MLB Playoffs: Ranking the Top Five Pitching Duels from Wildcard Week

#4 Sixto Sanchez vs. Yu Darvish

Temperatures in the low 50s, the wind roaring in at Wrigley Field… What a time for Sixto Sanchez and Yu Darvish to go at it with much at stake. For two hours, Sanchez poured in triple-digit heaters to dispose of Cubs’ bats, while Darvish used his nine, ten, eleven (I’ve lost count at this point) pitches to stifle Marlins hitters.

Sanchez pitched five scoreless innings, striking out six along the way. He got help in the fourth inning when right fielder Matt Joyce gunned down Willson Contreras at the plate with a perfect one-hop throw.

The score was 0-0 when Sanchez left the game. That score remained into the seventh inning when Yu Darvish was working hard to solidify his scoreless outing. But he finally flinched.

With two outs and no one on base, Darvish hung a 2-2 slider to Garrett Cooper and watched it fly into the left field bleachers. Just like that, the Marlins took a 1-0 lead. They added one more that inning to go up 2-0.

Darvish gave the Cubs 6.2 innings and six strikeouts, and held Miami to two runs. Unfortunately, the Cubs offense gave him zero runs in return. Had that slider to Cooper bitten one more inch, the Cubs may have found a way to score first and win the ballgame. Instead, their season is over.