The Arizona Diamondbacks will look to remain in the thick of the National League wild-card race when they face the Miami Marlins in the opener of a three-game set on Monday night in Phoenix.
The Diamondbacks’ less important order of business is to avenge a sweep in Miami, when the Marlins outscored Arizona 20-6 and shut them out twice from June 9-11.
Arizona’s wild-card chances took a hit when the team lost the final two games of a home series against Texas this past weekend. The Diamondbacks (79-71) were one-half game behind San Diego after winning Friday but now are 2 1/2 games behind the Padres (81-68) in the race for the final playoff spot.
“Everything’s a challenge right now,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “Everything is a little more intense. Everything’s amplified. We got to do what we are capable of doing. We have to find our way. That’s all there is to it.”
Arizona right-hander Corbin Burnes (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his second start of the season on Monday after being activated from the injured list for a start in Kansas City last Tuesday.
Right-hander Sandy Alcantara (13-10, 3.78 ERA) will start for the Marlins. Alcantara leads the majors with 21 quality starts, one more than Cristopher Sanchez (Philadelphia Phillies) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Los Angeles Dodgers).
The Marlins recorded a 6-4 victory over the Dodgers on Sunday to win the decisive contest of the series.
“At times it makes where we are right now even more frustrating,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “We’ve seen we can play and go against anyone in baseball.”
The Marlins (74-76) were in the thick of the wild-card race until their just-concluded 3-6 homestand. Now Miami is 7 1/2 games out of the NL’s final spot.
Alcantara, 31, leads the majors with 200 innings pitched, the first time he has hit that plateau since his 2022 NL Cy Young Award-winning season. He is tied for the major league lead with 31 starts.
Alcantara enters Monday’s game after his arguably least effective outing of the season in a 7-5 home loss to the New York Mets last Tuesday. He gave up seven runs on seven hits — including three homers — in 4 1/3 innings.
“Even the best of their craft in any sport have a tough night,” McCullough said. “Just had a more difficult time than some other outings getting his secondaries over the plate.”
Alcantara has given up 15 runs in 16 1/3 innings in his last three outings. Before that stretch, he was 4-4 with a 1.99 ERA in 10 starts since July 4.
The Marlins have lost his last six starts.
“Not much to say about the 200 innings,” Alcantara said. “The most important thing for us right now is winning.”
He is 0-2 with a 4.42 ERA in six career starts against the Diamondbacks, the most recent a no-decision in 2025 in which he gave up seven runs in six innings in the Marlins’ 8-7 victory at Chase Field. Ketel Marte is 2-for-8 with a homer against him.
Burnes, on a pitch count, was lifted following three scoreless innings after throwing 57 pitches in the D-backs’ 5-3 win over Kansas City in 11 innings on Tuesday. He should be able to throw “somewhere north of 70” on Monday, Lovullo said.
“Our anticipation is to make the playoffs, and that he would be a full-go pitcher,” Lovullo said.
Burnes is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA in seven career appearances (five starts) against the Marlins.
–Field Level Media
