Where things stand for Marlins entering final week. Plus Arraez update, Scott’s milestone

It all comes down to this.

One week. Six games.

By Sunday evening at the latest, the Miami Marlins will know if they are playing postseason baseball this year for the first time in a full season since 2003, when they won their second World Series.

The Marlins (81-75) are on the outside looking in at the moment, but a playoff berth is still within reach.

“This is what you want,” Marlins utility player Jon Berti said. “There’s no pressure. This is where you want to be.”

So what needs to happen for Miami to secure a playoff spot?

In essence, the Marlins are competing for one of two wild card spots, sitting one game behind both the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks (both 82-74), who occupy those two spots. The only other team within relative striking distance is the Cincinnati Reds (80-77), which is one-and-a-half games behind Miami and two-and-a-half games behind the Cubs and Diamondbacks.

Miami owns the tiebreaker against both the Cubs and Diamondbacks, going 4-2 against both teams in the regular season. So, in simplest terms, Miami needs finish at least tied with one of the Cubs or Diamondbacks to advance to the postseason.

If all three teams end the season tied, the pecking order for playoff priority would be Marlins, Diamondbacks and then Cubs because the tiebreaker is head-to-head record among all three teams. The Marlins have a .667 win percentage combined against the Cubs and Diamondbacks. Arizona is 8-5 (.615) and Chicago is 3-10 (.231).

The Marlins finish the regular season with six road games, three against the New York Mets from Tuesday through Thursday and three against the Pittsburgh Pirates from Friday through Sunday.

The Cubs also play their final six games on the road, three at the Atlanta Braves and three at the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Diamondbacks finish a series against the New York Yankees on Monday and then close the season with a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox and three games at home against the Houston Astros.

Latest on Luis Arraez

Marlins All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez did not play in the Marlins’ 6-1 win against the Brewers on Sunday after he twisted his left ankle going down the steps into the dugout after the eighth inning Saturday.

The mishap happened as the loanDepot park lights went low for closer Tanner Scott’s entrance to the mound.

It’s the same ankle Arraez injured Tuesday when he stepped on a ball during pregame drills. He did not play Tuesday or Wednesday but started Friday and Saturday.

“It’s really frustrating because I need to play. I need to help my team win,” Arraez said pregame Sunday. “I can’t do anything right now. I hope I feel better later. The good thing is we have a day off [Monday]. Let’s see how I feel.”

With one week left in the regular season, Arraez leads MLB with a .353 batting average, 17 points ahead of the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. He is looking to become the first player in MLB history to win consecutive batting titles in different leagues after winning the title in the American League last season.

Tanner Scott’s milestone

With his strikeout of Tyrone Taylor in the ninth inning Sunday, Scott became the first left-handed relief pitcher in Marlins history to record 100 strikeouts in a season.

The only other reliever to record at least 100 strikeouts in a season with the Marlins was Kyle Barraclough, who struck out 113 batters in 2016.

Scott’s 101 strikeouts overall this season lead the National League and are fourth overall in MLB among relievers, trailing only the Orioles’ Felix Bautista (110), Mariners’ Matt Brash (103) and Rangers’ Aroldis Chapman (102).

And Scott has done the bulk of his work in high-leverage situations. Of his 75 2/3 innings pitched this season (a career high), 40 have been in late and close situations, defined by MLB as when the batting team is either leading by one run, tied, or has the potential tying run on base, at bat, or on deck. In those situations, Scott has recorded 54 strikeouts against 28 hits (just one home run) and 12 walks.

“He’s not punching out the bottom of the order. He’s punching out the big boys in the top and the middle of the order,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “It’s been a really impressive year.”