Marlins clinch playoff berth on annivers

Coming into Friday night's action, 11 of the 16 spots in Major League Baseball's expanded postseason had already been claimed. The , and each locked up a spot on Friday, leaving just two slots up for grabs.The Marlins secured Kenneth Walker Iii T Shirts their first trip to the postseason since 2003, and the third in franchise history, by sewing up a second-place finish in the National League East. The Marlins earned that distinction by defeating the and having the lose to the . That combination gave the Marlins a two-game lead with two left to play. There are no tiebreaker games this year, meaning everything comes down to math. The Marlins won the season series against the Phillies (by a 7-3 margin), so the Phillies had to win the spot outright, something that is no longer mathematically po sible.The , who had their game against the postponed on Friday because of rain, entered the day three games back. The Mets would've needed to win out and have the Marlins Rashaad Penny Jersey lose out to claim the spot as their own. (The Mets won the season series by a 6-4 margin.)As manager Don Mattingly , their clincher came on the anniversary of death in 2016. Fernandez, of course, was a brilliant young pitcher and a key part of Miami's culture prior to his death in a boating accident.The Marlins are projected to have the second-worst run differential (-39) L.J. Collier Jersey by a playoff team since 1998, topping only the 2005 . Still, the Marlins have a reasonable excuse, seeing as how they had to turn over a large chunk of their roster following an early-season COVID-19 outbreak. The Marlins owe much of their succe s to third baseman , shortstop , and right-handed starters and . Tre Flowers Jersey Elsewhere, the Reds defeated the to earn their first playoff berth since 2013. It's to be determined whether the Reds are seeded as a second-place finisher or as a pure wild card. The St. Louis split their games against the on Friday, leaving the Brewers two games back with a pair to play. The Reds owned the tiebreaker over the Brewers, however, as well as over the Phillies and the .As for the Astros, they'll be making their fourth consecutive trip to the postseason after notching a second-place finish in the American League West. The Astros entered the night with a three-game lead over the , Seattle Seahawks Pet Gear meaning Houston would've had to lose out while Los Angeles won out. Obviously that didn't happen, as the Angels lost against the , ending their chances of sneaking into the postseason through the tiebreaker.The Astros had to overcome some adversity of their own, including a number of injuries to key pitchers: and among them. They also had the whole sign-stealing scandal -- the one that dominated headlines all winter -- to deal with. 's postseason is slated to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 29.