Marlins hold swimming in WC race, sweep Nats

WASHINGTON — However the chaotic National League Wild Card image shakes out, the upstart Marlins are both going to sink or swim this September. The lengthy weekend they simply spent within the nation’s capital proved, on the very least, that they received’t go down and not using a combat.

The Marlins capitalized on a first-rate alternative after they wanted to most this weekend, procuring their first four-game sweep of the Nationals in franchise historical past by advantage of their 6-4 victory Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park. Sandy Alcantara gutted by way of eight innings and Luis Arraez scored the go-ahead run on a ninth-inning throwing error as Miami continued clawing its method again into the NL Wild Card race.

With the win, the Marlins moved right into a tie with the Reds, who misplaced to the Cubs on Sunday, as of ultimate out. The Marlins and Reds are each inside a half-game of Arizona and San Francisco for the ultimate spot. The Marlins made up 2 1/2 video games within the standings with their four-game sweep, pending the outcomes of the Giants’ and D-backs’ video games later tonight.

• Games remaining: vs. LAD (3), at PHI (3), at MIL (4), vs. ATL (3), vs. NYM (3), vs. MIL (3), at NYM (3), at PIT (3)

• Standings replace: The Marlins (70-67) moved a half-game behind the D-backs (70-66) and Giants (70-66) for the third NL Wild Card spot and right into a tie with the Reds (71-68). Miami would maintain the primary tiebreaker, primarily based on head-to-head matchups, over Arizona (4-2), however not essentially in opposition to San Francisco (3-3) or Cincinnati (3-3). The Marlins (19-21, .475) are in line to carry the second tiebreaker (intradivisional document) over the Reds however not Giants.