Zinn delivers for Cubs in AZL Finals opener
Delvin Zinn helped his teammates come back from a last-place first-half finish in the Arizona League East to take the division in the second half, so he wasn't surprised when they pulled off a more abbreviated comeback in the opener of the best-of-3 Championship Series."We needed it. We were really
"We needed it. We were really excited because we came from a long way," the 20-year-old shortstop said. "We barely made it into the playoffs, so we were excited to get that win."
Zinn went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, stole a base and scored twice on Tuesday as the Cubs pulled away for a 10-4 victory over the Giants in Scottsdale.
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It marked the first professional three-hit game for the 2016 23rd-round Draft pick, one night after his first professional home run helped the Cubs top the Dodgers in a one-game semifinal.
"I'm doing my best to slow everything down and stay calm," Zinn said, "but it's all of us doing it."
Zinn was hit by a pitch from Giants starter
The inning after Marte exited, Zinn tied the game at 2-2 with a one-out RBI single to right field off
"Marte threw a [heck] of a game. He had a lot of sink and kept us all off-balance," the Mississippi native said. "We all stayed up though. The reliever came in and struggled a little bit, and we took advantage of it."
Zinn added an RBI single in a five-run eighth and another in a three-run ninth, driving the ball back up the middle both times. In the final inning,
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Game 2 is Wednesday in Mesa.
Josh Jackson is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @JoshJacksonMiLB.