Marlins Eliminate Redbirds in Six Games

Frankie Lindor batter .333 with a pair of homers and five ribbies as Miami downed St. Louis in a six game quarterfinal playoff series:

9/20 SLN  4  4  0  MMN  2  8  1      J.Degrom (1-0)        G.Cole (0-1)

 

Game 1, Degrom vs Cole was a great pitching matchup that didn’t disappoint. Cole was masterful scattering 8 hits and striking out 12 on 2 walks as he cruised to a 4 – 2 victory. The Marlins jumped out to an early 2 – 0 lead thanks to a Justin Upton tater. The Cards came right back the next inning to take the lead and never look back. Cards lead the series 1 – 0.

 

9/21 SLN  2  7  0  MMN  4  7  0      D.Price (1-0)         A.Nola (0-1)

 

Game 2, Nola vs Price was another good pitching matchup. Price outdueled Nola, throwing 7 good innings to pick up a 4 – 2 win with Sean Doolittle picking up a save. Juston Upton smashed his 2^nd dinger of the series. Series tied up 1 – 1.

 

9/23 MMN  4  8  0  SLN  2  7  1 10   S.Doolittle (1-0)     J.Pazos (0-1)

 

Game 3 was a well-pitched match that resulted in yet another 4 – 2 outcome. This time Miami’s Garrett Richard threw 5 shutout innings allowing 3 hits, no walks and 6 K’s to beat the Cards Newcomb who suffered from control issues. The Marlin offense was led by Arenado and Goldschmidt, who each homered. The Marlins go up 2 – 1 in the series.

 

9/24 MMN  8 10  0  SLN  1  4  0      M.Bumgarner (1-0)     J.Degrom (1-1)

 

Game 4 had the Cards coming back with Degrom on short rest with the Marlins going with Madison Bumgarner. What looked like it should be a pitchers’ duel turned out to be a bit of a drubbing as Degrom did not look good on short rest – he gave up 5 over 6 innings. Bumgarner cruised through the first 5 inning not giving up a hit. He threw 6 innings, giving up 3 hits and one run to pick up the victory – the fist game with a score other than 4 – 2. The Marlins offense consisted of 5 long balls – 2 by Goldschmidt, giving him 3 for the series; 1 by Justin Upton, his 3^rd of the series; and 1 by Arrenado and Encarnacion. The Marlins are up 3 – 1 in the series.

 

9/25 MMN  2  6  1  SLN  4  8  0      A.Bradley (1-0)       D.Castillo (0-1)

 

Game 5 features Cole going for the Marlins and Nola for the Cards. The theme of this series seemed to be 4 – 2, once again the final score in an exciting win for the Cards. Nola vs Cole didn’t disappoint, both pitchers were on but neither figured in the decision. The Cards jumped out 2 – 0 in the first, but the Marlins battled back with 1 in the top of the 2^nd and tied it up in the top of the 7^th when they chased Nola only to Diego Castillo give up 2 in the bottom of the 8^th to lose. Paul Dejong hit is second homer of the series for the Cards. Miami leads the series 3 – 2.

 

9/27 SLN  4  5  1  MMN  5  9  0      J.Hellickson (1-0)    C.Green (0-1)

 

Game 6 saw Jeremy Hellickson going for the Marlins and Dave Mengden for the Cards. It did not start well for Hellickson as he gave up 4 in the first inning, including Dejong’s 3^rd long ball of the series. Miami stuck with Hellickson and he didn’t let them down. He gave up nothing over the next 6 innings to finish strong and pick up the win thanks to a pair of homers by Francisco Lindor and another by Wilson Ramos, which gave the Marlins a 5 – 4 lead. Sean Doolittle held the lead and picked up the save, his 2^nd of the series.  The Marlins win the series 4 - 2.