9 Padres pitchers blank Cardinals in Game 3
SAN DIEGO » Craig Stammen and eight fellow relievers combined on a four-hitter in a brilliant, record-setting effort that sent the San Diego Padres over the St. Louis Cardinals 4- 0 Friday night in the deciding Game 3 of theirNational Leaguewildcard 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.
The nine pitchersmarked the most used in a nine-inning shutout in any big league game since 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.
Trevor Rosenthal, who started his career with the Cardinals, struck out the side in the ninth and the Padres began to celebrate in empty Petco Park.
It’s the first postseason series win for the Padres since they beat the Atlanta Braves in the 1998NLCS and only the second
time they’ve won a playoff game at Petco Park, which opened in 2004. The Padres lost to St. Louis in the division series in 2005 and 2006, the last time the Padres were in the postseason. The Cardinals also eliminated the Padres in 1996.
MARLINS 2, CUBS 0 » Garrett Cooper homered against Yu Darvish in a two- run seventh, hardthrowing rookie Sixto Sánchez dominated for five innings and Miami won its first playoff series in 17 years, beating Chicago to complete a two-game wild card series sweep.
Miami will face Atlanta in the NL Division Series in Houston starting Tuesday.
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 NL Championship and World Series.
DODGERS 3, BREWERS 0 » Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 while delivering eight innings of three-hit ball, Mookie Betts hit a two-out, two-run double in the fifth, and Los Angeles beat Milwaukee to sweep the NLwild-card series on Thursday night.
The eight- time West champion Dodgers advanced to the NL Division Series in Arlington, Texas, and will play San Diego.