Sixto helps Marlins advance to NLDS

Sixto Sanchez was 5 years old the last time the Marlins won a playoff series. On Friday afternoon, he helped them advance to the National League Division Series.

MLB Pipeline's No. 19 overall prospect struck out six over five innings in his big league postseason debut as the Marlins completed a two-game sweep of their Wild Card series with a 2-0 blanking of the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Sixto throwing straight 🔥🔥🔥 in his postseason debut! pic.twitter.com/uzxSbhcpTb

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) October 2, 2020

Sanchez made only seven regular-season starts after the Marlins called him up from their alternate training site on Aug. 20. But he limited the Central Division champions to four hits and a pair of walks in his first postseason outing since tossing seven scoreless innings for the Phillies in the 2016 Gulf Coast League semifinals.

"You've gotta start with Sixto, right? He sets the tone for us," Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters. "He throws a game that, not that you say you expect because he's a rookie, you don't know what's gonna happen and everybody talks about he'd struggled recently, but we feel good about him. He gives us a solid five, gets us back into the back end [of the bullpen], where we can use our guys the way we want to use them."

The right-hander struck out Ian Happ and Anthony Rizzo in a 1-2-3 first inning, then fanned Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez around plunking Jason Heyward in the second. Happ singled with two outs in the third, but Sanchez retired Rizzo on a fly ball to left field to keep the game scoreless.

Things got interesting in the fourth for the native of the Dominican Republic. After walking Willson Contreras and Schwarber on full counts, he set down Kris Bryant on a soft liner to second base. Heyward dropped a broken-bat single into right field, but Matt Joyce nailed Contreras on a one-hop throw to the plate.

"Sixto, man, Sixto was amazing," Joyce said. "To be able to throw the ball like that, like he did, really kept us in the game, obviously kept the guys really motivated."

The Cubs threatened again in the fifth, loading the bases as Victor Caratini and Happ singled with one out and Contreras was hit on the left arm one out later. After a visit from pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr., Sanchez escaped the jam as Schwarber flied to left on a 2-2 changeup.

"I went out there with a lot of hunger, looking to win the game. I was very focused," Sanchez told reporters through a translator. "I was doing a good job until that fourth inning when I got a little scrambled with the pitches. But I got back into my rhythm and was able to get those outs."

The 22-year-old threw 56 of 98 pitches for strikes, reaching triple digits with his four-seam fastball seven times.

"Six, he was aggressive today," Mattingly said. "And I think that's really why he struggled the last couple outings. He got away from using his fastball. That sets up everything else. It really sets up the change, the change doesn't set up the fastball. That fastball, you've got to get going. He's hitting locations, too, and I think that's the big thing."

Sanchez dedicated the game to his grandmother, who died earlier this year, scrawling her name on the mound before throwing his first pitch.

"Every time I go out there, I look for the victory. And every victory is for my family. I love for them to see me victorious. Especially today, it was for my grandmother. I love her very much," he said.

Sanchez exited a scoreless game, but the Marlins broke through in the seventh against Yu Darvish . After allowing only two hits through six innings, the Cy Young Award candidate recorded two quick outs before Garrett Cooper sent a 2-2 slider into the empty bleachers in left field for his first career postseason homer. Joyce doubled and, after Miguel Rojas was intentionally walked, Magneuris Sierra pulled a ground ball into right field for an RBI single that chased Darvish and capped the scoring.

Brad Boxberger followed Sanchez and retired all four batters he faced for the win. Richard Bleier recorded the final two outs in the seventh, Yimi García hit Heyward in an otherwise clean eighth and Brandon Kintzler struck out Baez, David Bote and pinch-hitter Jason Kipnis after Heyward led off the ninth with a double.

By sweeping their first playoff series since winning the 2003 World Series, the Marlins advanced to an NLDS matchup with the Braves.

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Padres 4, Cardinals 0

Third-ranked Padres prospect Luis Patiño, one of nine pitchers deployed by San Diego in the clincher, made his postseason debut in the sixth inning. The right-hander gave up a one-out double to Yadier Molina and walked Matt Carpenter but stranded both runners to escape his only frame unscathed. At 20 years and 342 days old, he became the youngest player in team history to appear in the postseason and the youngest playoff pitcher on any team since the Dodgers' Julio Urias in 2016. No. 14 overall prospect Dylan Carlson went 1-for-4 out of the cleanup spot in the final game of the Cardinals’ season, accounting for a quarter of their hits on the night. The outfielder singled off starter Craig Stammen leading off the second but struck out against Pierce Johnson to leave the bases loaded an inning later. Box score