Marlins oust Cubs in sweep
Miami’s Sanchez sharp for five, Cooper homers
Garrett Cooper homered against Yu Darvish in a two-run seventh, hardthrowing rookie Sixto Sanchez dominated for five innings and the Miami 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.
Cooper gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead with two out 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.
Winner Brad Boxberger threw 11⁄ innings. Former
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Cub Brandon Kintzler gave up a leadoff double to Jason Heyward in the ninth, then struck out the next three batters.
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.
Padres 4, Cardinals 0: Craig Stammen and eight fellow relievers combined on a fourhitter in a brilliant, record-setting effort, giving San Diego a win in Game 3 of their NL Wild Card Series. San Diego won a postseason series for the first time since 1998, when they beat Houston in the Division Series and Atlanta for the NL pennant, then was swept in the World Series by the New York Yankees. The nine pitchers marked the most used in a nine-inning shutout in any big league game since at least 1901.
Notes: The name of former baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who never had a Black player in the majors during his long reign, is being pulled off all future MVP plaques after more than 75 years. The Baseball Writers’ Association said 89 percent of its membership voted this week for removal. ... Tigers general manager Al Avila said Friday that Detroit is not ruling out the possibility of hiring AJ Hinch or Alex Cora for its manager vacancy. Hinch and Cora were suspended through the 2020 postseason for their roles in the Houston sign-stealing scandal.