SAN DIEGO -- Humbled by the Padres’ pitching staff -- in particular Tuesday’s duo of knuckleballer Matt Waldron and strikeout machine Jeremiah Estrada -- the Marlins were determined for things to change in Wednesday’s matinee.

After winning nine of its previous 13, Miami had dropped consecutive games for the first time in nearly three weeks to snap a stretch of four straight series wins.

“Kind of right after the game [Tuesday], we all said, ‘Hey, somebody’s got to pay tomorrow,’” Nick Gordon recalled. “I think that's just that energy. Everybody just being on the same page and understanding that [Waldron’s] a unicorn and he was different. That's not going to happen every day, and [so] still stay with our approach and stay with ourselves. It worked out.”

Seven Marlins logged multihit games en route to a season-high 16 hits in their 9-1 series-finale win over the Padres on Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park. Miami completed its West Coast trip with a 3-3 record.

“It's been a while since I said, ‘.500 road trip,’ so it's nice to finally say that against two really good NL West teams that have a chance to do some damage in the postseason, I think,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “We faced a really good lineup. Our pitchers did really good. Offense broke out finally today, which is good to see. [In] Arizona I thought we played fantastic. Really, we had a chance to win two games here as well, but that's the big leagues. And having the win on getaway day, always a good day.”

During the six-game trip, Miami’s pitching staff posted an MLB-low 1.78 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. It was much-needed, considering the offense -- which has scored the fewest runs per game (3.6) in the National League this season -- had gone six straight contests plating three runs or fewer.

The Marlins posted three runs between the second and third inning, forcing Yu Darvish -- who the Padres later announced was dealing with left hamstring tightness -- out after just three frames. They then tacked on another six runs against a bullpen that had allowed a combined five runs over its previous 12 games.

Josh Bell recorded consecutive three-hit games for the second time in his career (also in 2022 as a member of the Nationals). Gordon notched two hits, posting his first multi-steal game of the season and delivering an outfield assist, becoming the first Marlin to do all three in a game since Starling Marte (July 25, 2021, also vs. the Padres).

“I think the atmosphere is [that] we could have done even better on this trip, but obviously going into the off-day tomorrow, happy flight going back home [then] got the Rangers when we get back,” Bell said. “Good vibes right now. This month has been the month that we needed [a 13-13 record after a 7-24 start]. Hopefully we can keep going into June.

“I think the last month, our starters have given us a chance every game. So when our offense and defense come to play, too, [and the] eighth, ninth inning rolls around, our bullpen shuts it down and we're in position to win every time. So hopefully that's the case continuing going forward.”

Two games after shortstop Tim Anderson’s two errors cost the Marlins in a one-run ballgame, the defense came up big.

Following Luis Arraez’s hit-by-pitch to open the first, Gordon came in on a ball and made a diving catch to rob Fernando Tatis Jr. of a hit. With a pair of runners on in the third, a diving Bell snared Jake Cronenworth’s hard-hit grounder down the first-base line before throwing over to left-hander Braxton Garrett at first for the final out of the frame. In the fifth, Gordon perfectly played Tatis’ ball off the left-field wall, catching it barehanded before firing to second as Tatis was tagged out trying to stretch the play into a double.

“At this level, you've got to play defense,” Schumaker said. “That's just a reality. We've had a couple of tough games, defensively, that cost us some games. That's going to happen. That's human. But I think [when] we pitch and we play defense, we usually win. And today was another example of that.”

Garrett, whose Maddux opened the trip in Arizona on Friday, permitted just a third-inning leadoff homer to Ha-Seong Kim across his five frames to bookend the swing west.

“That's awesome,” Garrett said. “Today was a ton of fun. Half-innings were a little long, but just seeing the guys put up runs like that, keep getting hits, it's just so great for the team. I just feel like it just propels us going forward.”