Chicago – The Miami Marlins didn’t need a hand from a fan at Wrigley Field to knock the Chicago Cubs out of the playoffs this time. They did just fine on their own, and they showed they’re hardly bottom feeders.
Garrett Cooper homered against Yu Darvish in a two-run seventh, hard-throwing rookie Sixto Sanchez dominated for five innings and the Marlins won their first playoff series in 17 years, beating the Cubs 2-0 Friday to complete a two-game wild card series sweep.
Miami will face Atlanta in the NL Division Series in Houston starting Tuesday.
Darvish had a solid start but one of the few mistakes he made proved costly.
« I knew this was a do-or-die game and I wanted (Jon) Lester to pitch (in Game 3) so I’m disappointed with the result, » Darvish said.
« I know what I have to work on so I guess that’s the good thing that came out of this season. »
Darvish, who took the loss, gave up two runs and five hits in 6⅔ innings. The four-time All-Star struck out six and walked two in his first playoff appearance since Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, when he got knocked out early pitching for the Dodgers in a loss to the Houston Astros.
While Darvish delivered the sort of performance that put him in the NL Cy Young conversation, the Cubs — who ranked among the worst in the majors with a .220 average — couldn’t get their offense going. They got just five hits after managing four in a 5-1 loss on Wednesday.
« I feel like we were competing against the other team and our struggle, » Javier Baez said. « We couldn’t get hot. We couldn’t compete and it didn’t go our way. We didn’t play half of the season and for me the second half is so important. You can make your first half disappear.”
Led by manager Don Mattingly and CEO Derek Jeter, the Marlins remained unbeaten in all seven postseason series they have played following triumphs in the 1997 and 2003 World Series. And this time, in empty Wrigley Field, they didn’t need an assist from the crowd. In Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, fan Steve Bartman deflected Luis Castillo’s foul ball as Cubs left fielder Moises Alou tried to make a leaping catch, which led to an eight-run, eighth-inning rally.
« The one thing that we talked about us all year was why not us?” Mattingly said. « With this kind of pitching, you can do anything. … You feel like you’ve got a good shot at kind of stopping almost anybody if you make pitches.”
Miami lost 105 games in 2019 and became the first team to reach the playoffs after a 100-loss season. The Marlins finished second in the NL East at 31-29 after being beset by a virus outbreak early this season that forced 18 players from the field following the opening series and prevented them from playing for more than a week.
The Marlins had T-shirts with « Bottom Feeders” in their dugout Friday, a reference to a remark by Ricky Bottalico, a former Phillies pitcher and current NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst, after the Marlins’ opening-day win in Philadelphia.
« I want to thank Ricky Bottalico for that motivation,” closer Brandon Kintzler said.
Chicago, the NL Central champion, went 3-for-27 (.111) with runners on base in the series. Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo combined to go 0-for-12 Friday and finished the series 1-for-24. The trio is 19-for-142 (.134) with 52 strikeouts and six walks in the postseason since the 2016 World Series title as Chicago has lost nine of 13.
Chicago missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2014, then scored one run in its return. The Cubs haven’t advanced since the 2017 team lost in the NLCS.
« Just numb,” Rizzo said,
Cooper gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead with two outs in the seventh with a drive into the seats beyond the left-field wall. Matt Joyce doubled off the glove of diving center fielder Ian Happ, and Miguel Rojas chased Darvish with an RBI single.
« That’s probably the best feeling I’ve had in my baseball career, the biggest home run that I’ve had in my baseball career,” Cooper said. « It’s just something that you can’t explain. »
Sanchez overpowered the Cubs, striking out six and giving up four hits. The 22-year-old right-hander walked two and hit two batters.
Winner Brad Boxberger threw 1⅓ innings. Richard Bleier got two outs in the seventh and Yimi Garcia worked the eighth.
Kintzler, a former Cub, gave up a leadoff double to Jason Heyward in the ninth. But he struck out the next three batters, pumping his right arm after he got pinch hitter Jason Kipnis swinging on a 2-2 pitch to end the game.
Padres 4, Cardinals 0
In San Diego, Craig Stammen and eight fellow relievers combined on a four-hitter in a brilliant, record-setting effort that sent the Padres over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 Friday night in the deciding Game 3 of their NL wild-card series.
The Padres won a postseason series for the first time in 22 years and advanced to face the NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series at Arlington, Texas, starting Tuesday.
Stammen, making his first start in 10 years, said the Padres weren’t wrapped up in past playoff failures, including being eliminated from the playoffs by the Cardinals three times since 1996.
« We’re trying to write our own piece of history right now, » said Stammen, who mentioned the Padres’ return to a brown and gold color scheme. « It’s icing on the cake to maybe turn the page on some of the San Diego struggles in the playoffs against the Cardinals, turn the page on maybe some struggles within the organization, the blue Padres, and now we’re the brown Padres. Excited to build some memories with the new colors.”
The nine pitchers marked the most used in a nine-inning shutout in any big league game since at least 1901.
With starters Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet unavailable due to injuries suffered in their final regular-season starts, rookie manager Jayce Tingler was forced to tap the padres’ already-stressed bullpen and it came through magnificently. San Diego became the first team in baseball history to use eight or more pitchers in three straight postseason games.
« What those guys did this series and tonight, wow, » Tingler said. « They’ve been overworked, they’ve been overtaxed. Man to man, everybody came up and said, ‘I’m good, give me the ball. I’m good, give me the ball.’ Tonight, for me, was as team-oriented as so many guys contributed again. That’s who we are. That’s why we’re going to continue to keep playing. »
Source : Baseball – The Japan Times
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