CHICAGO (Interstat) — The Miami Marlins scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and held on for a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, at Wrigley Field. Miami improved to 78-80, while Chicago fell to 87-71 and remained in a tight National League wild-card race. The Cubs began the night with a chance to clinch a postseason berth, but they could not finish the job and stayed in win-and-in mode with four games left on the regular-season schedule. Attendance was 36,635, and the game lasted 2 hours, 55 minutes.

Ryan Gusto gave Miami a solid start, working 5 1/3 innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Chicago right-hander Kevin Gausman was nearly as effective, yielding two earned runs on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. Gausman’s splitter was sharp, producing 19 whiffs. His best escape came in the fifth after Javier Sanoja led off with a ground-rule double that vanished into the ivy in right-center field. Gausman then struck out Jakob Marsee, Agustín Ramírez and Graham Pauley in order to leave Sanoja stranded.

The first inning ended without a run for either side. Otto Lopez was called out on strikes, Kyle Stowers grounded out to first baseman Michael Busch and Heriberto Hernández grounded out from second baseman Nico Hoerner to Busch. In the bottom half, Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out swinging before Seiya Suzuki and Busch singled. Michael Conforto lined out to center fielder Marsee, and Ian Happ grounded out softly to first baseman Stowers. In the second, Griffin Conine struck out swinging, Sanoja singled and Marsee was called out on strikes after a challenge. Sanoja was then caught stealing second, with Miguel Amaya throwing to Hoerner. The Cubs got a two-out single from Hoerner and a walk from Dansby Swanson, but Pedro Ramírez grounded out and Amaya grounded out. The third brought a Pauley single and a Lopez force out for Miami, while Chicago went down on a Crow-Armstrong groundout, a Suzuki groundout and a Busch strikeout. In the fourth, Stowers, Hernández and Conine were retired in order for Miami. Conforto doubled for Chicago and moved to third on Happ’s groundout, but Hoerner struck out and Ramírez grounded out. The fifth saw Sanoja’s double and Gausman’s three strikeouts, then Swanson flew out, Amaya struck out, Crow-Armstrong walked and Suzuki flew out.

The Cubs had chances early but could not convert them. Suzuki and Busch singled in the first inning, but Conforto lined out to center and Happ grounded out. In the second, Hoerner singled and Swanson walked, but Amaya grounded out to end the threat. Chicago put another runner in scoring position in the fourth when Conforto doubled and moved to third on Happ’s groundout, but Hoerner struck out and Ramírez grounded out. The Cubs’ struggles with runners in scoring position continued after a difficult Tuesday night in which they went 1-for-18 in those spots and left 15 runners on base.

Miami broke the scoreless tie in the sixth. Joe Mack lined out sharply to center, but Lopez singled and Stowers followed with a two-run homer to center field. Hernández walked, and Conine singled, but Gausman prevented further damage by getting Sanoja to ground out. The Marlins led 2-0.

Chicago answered in the bottom of the sixth. Busch singled, Conforto struck out and Happ doubled to put runners on second and third. Hoerner was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Ramírez struck out. Swanson then delivered a broken-bat, two-run single to left field that scored Busch and Happ, pulling the Cubs into a 2-2 tie. Amaya struck out to end the inning.

The Marlins regained the lead in the seventh against Chicago left-hander Ryan Rolison. Marsee struck out, but Ramírez singled and Esteury Ruiz lined a single to right that moved Ramírez to third. Mack then grounded into a force play that was overturned on a Miami challenge, allowing Ramírez to score. Lopez grounded out to finish the inning, but Miami had a 3-2 advantage. Rolison took the loss and fell to 9-2.

Cade Gibson earned the win for Miami, improving to 6-2 with one inning of no-hit relief and two strikeouts. Calvin Faucher worked a scoreless eighth, and Sandy Alcantara recorded his second save with a scoreless ninth. Alcantara allowed one hit and ended the game when Carson Kelly grounded into a double play from shortstop Lopez to second baseman Jared Serna to first baseman Stowers. Ramírez had singled before the double play, but Chicago could not extend the inning.

Stowers finished 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Jacob Webb pitched 1 1/3 innings for Chicago and allowed one hit with one walk and two strikeouts. Michael Petersen recorded two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning for Miami. Javier Assad and Colin Rea also contributed scoreless relief for the Cubs. Miami finished with 10 hits, while Chicago had eight. Miami’s pitchers combined for 26 strikes, 49 balls and 26 balls in play. Chicago’s pitchers combined for 18 strikes, 38 balls and 18 balls in play.

The Cubs’ final push fell short in the ninth. After Ramírez singled, Swanson flew out to left field. Kelly then grounded into the game-ending double play. The loss kept Chicago tied with Philadelphia in the wild-card standings, while the Padres remained ahead pending their late game. Miami, already playing out the string, continued to trouble the Cubs after winning Tuesday’s meeting between the teams. The Cubs had also dropped the series opener to Miami and now had one more game left in the series before heading to Boston.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Miami Marlins 4, Chicago Cubs 8. Interstat’s ELO system had given Chicago a 61.5 percent probability to win before the game. The Cubs were installed as the pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under line was 6.5, and the total score of 5 went over that line.