SAN DIEGO - Miami Marlins outfielder Otto Lopez enters the final six games of the regular season 15 hits shy of 200 and eight points behind the National League batting leader, setting up one of the more unlikely late-season chases in recent franchise history.

Lopez, 27, leads the majors with 185 hits but sits third in the NL batting race at .305, trailing Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez (.313) and Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (.307) after going hitless Sunday. A 200-hit season would be just the seventh in Marlins franchise history, and a batting title would make Lopez only the fourth NL champion in club history, joining Arraez (2023), Dee Strange-Gordon and Hanley Ramirez.

“At this point, I just want to finish strong,” Lopez said. “All I’m thinking about is just finishing as strong as possible. If I can get to 200 or not, I’ll be just happy about how this year has been. I’m not expecting anything. Right now, all expectation is to go out every day and just get a win.”

The math is steep. Lopez’s best six-game stretch this season produced 14 hits - one short of the 15 he needs to reach 200. To match Arraez’s current average of .31378, Lopez would need to go 13-for-24 over the final six games while averaging four at-bats per game, and would still fall one hit short of 200. He has 55 multihit games this season, one behind Arraez and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson.

Manager Clayton McCullough said he is open to batting Lopez leadoff more frequently to maximize his at-bat opportunities. “I would love for that to happen for Otto,” McCullough said of the 200-hit chase. “I think there’s a chance we could see Otto hitting all over the place.”

McCullough did not rule out a late surge. “I’m not putting it past him that he couldn’t get really hot here down the stretch and chase 200 down,” he said, “and if he’s able to do that, then there’s a good chance that he’s able to push his average up even higher.”

A finger injury July 18 in Milwaukee derailed what had been a dominant season. Lopez led the majors with a .335 average that day before a ground ball took a bad hop and struck his right ring finger. Though X-rays were negative, he missed two games with inflammation and then posted a .220/.270/.286 slash line over 42 games from July 21 through Sept. 5, when his average bottomed out at .300.

Hitting coach Pedro Guerrero said the mechanical damage outlasted the physical pain. “I think the slump came because of the injury on the hand,” Guerrero said. “Being afraid of getting jammed after your hand hurts - it’s kind of inevitable. Your body’s just going to try to protect. Then, when it wasn’t hurting anymore, now the patterns that he created, trying to protect the hand, it was really hard to get out of that mindset or feel.”

Lopez rebounded to post 5.5 fWAR among NL position players, third behind NL MVP frontrunner Pete Crow-Armstrong (10.4) and Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (6.2). Despite hitting 11 home runs this season compared to 15 last year, he has surpassed his previous extra-base hit total with 52, driven by 32 doubles - tied for eighth in the NL - and nine triples, third in the league. His 30 infield hits rank second in the majors behind Simpson, a product of his 28.5 ft/sec sprint speed that ranks in the 81st percentile. His ground-ball rate stands at 50%.

“It was a little hard in those moments, but right now, I feel great, and just trying to finish the season strong,” Lopez said.

The Marlins conclude the regular season with six games remaining, during which Lopez will need a historically hot stretch to claim both milestones.