MIAMI -- For years, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes tried to find a way to acquire Tommy Edman from the Cardinals.

With St. Louis open to moves last offseason, Los Angeles tried again. But it wasn¡¯t until the Trade Deadline, as Edman rehabbed from offseason right wrist surgery, that the Dodgers and Cards finally found a match in a three-team deal that sent the utilityman to Los Angeles.

Since then, Edman has shown exactly why he was so coveted by the Dodgers, giving the club a different look and another spark in the middle of the lineup. That was on full display yet again on Wednesday night as Edman jump-started a five-run fourth inning with a two-run homer in an 8-4 series-evening win over the Marlins at loanDepot park.

Los Angeles (90-62) can secure a playoff spot with a win over the Marlins in Thursday's rubber game or losses by both the Mets (84-68) and Braves (82-70). The Dodgers, who hold a 3 1/2-game lead in the NL West race, own tiebreakers with both clubs.

¡°Really surprised with the power,¡± manager Dave Roberts said. ¡°I know that he has an apt to put the barrel on the ball. Certainly versatile defensively. But in the batter¡¯s box, he just really takes good at-bats and the homers, the backside homer tonight was huge for us.

¡°He¡¯s hit six or seven homers for us already in a short period of time and they all seem like they were big. He¡¯s gotten a lot of big hits for us.¡±

In a lineup that possesses plenty of power threats, Edman has given the Dodgers exactly the look they have been lacking over the last few seasons. Edman has been a contact-first player throughout his career and his switch-hitting ability has always been appealing to Los Angeles.

But since the trade, Edman has tapped into his power more than he has over his career.

With his two-run jack on Wednesday, Edman has six homers in just 27 games this season. Most of that damage has come from the right side, including the opposite-field shot against left-hander Ryan Weathers.

¡°Honestly, kind of a little surprised,¡± Edman said with a laugh, when asked about his power surge. ¡°The [right] wrist [which required surgery in October 2023] didn¡¯t feel good for a while. I was kind of expecting to be back for Spring Training and it kept lingering for a few months, and finally started to feel good in June, July. Then, I sprained the ankle [on June 25].

¡°I think, actually, spraining the ankle allowed my wrist to have some more time to recover and maybe that helped with being back to full strength once I started to play again.¡±

Edman has been better against left-handers over the course of his career and four of his homers have come against southpaws. Earlier this month, however, Edman hit a homer from each side of the plate in a single game for the first time in his career, and that came one day after he belted two homers in a game batting righty off Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga.

¡°First of all, he¡¯s a 10 out of 10 person. Really good husband and father, and he¡¯s a really good baseball player,¡± said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who was on the Cardinals¡¯ staff when Edman played there. ¡°They got a good one in that trade. ¡­ We knew he¡¯s a little bit better from the right side. He¡¯s a good hitter from the left side too, but from the right side, he¡¯s got some power.

¡°Just a really good pickup, winning player, guy you want on your team. It was a really good pickup for them.¡±

Defensively, Edman has also given the Dodgers the versatility they¡¯ve been looking for. Edman has handled shortstop, especially against right-handed pitching, and has played solid center field against left-handed pitchers. His ability to move all over the diamond and his switch-hitting ability has opened possibilities for Los Angeles to roll out its best lineups on a nightly basis.

As the Dodgers continue to work through some pitching struggles, they¡¯re going to need more contributions from the rest of their lineup. Edman has given them a significant boost in the middle or near the bottom of the order, something that has lacked in previous seasons.

¡°He's a matchup nightmare,¡± Roberts said. ¡°Whether I want to have him in the middle of some right-handers or protecting some left-handers, things like that, like I said, when you get the starter and also look at the bullpen, he creates some nightmares."