Sixto Sanchez was brilliant for five innings while Garrett Cooper hit his first homer against Yu Darvish to help the Marlins pull out a 7-6 victory against Chicago and sweep their two-game Wild Card series, earning their first playoff series victory since 1997 and moving onto face Atlanta in the National League Division Series, beginning Monday in Houston.
1. Sanchez threw a perfect first inning.
Anibal Sanchez helped the Marlins beat the Cubs in an exciting 7-6 thriller Thursday night thanks to a perfect first inning he pitched and three runs scored early in the second inning to take control of the game and secure victory for their side.
Sanchez (2-0) gave up two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight batters over five innings. The 25-year-old right-hander used fastballs between 96 mph and 98 mph, and was more aggressive than usual in placing batters on the ground during his opening inning start.
Nick Wisdom hit a two-run homer to give the Cubs an early advantage, but that lead was quickly erased when Chisholm hit a run-scoring single and Stallings added his own run-scoring single, as Aaron Hill hit a ground rule double to give Miami a 2-1 edge.
The Cubs cut the Marlins' lead down to three runs with an unearned run in the fifth inning, then got it back with another score in the sixth. But Dylan Floro came through again for Miami by striking out Jose Valverde for an important save, giving Matt Barnes two innings off and sealing their victory with their second victory of this series.
2. The Marlins scored three runs in the second.
On Saturday night, the Marlins outlasted the Cubs with an exciting 7-6 victory. Jesus Sanchez pitched an excellent first inning while their pitching staff held Chicago to only two runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Avisail Garcia struck again, this time for Miami with a three-run shot to give them their fourth homer of the game and take control of the contest for good in the third inning. The homer hit at second level seating in left field was Miami's fourth of the day and ultimately gave them the edge they needed to claim their win over Toronto.
Chicago battled back and tied the score at two in the fourth on Sean Murphy's double. Eddie Rosario then added another double before Vaughn Grissom singled Riley home for his runaway win.
Meanwhile, in the fifth inning, Jose Fernandez and Jean Segura walked, loading up the bases. However, Luis Arraez grounded into a double play to end this threat and end that frame of play.
Jon Berti struck out to hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning, before Jesus Aguilar scored on a wild pitch from Pittsburgh All-Star closer David Bednar for a win that lifted Miami to 4-2 on their season - their first win since May 5 at Tampa Bay and ending Pittsburgh's four-game win streak.
3. The Marlins scored three runs in the fourth.
Miami's offense ignited in the fourth inning. Following Sanchez's perfect first, Miami loaded up against left-handed reliever Braden Looper (2-2). A groundout by Juan Encarnacion and single by Jeff Baker scored two runs to give them an unexpected 4-2 edge.
Braves bats struck back quickly with three runs thanks to single by Sean Murphy and an RBI double from Vaughn Grissom to tie up the game at 4. In the fifth inning, Atlanta scored another run off an solo homer by Ozzie Albies.
In the sixth inning, Atlanta scored again when an error by Miguel Cabrera allowed Sean Murphy to score from second base and Ozzie Albies' groundout scored Vaughn Grissom from third. Overall, only four Marlin hits made their way onto Braves territory throughout six innings of play.
Marlins offense had been held back throughout most of the game, but that all changed in the seventh inning when Avisail Garcia hit a single and Joey Wendle was granted permission to walk. Alex Arraez then struck with two out and two runs scored from an infield single by Avisail Garcia; pinch-hitter Alex Arraez then struck with two runs scored from an RBI single by Alex Arraez to give Marlins an unexpected 2-1 edge.
The Marlins went on to win the World Series after defeating the New York Yankees in a best-of-seven final, becoming the first National League club without home field advantage to capture such a title since 1997 when they were part of the National League.
4. The Marlins scored three runs in the fifth.
Miami Marlins Pull Off Narrow 7-6 Victory
Miami won its fourth game in a row and pulled within one-half game of first place Chicago Cubs, winning all eight one-run contests this season to improve to 8-0 overall and end their four game winning streak.
The Marlins scored three runs to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth, but then their offense crumbled quickly. Nelson Velazquez nearly forced out at second base with two outs on the board but instead hit into a forceout at that position instead.
Things weren't going so well in a one-run game when Miami's poor defensive effort led to a 4-run Braves inning that put even further strain on their opponent.
In one inning, the Braves received three strikes - drawing a walk, bunt single and wild pitch; as well as scoring one run off of hits and stolen bases.
Once the fifth inning was complete, Atlanta held onto their 4-2 lead until Miami scored two more runs in the sixth inning. Over this period of time, Miami went 0-12 with runners in scoring position and left bases loaded twice within its first five innings of play. Conclusion: Overall, Atlanta outshone Miami during this contest by nearly 10 runs overall.
5. The Marlins scored three runs in the sixth.
After an uneventful fourth, Miami took control by scoring three runs in the sixth. Avisail Garcia's two-run single scored Josh Hamilton and Jon Berti to secure Miami a 7-6 victory.
The Miami Marlins successfully completed a clean sweep for the 12th time in franchise history and won two consecutive doubleheader games since sweeping the Yankees in 2003 World Series.
Jorge Soler and Miguel Rojas both hit homers to lead Miami past Seattle Mariners 8-6 Friday at Marlins Park. Soler's shot, measured 468 feet in distance, made him third longest home run hit this season among all major leaguers.
Jose Fernandez had two hits, including a double. Yuli Gurriel and Jacob Stallings each drove in one run with singles of their own.
"Miggy" Cabrera achieved a career-high 12 strikeouts across five innings with his pitch count totaling 109 and 64 landing for strikes; many of his pitches included curveballs that kept the Cubs from getting too far ahead.
6. The Marlins scored three runs in the seventh.
The Marlins scored three runs in the seventh inning to take a lead and break open an otherwise close game. Charles Johnson hit a two-run single followed by Moises Alou's third home run of the Series off Hershiser.
Eric Plunk allowed Craig Counsell to walk with bases loaded, before Jeff Conine hit a run-scoring single off Hershiser and another wild pitch enabled Bobby Bonilla to score from third. Hershiser was relieved by Jeff Juden; an additional wild pitch allowed Bobby Bonilla to cross from third.
Matt Williams hit a leadoff single to cut the Cubs' deficit to six runs in the eighth, but Hershiser quickly moved ahead of Sandy Alomar with a ground out and struck out David Justice to end it. Meanwhile, Bonilla received a walk and then Daulton singled with men at first and second for another run for Miami in the ninth inning.
Dontrelle Willis of the Mudcats made his debut and helped lead an 11 game win streak for an injury-plagued Marlins squad in May. Closer Ugueth Urbina arrived from Texas Rangers while reliever Jose Mesa from Double-A Jacksonville was brought up from Double-A. They finished up 80-82 with only six games back of New York Mets for second place in NL East.
7. The Marlins scored three runs in the eighth.
On Monday night, Miami Marlins manager Dan McKeon finally earned his first home victory of the season against Chicago Cubs ace Mark Prior with a 7-6 win in game one of their season-opening series against him and the Chicago Cubs ace Mark Prior. Marlins scored three runs in the eighth inning to break open an otherwise close contest and claim their first victory of the year at their new stadium.
Yuli Gurriel led off with a single before scoring on Luis Arraez's two-out triple to left field, before Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-out double that drove in both Luis Arraez and Gurriel with just one out remaining in the game.
Miguel Rojas then singled in Luis Garcia, who had begun with a double to right field and advanced on Sanchez's single before Avisail Garcia grounded out to first.
Marlins players began making an impactful statement with a string of big hits in a 10-6 win against the Rangers on Thursday, helped along by some solid pitching from Anibal Sanchez and an RBI groundout by Jean Segura in the eighth inning.
The Marlins began the season strong and finished it with an 83-79 record - their second-best since winning the World Series and their fifth losing campaign since. Due to a few difficult campaigns, management made various moves to reduce payroll.
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