MIAMI — Sandy Alcantara, this year’s MLB leader in innings pitched, got his third save of 2026, Griffin Conine and Heriberto Hernández homered, and the Miami Marlins beat the the playoff-bound Atlanta Braves 5-3 in the regular-season finale for both teams Sunday at LoanDepot Park.
Alcantara worked around an error in a hitless ninth to remain perfect in three save chances. The Marlins ace finished 13-11 with a 3.87 ERA in 33 starts and three relief appearances.
National League East champion Atlanta, which hosts the wild-card Philadelphia Phillies in a best-of-three series in the opening round of the MLB playoffs starting Tuesday at Truist Park, finished 94-68 for an 18-win improvement over last year’s fourth-place finish.
The Braves, who will head to the playoffs thin on starting pitching after injuries hampered their starting rotation all season, went 2-4 over the past week after clinching their seventh NL East title in the past nine years.
Miami improved by one win to 80-82 but finished with its third straight losing season and 15th in 17 years. That was unavoidable after the Braves bounced back from a 3-0 loss in the series opener Friday to beat the Marlins 8-3 on Saturday.