When the Twins lost on Sunday night to the Boston Red Sox, they slipped out of playoff position for the first time in months. To make it now, the Twins will need help from others. But first, they’ll need to help themselves.

That didn’t happen on Tuesday night.

The reeling Twins, with one of their best pitchers on the mound, up against the team with the worst record in the National League, instead lost 4-1 to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night at Target Field, their fifth loss in their last six games.

Things got even more difficult for the Twins on Tuesday, who, by virtue of their loss and Detroit and Kansas City wins, are now two games out with five games left to play in the regular season. The Twins were unable to keep track with their AL Central rivals after they fell into a second-inning hole from which they never recovered.

Marlins designated hitter Jonah Bride hammered a high fastball off Bailey Ober to the second deck in left field, breaking open a scoreless game in the second. After getting the second out of the frame, things unraveled for Ober.

One hit batsman, two singles and a double later, and the Marlins had a four-run lead, creating an uphill battle for an offense that has not scored more than four runs in a game since Sept. 15.

That continued on Tuesday, a day where the Twins had traffic all night but couldn’t come up with the big hit they needed.

Royce Lewis drove in the Twins’ lone run in the third inning, smacking a single at 111.6 miles per hour off the bat to left, scoring Byron Buxton. But the Twins’ threat ended shortly after that when Kyle Farmer grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Twins finished the day 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, leaving 10 on base.