Miami Marlins beat Yankees in extra innings to clinch first playoff berth since 2003
The drought is over.
The Miami Marlins are heading to the postseason.
A strong start from Sandy Alcantara and a hectic sequence on the basepaths in extra innings led the Marlins to a 4-3, 10-inning win over the New York Yankees on Friday.
Pair that with the Tampa Bay Rays’ 6-4 win against the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Marlins are officially the runners-up in the National League East, which guarantees a postseason berth with this year’s expanded playoff format. It marks the third time in franchise history the Marlins have reached the postseason, and the first time since 2003.
The clinch came against the same team the Marlins beat to win the 2003 crown and the same team Marlins manager Don Mattingly and CEO Derek Jeter played with for their entire playing careers.
It also came on the six-year anniversary of Jeter’s final home game as a player and the four-year anniversary of pitcher Jose Fernandez’s death.
And it came with a wild finish.
Jesus Aguilar’s sacrifice fly in the 10th scored Monte Harrison for the go-ahead run but not before Harrison got out of a rundown. He started the inning on second, pinch-running for Chad Wallach. Jon Berti moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt. Harrison started for home as Starling Marte hit a hard groundball to shortstop Gleyber Torres who threw to Kyle Higashioka to put Harrison in a pickle. Harrison stepped slowly toward home before darting back to third. Higashioka’s throw bounced off Harrison’s back. No Yankees infielder could make a play. Harrison safe to live another at-bat and ultimately score on Aguilar’s sacrifice fly.
Brandon Kintzler threw a scoreless 10th and got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam with the Marlins’ fifth double play of the game to clear the dugout and begin the celebration.
Alcantara, meanwhile, held the Yankees (32-26) to three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out a season-high nine batters. The first two New York runs came in the third, with Aaron Hicks’ double to right field driving in DJ LaMahieu and Aaron Judge. The third came in the eighth when Aaron Judge’s RBI single to right field off Yimi Garcia scored Mike Tauchman, who was pinch-running after Gary Sanchez recorded a base hit off Alcantara to start the inning.
Other than that, Alcantara held the Yankees at bay. His sinker induced three double plays. He struck out Giancarlo Stanton three times to end the first, third and sixth. He threw 98 pitches, 64 of which went for strikes.
His final pitch, a 97.2 mph sinker to get Clint Frazier to strike out swinging, capped a thrilling at-bat.
With Tauchman serving as the game-tying run on first base, Alcantara fell behind 2-1 before Frazier hit a towering ball foul to even up the count. A 91.9 mph sinker went into the dirt as Tauchman took off for second. The throw was late, but catcher Chad Wallach’s elbow clipped home plate umpire John Trumpane’s facemask, resulting in a dead ball. Frazier struck out the next pitch, and snapped his bat over his right leg in frustration.
In his five starts this month, Alcantara has a 2.30 ERA, giving up 12 runs (eight earned) over 31 1/3 innings with 30 strikeouts against 11 walks.
Garrett Cooper opened scoring in the first when he turned on a J.A. Happ 89.5 mph four-seam fastball and sent it beyond the right-field porch for a three-run home run. It came with two outs following back-to-back walks to Aguilar and Brian Anderson.
The Marlins went scoreless the next eight innings before Aguilar drove in Harrison in the 10th to give Miami a lead for the final time.
