Game 4 of the Marlins’ test-of-stamina series with the Phillies on Saturday was a microcosm of their season. Every time it looked as if the night was going to slip away from them, they found a way to chip back to make things interesting.

Brian Anderson belted a three-run homer, Jesús Aguilar hit a solo shot and Lewis Brinson added an RBI double. But Miami repeatedly wasn’t able to get shutdown innings in a 12-6 loss to the Phillies at Marlins Park.

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The back-and-forth series is now tied at two apiece, with three more games to play, including a seven-inning doubleheader on Sunday. The Marlins (21-21) fell 1.5 games back of the Phillies (23-20) for second place in the National League East. With the Braves' win over the Nationals, Miami is four back of the NL East leader.

“I feel like our team is fearless right now,” Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “We are going for everything. We are trying to get the one seed in the National League East. That's what we're looking for. We're looking to catch Atlanta, and we know we're going to have an opportunity to play against them again [in] a four-game series.”

Saturday night was a reminder that if the Marlins are to be one of eight NL teams to play into October, they’ll need to tighten up their play. They committed two errors, and their pitchers combined to issue eight walks.

“This thing is not just going to stop after this series. We've got a long way to go,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Our guys have been holding up pretty good. Our pitching has been a little inconsistent [with] our starters. It's taxed our bullpen a little bit. We'll get that ship straightened out. We've got to keep moving.”

As important as this seven-game series with the Phillies is, Mattingly noted that even after it ends on Monday, there is plenty of season left.

“For us, I know it's a big series because it's head to head,” Mattingly said. “Again, it's a big series, but we can't make too much out of it. We've just got to keep playing, get ready to play, because Boston is going to be coming in here, and Washington will be playing five in three days.”

The long ball got the Marlins back into it after the Phillies built a five-run lead on Didi Gregorius’ grand slam in the first inning and Bryce Harper’s solo shot in the third.

“I just tried to attack him and make him swing,” José Ureña said of the first-inning slam. “But we got behind in the count [often], and we did them a favor. If we were able to attack him, the game might have been different.”

Down four in the first created a night of catch-up. The Marlins did get back into it on Anderson’s three-run homer in the fourth. Brinson’s RBI double made it 6-4 in the sixth.

But the Marlins were unable to get shutdown innings in the fifth, seventh and eighth, when the Phillies broke it open with five runs.

It was a rocky start for the Marlins, from the moment they stepped on the field to warm up for the first inning. Rojas tripped on the new turf and jammed his right middle finger on the turf. He stayed in the game and singled in the fifth inning, but Mattingly pinch-hit Jazz Chisholm for Rojas in the seventh.

An X-ray on Rojas’ finger came back negative, and he may play on Sunday.

“For those who have played basketball before, it's like when the ball hits you on the fingers,” Rojas said. “That's exactly how it feels. It's a jammed finger. It's really uncomfortable throwing like that. It was really hard for throwing, and I was trying to play through it.”

Miami was without a hit off Spencer Howard, ranked 32nd on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list, until Aguilar’s two-out single in the fourth. Anderson’s three-run homer two batters later trimmed the deficit to 5-3. Howard immediately exited with right shoulder tightness after Anderson connected on a hanging slider.

With 18 games to go, the Marlins are grinding through an exhausting schedule, with 11 games over the next eight days.

To help keep players fresh, the Marlins are limiting their pregame work on the field and encouraging the players to get their rest at home.

“I think when you're playing for something, it would be a lot tougher if we didn't have anything to play for and trying to play games like this,” Mattingly said. “Guys know where we're at. We're trying to use our whole roster the best that we can. They all know the situation.”