Sep 30, 2020 4 min read

The Miami Marlins just kept fighting. When Kyle Hendricks finally stumbled, they pounced.

This group of Marlins is one resilient bunch of fish.

Corey Dickerson hit a three-run homer off a fading Hendricks in the seventh inning, and Miami beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Wednesday in Game 1 of their NL wild-card series.

Jesús Aguilar also homered and Sandy Alcantara pitched three-hit ball into the seventh as Miami conjured up memories of past playoff magic in the franchise’s first postseason game since it won the World Series in 2003. The Marlins, who rallied past the Cubs in a memorable NLCS that year, have never lost a playoff series.

This year’s Marlins weren’t supposed to make the playoffs, not after losing 105 games in 2019 and dealing with a coronavirus outbreak early this season.

Atlanta 1, Cincinnati 0: The scoreless innings kept piling up, along with the strikeouts. The shadows began to creep across the infield, and when the lights came on in a mostly empty stadium for a postseason game that began a little past noon, it seemed like this might go on forever.

Finally, Freddie Freeman had seen enough.

The MVP candidate who warded off a frightening bout with the coronavirus at the beginning of this most unusual season fittingly delivered the winning hit in the 13th inning, ending the longest scoreless duel in postseason history as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 in the opener of their NL wild-card series.

“That was a very stressful 4 ½ hours,” Freeman said with a chuckle.

St. Louis 7, San Diego 4: Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run during a four-run first inning, St. Louis’ bullpen held strong after starter Kwang Hyun Kim stumbled in his playoff debut and the Cardinals ruined the San Diego Padres’ long-awaited return to the playoffs with a 7-4 victory.

The Cardinals need one more win to eliminate the Padres from the postseason for the fourth time since 1996.

The Cardinals got a chance to catch their breath with two days off before this series began. That came after a season-closing grind that saw them play 53 games in 44 days, including 11 doubleheaders, with only two days off.

American League

Oakland 5, Chicago White Sox 3: Oakland’s long-reliable regulars Marcus Semien and Khris Davis powered a couple of home runs, Mark Canha made a game-saving catch against the wall and red-hot right-hander Chris Bassitt delivered the start of his life.

Now, the slugging A’s are right back in a familiar fall position: one winner-take-all postseason game with the season on the line.

Semien and Davis connected early and Oakland’s bullpen barely held off José Abreu and the Chicago White Sox late for a 5-3 win that sent the AL playoff series to a deciding Game 3.

The A’s lost in the AL wild-card game each of the past two seasons, providing added motivation to win the division and earn a longer series.

Tampa Bay 8, Toronto 2: Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam and the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays won a postseason series for the first time in 12 years, overpowering the young Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 to finish a two-game sweep of their AL wild-card matchup.

Renfroe launched the first playoff grand slam in franchise history during a six-run second inning. Tyler Glasnow kept Tampa Bay ahead from there, allowing two runs – on a pair of homers by Danny Jansen – in six innings.

Mike Zunino hit a two-run homer off Blue Jays ace Hyun Jin Ryu during Tampa Bay’s big inning. Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena also drove in runs as the Rays advanced to the AL Division series against either the New York Yankees or Cleveland Indians.