MIAMI _ Corey Dickerson's fly ball bounced off the warning track, kicked over the left-field wall, and Saturday night began to feel an awful lot like Friday.
The ground-rule double brought in two runs and put the Phillies ahead by five runs in the fourth inning of an eventual 9-3 win over the Marlins. But no lead was big enough for the Phillies to feel safe after blowing a seven-run advantage a night earlier.
So they held their breath on Saturday and watched Zach Eflin pitch six strong innings to keep the lead safe. It was not enough to make up for Friday's embarrassment, but it was enough for the Phillies to recover and put themselves in position to win a series over the last-place Marlins on Sunday behind Aaron Nola.
It was also enough for the Phillies to gain some ground in the wild-card race as they picked up a game on the Cubs to get within 1 { games of the National League's second wild card. Friday night was brutal, but it was not enough to disqualify the Phillies from playoff contention.
Dickerson's double in the fourth capped a six-run half inning that took 39 minutes to complete. He finished with five RBIs and has multi-RBIs in three straight games. The Phillies saw 62 pitches in the fourth inning, walked four times and sent 12 batters to the plate as the Marlins struggled to find the strike zone. Dickerson had two hits in the inning. Scott Kingery hit a three-run homer for his 15th home run of the season, and J.T. Realmuto walked with the bases loaded one batter before Dickerson's ground-rule double gave the Phillies a 6-1 lead.
The inning was a window in the disparity between the teams. The Marlins entered the series on a six-game losing streak and have won just 13 of their 40 games since the All-Star break. The Phillies might be maddening, but the Marlins are hapless. Yet the Marlins blew out the Phillies on Friday night and have won eight of their 15 games this season against them.
The Phillies are the only team in the National League East with a losing record against the Marlins. They entered Saturday with a season-high 10 {-game deficit behind Atlanta. There are plenty of reasons why the Phillies are buried in the division standings, but their struggles this season against the Marlins are near the top.
Eflin allowed two runs in six innings as he made his second start since returning to the starting rotation for the injured Jake Arrieta. He struck out two, walked none and allowed six hits. He induced plenty of ground balls behind a reliance on his sinker. Ever thin on starting pitching, the Phillies need someone like Eflin to step up over the season's final stretch. A night like Saturday _ he even had a pair of hits _ was a move in the right direction.
Eflin left the mound with the Phillies ahead by four runs. They needed nine more outs, but a win still did not feel safe. And then Dickerson drove another fly ball to the outfield. This time, it dropped in right-center and bounced off the wall. Three runs scored. The Phillies had a seven-run lead, the same margin they blew on Friday night.
This time, it was safe.
