Due to the COVID pandemic, the 2020 Major League Baseball season featured just a 60-game regular season. The playoff field, however, was the largest it had ever been.
After a 31-29 finish to the regular season, the Miami Marlins were part of that playoff field. On this day five years ago, Miami celebrated its first postseason appearance in 17 years with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series.
As the contest moved to the seventh inning on Sept. 30, 2020, a solo home run in the fifth by Chicago’s Ian Happ had accounted for all the scoring. After being held to two hits through six innings, the Miami bats finally got going against Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks.
Hendricks was able to get Jon Berti to ground out to open the Miami seventh, but back-to-back singles by Miguel Rojas and Chad Wallach put the go-ahead run on base. One pitch later, the Marlins were ahead to stay.
On the 106th and final pitch of the day from Hendricks, Marlins outfielder Corey Dickerson was able to take an 87 mph pitch on the outer third on the plate and go the other way into the empty left-field stands for a three-run home run. What had been a one-run deficit had become a two-run lead for Miami.
Hendricks’ day was done, but the Marlins’ big inning wasn’t. Starling Marte singled off Jeremy Jeffress before Jesús Aguilar belted his offering to right field to for a two-run shot to cap a five-run inning.
On the mound, the Marlins got a stellar start from Sandy Alcantara, who allowed just a run on three hits and three walks in 6 ⅔ innings. Richard Bleier stranded a runner in the seventh before Yimi García and Brandon Kintzler each worked scoreless innings to seal the win.
Marte and Aguilar each finished with two hits for the Marlins. Happ had two of the four hits for the Cubs in the loss.
Miami would sweep the best-of-three series two days later to advance to the National League Division Series.
Overall, the Marlins have 13 road playoff wins in their history. Five of those have come at historic Wrigley Field, including one on this day five years ago.