Marlins Putting Mets, Phillies on Notice in NL East Race

Somehow, some way, the Miami Marlins have not only surged their way into the National League Wild Card hunt, but they have also snuck their way into the race for the NL East division title.

Yes, it's true: the Marlins are now firmly in NL East contention after completing a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees to improve to 55-55 on the year, running their record to 30-14 since bottoming out at 25-41 back in June.

It has been an absolutely incredible run by Miami, which has been getting tremendous pitching, timely hitting and strong defense throughout this remarkable run that has featured a bunch of series wins over good teams. And with that, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets should both be concerned.

Both NL East titans have experienced considerable falloff lately, which has allowed the Marlins to quietly chip into their deficit in the division. Suddenly, Miami — not the Atlanta Braves — has emerged as the third team in the race for the division crown, and it has shown no signs of slowing down.

This is no longer a small sample size. The Marlins are legitimately good, and the only downside is that they may have started their run just a bit too late. But there are still nearly two months remaining in the regular season, and Miami has a combined 13 games remaining with the Phillies and Mets to do some more damage.

The problem is that the Marlins have a pretty brutal schedule overall the rest of the way, although that hasn't seemed to bother them over the last month. So is it possible that the Fish can actually do this?

One thing is for sure: Philadelphia and New York are both very aware of Miami at this point. There is no hiding it anymore. The Marlins have been playing nearly .700 ball for a month-and-a-half. This is no fluke, and even if they ultimately come up short this season, they are making it very clear that they are here to stay heading into 2026.