(Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

The Miami Marlins will begin a critical nine-game homestand on Friday with the opener of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

On Thursday, the Marlins (71-70) missed out on a chance for a three-game sweep in Kansas City with a 7-3 setback to the Royals. The Marlins reside three games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final wild-card spot in the National League.

The Cubs (79-62), in turn, are a half-game back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the top wild card.

Chicago, which had lost six of its last eight entering Thursday, eked out a 2-1 home win over Milwaukee to split that four-game series.

Janson Junk (6-8, 4.11 ERA) will start Friday's game for the Marlins and try to set a career high in wins. The right-hander, who will face the Cubs for the first time as a starter, has not escaped the fifth inning in his last two starts.

Junk, 30, has come on in relief to battle the Cubs on two occasions, with the last time in May 2024 with Milwaukee. He has a 1.93 ERA without a decision in 4 2/3 innings.

The Cubs will send Shota Imanaga (8-10, 4.01) to the mound and hope he avoids a second consecutive rough outing. The left-hander lasted just five innings Sunday as Cincinnati pounded him for six runs and three homers as part of a 7-5 victory.

Imanaga is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two career starts versus the Marlins.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell may need his starter to go a little longer Friday to give a battered bullpen more rest. In the 13 games since Aug. 21, their relievers are a combined 1-5 with a 5.60 ERA.

Ryan Zeferjahn and Ryan Rolison both pitched a shutout inning to preserve Thursday's win, with the latter earning his second save of the season.

'We need some good outings from our bullpen, and those guys need good outings to feel good about how they're throwing,' Counsell said.

Meanwhile, the Marlins return home a little banged up. Manager Clayton McCullough pulled Kyle Stowers during an eighth-inning pitching change when the first baseman mentioned his left hamstring was cramping.

That's the same hamstring that put Stowers on the injured list on Aug. 11. Since returning Aug. 24, he has hit safely in eight of his 10 games with a .303 average (10-for-33) during that stretch.

'No need to keep pushing through potentially anything,' McCullough said. 'I don't really have anything further than that ... but (we're) hoping it was nothing more than just a cramp.'

The weekend series also features two of the NL's best hitters. Miami shortstop Otto Lopez ranks fourth in the league with a .302 average, however he saw his nine-game hitting streak end Thursday.

Chicago outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is trending toward being the NL's Most Valuable Player. He hit his 39th home run in Thursday's win, and his next blast will make him the first Cub since Derrek Lee in 2005 to get 40 in a season.

--Field Level Media