without reason. Come the bottom of the 8th, a rare Andrew Nardi booboo-outing saw him issue a pair of walks and a run-scoring double to Nick Castellanos to cut the Marlins lead down to 1.

Schumaker would then turn to the hot hand, closer Tanner Scott, who immediately made quick work of Edmundo Sosa, striking him out on three pitches. As he did to end the ballgame Friday, Scott set Kyle Schwarber down on strikes, ending the 8th inning with Miami clinging to a one-run lead.

But while he ended the bottom of the 8th with a flourish, Scott immediately ran into trouble entering the bottom of the 9th, as a Trea Turner hit-by-pitch and walk to Bryce Harper gave the Phillies first and second, no outs. Alec Bohm would ground into 6-4-3 double play to push Turner to third before Bryson Stott went down on strikes to lock down the Miami win.

Of Note

• Sunday saw Suarez become just the fourth starting pitcher this season to strike out 10 or more Marlins, joining Spencer Strider, George Kirby and Shohei Ohtani.
• Scott's strikeout of Schwarber to end the 8th set a new single-season record for strikeouts by a Marlins left-handed reliever at 91, breaking his previous record of 90, set back in 2022.

Looking Ahead

From one playoff hopeful club to another, the Marlins will head from Philadelphia to Milwaukee as they get to set to commence a four-game series against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

Game 1 starter Jesús Luzardo will look to keep the good times rolling. In his last three outings dating back to August 30, Luzardo has allowed just 2 runs over his last 18 innings pitched.

Monday's first pitch is slated for 7:40 EST from American Family Field.

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images