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Polanco's impressive diving play earns praise

MIAMI -- The Marlins may have 100 losses, but they haven't lost their desire to give all-out effort.

Placido Polanco sent another reminder in Friday night's 3-2 win over the Tigers.

In the eighth inning, the veteran third baseman dove over the short railing along the third-base side. He leapt onto the concrete in order to make a sensational catch on Don Kelly's pop foul.

"You don't give good teams a lot of breaks," Polanco said.

On Oct. 10, Polanco will turn 38. What he demonstrated with his catch is he isn't letting up in the final weekend.

"The effort there sort of sums up where we're at," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "Guys are still playing. He could have let that ball go into the stands. That's kind of where we are at as a team right now. Obviously, we've lost 100 games, but the guys are still playing. They have for a while."

A free agent after the season, Polanco very well could be playing his final few games with the Marlins.

He's held up for 117 games and is batting .260, while playing a solid third base.

Polanco likes the spirit he is seeing from his teammates.

"We never give up," he said. "We've got a lot of character here. Obviously, we have a lot of talent. People realize we are a good ballclub, and we can win a lot of games."

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter Read More: Miami Marlins, Placido Polanco