This time it’s all Marlins, with no Bartman
They continue comeback from a 105- loss season by sweeping Cubs to win first playoff series in 17 years.
MIAMI 2, CHICAGO CUBS 0
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 showed they’re no bottom feeders.
Garrett Cooper homered off Yu Darvish in a two- run seventh, hard- throwing rookie Sixto Sanchez dominated for f ive innings, and the Marlins won their first playoff series in 17 years, beating the Cubs 2- 0 Friday to cap a two- game, wild- card series sweep.
Miami will face Atlanta in the National League Division Series in Houston starting Tuesday.
Led by manager Don Mattingly and Chief Executive 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 def lected Luis Castillo’s foul ball as Cubs left f ielder 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 last year 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 despite a virus outbreak that forced 18 players from the f ield 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 TV 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 three for 27 (. 111) with runners on base in the series. Javier Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo combined to go 0 for 12 Friday and f inished the series one 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 f irst 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. Darvish, who took the loss, gave up two runs and f ive hits in 62⁄ in
3 nings. The four- time All- Star struck out six and walked two in his f irst 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 mix, 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.