SAN DIEGO -- It’s easy to get hung up on failure as a Major Leaguer. Everything seems like the be-all and end-all.

Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo is no different. His recent struggles have paralleled the club’s as it fights to stay in the playoff chase. So hours before his start Tuesday, Luzardo received a helpful dose of perspective from a friend back home who recently gave up baseball out of college.

“Not to get deep,” Luzardo said, “[but] he was just saying, ‘You're in the big leagues -- enjoy it. If today was the last day you were going to throw a baseball, how do you want to go out?’

“Obviously, you don't want to go out there anxious and stressed. You want to go out there [and] give it all you’ve got, so I feel like that's the mentality I want to take moving forward.”

Luzardo took a step in the right direction by tossing six innings in a 3-0 win over the Padres at Petco Park. Jorge Soler homered during a three-run third inning against National League Cy Young Award candidate Blake Snell, who gave up three runs in a start for just the second time since May 25.

Miami (65-62) snapped a three-game skid and sits one game back of the third and final NL Wild Card spot. The Marlins will send ace Sandy Alcantara to the mound on Wednesday with a chance to finish their West Coast trip with a 3-3 record.

If the Marlins want to make up ground in the race, it will be the starting pitching leading the way. The rotation has dominated -- outside of lefty Ryan Weathers’ emergency start on Monday for Johnny Cueto, who went on the injured list with a viral infection. Alcantara, rookie Eury Pérez and southpaw Braxton Garrett each recorded a quality start over the weekend against the Dodgers. Luzardo became the latest to shut down a superstar-laden lineup.

The 25-year-old Luzardo permitted just two hits, struck out seven and walked one. San Diego advanced a runner into scoring position once against him. Luzardo’s outing ended with an emphatic double play in the sixth, when Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out and Ha-Seong Kim was thrown out by catcher Nick Fortes.

Luzardo, who was blossoming into one of the better pitchers in the Majors during the first half (3.29 ERA), had struggled since the All-Star break (7.39 ERA). He entered with a 10.59 ERA in his four most recent starts, unable to complete six innings in any. His team had lost three of the four games as a result.

“We needed this out of him,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “He needed it, as well. Gosh, his fastball was electric tonight with his slider. [He] didn't walk guys, on the attack against a good lineup who hits lefties. And he was matching Snell. Snell has been one of the best in the league. Especially the second half has been unbelievable. So matching him was what we needed tonight.”

Of late, falling behind in counts and lack of feel for secondary pitches have been the issues for Luzardo. That wasn’t the case on Tuesday, as he was on the attack from the get-go with 13 of 20 first-pitch strikes. Though both hits came on the slider, he recorded three of his seven strikeouts on the offering. His velocity was slightly up compared to his season average.

“He has the ability to pitch like that,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “He hasn't been pitching that well here recently. But his fastball and his changeup run the same. Tunneling off of that, he threw just enough breaking balls going the other way to keep you honest.”

Luzardo and the bullpen (Andrew Nardi, Tanner Scott and David Robertson) received all the run support they would need in the third on Soler’s 33rd homer of the season. Luis Arraez, Josh Bell and Jake Burger tallied consecutive singles for another run. Avisaíl García capped the scoring with an RBI groundout, but he strained his left hamstring on the play.

“I see the results of all the teams once you go back to the hotel, you check that out, but I don't watch any other games,” Soler said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “We've got to focus on winning games, and I think that's the sole focus that you need to have.”