PITTSBURGH — The Miami Marlins’ unexpected play in September has ensured that they will continue to play in October.
Josh Chisholm hit his 19th home run, Josh Bell hit a late two-run double, and the Marlins secured their fourth playoff berth in franchise history with a 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Miami clinched one of the two remaining wild-card berths for the National League postseason thanks to Chisholm’s home run, a series of short balls and a strong performance from a bullpen that has put in a lot of work over the past month.
AJ Puk (7-5) and seven other relievers kept the Pirates in check and made watching scoreboards from other games unnecessary.
After achieving back-to-back wins on Friday, the Marlins began the day by cutting their “magic number” of games together to ensure eligibility.
It was officially reduced to zero when closer Tanner Scott recorded his 12th save, striking out all three of his opponents in the ninth inning, sparking celebrations on the field and behind the Miami dugout, where a small group of fans chanted “Let’s go, let’s go.” Marlins!”, in that inning.
For the Marlins, Cuban Jorge Soler went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Dominicans Brian de la Cruz 5-1 RBI, Jesus Sanchez 5-1.
For the Pirates, Dominicans Miguel Andujar went 1-0, Andy Rodriguez went 5-3 with a run and an RBI, Leovar Peguero went 4-1.
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