Five questions as the Miami Marlins begin the second half of season and aim for playoffs

The All-Star Break is coming to an end, the second half of the season is upon us, and the Miami Marlins’ push for the playoffs in Year 1 under new manager Skip Schumaker continues.

It resumes Friday when the Marlins begin a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

While Miami can certainly bask in its accomplishments to this point — the Marlins’ 53-39 record is the second-best in the National League — the team knows it still has 70 more games to play that will determine the team’s ultimate fate.

Here are five questions the Marlins will have to answer over the final two-and-a-half months of the season.

How will the Marlins’ starting pitching hold up?

Pitching, specifically starting pitching, has always been billed as the Marlins’ strength for this season.

The rotation has produced as of late after a bumpy start, but the group is also going to be tested down the stretch as pitchers start reaching — and for several young starters, exceeding — their single-season career highs in innings.

Jesus Luzardo has already topped his career highs innings (109 1/3, previous was 100 1/3). So has Braxton Garrett (92 1/3 innings, previous high was 88). Sandy Alcantara is on pace for his third consecutive 200-inning season.

Depth is already being tested, too. Edward Cabrera and Trevor Rogers are on the injured list, and 20-year-old rookie Eury Perez is back in the minors after a stellar first 11 starts in order to monitor his innings. Johnny Cueto pitched just one inning in the big leagues in the first half before being sidelined by a right biceps injury.

Will Luis Arraez complete his chase for .400?

Second baseman Luis Arraez entered the All-Star Break with an MLB-leading .383 batting average, 52 points ahead of his closest competitor for a batting title in the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. (.331).

It’s the highest batting average by a player entering the All-Star Break since Nomar Garciaparra’s .389 mark in 2000.

While Arraez is all but assured to become the first player ever to win a batting title in each league in consecutive seasons barring an injury, he also has a chance to become the first player since Ted Williams in 1941 to finish a season with a .400 batting average.

Now, Arraez is facing an uphill climb on that front, considering the Marlins only have 70 games left and he is currently below the .400 mark. Assuming Arraez finishes with 600 at-bats (he’s at 329 now), which would mean taking about four at-bats per game the rest of the way, he would need to hit at least .421 from Friday until the end of the season to get to the .400 mark.

Not impossible, but not easy either.

Yet again, Arraez has made hitting look so easy this season it probably shouldn’t be ruled out.

Will three key players make a needed second-half surge?

While the Marlins have seen several players have solid starts to their seasons to get the team in their current position, three who are likely key to their second-half push were lackluster overall in the first half.

The trio: Alcantara, catcher Jacob Stallings and third baseman Jean Segura.

The three, however, did go into the All-Star Break on a high note, and the team is hoping their recent success carries over when play resumes. The quick breakdown of the trio:

▪ Alcantara: After posting a 5.08 ERA through his first 15 starts, the reigning Cy Young Award winner held his final three opponents — the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies — to six earned runs over 18 2/3 innings (a 2.89 ERA) with 16 strikeouts against four walks. It’s his best three-start stretch of the season.

▪ Stallings: The catcher has seen his role reduced, catching just twice each turn of the rotation over the past two months with Nick Fortes getting the bulk of the work behind the plate in his place. In that time since his role got reduced, however, Stallings has quietly been producing. In 23 games (20 starts) since May 17, Stallings is hitting .290 (18 for 62) with seven RBI and nine runs scored.

▪ Segura: In 12 games since returning from the injured list with a left hamstring strain, Segura is hitting .333 (15 for 45) and has five multi-hit games.

What moves will the Marlins make at the trade deadline?

The trade deadline this season is Aug. 1, and for the first time in a long time, the Marlins are lined up to be buyers at the deadline of a non-shortened season.

The Marlins’ primary needs are adding another impact bat and potentially shoring up the bullpen ideally with another high-leverage right-handed pitcher.

Who might they target? The field is a little murky right now as teams outside the playoff field but theoretically still in contention decide whether to sell.

Will the Marlins hold up against their gauntlet of an August?

While Schumaker has made it clear he treats every game against every opponent as equal, the reality is not every team is equal.

Miami’s schedule for the second-to-last month of the season is a prime example. Of the 27 games the Marlins play from July 31 through Aug. 30, 21 are against teams that enter the second half at least seven games above .500, including four series against teams who are currently leading their respective divisions (the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays).