After clinching their first postseason berth in 17 years, Marlins manager Don Mattingly was asked, in one word, how would he define his club?

“Resilient,” Mattingly said without hesitation.

That pretty much says it all. Literally, from Day 1 of the season, the Marlins were smacked in the face with adversity.

Their improbable journey to a Wild Card Series matchup with the Cubs began with 18 players testing positive for COVID-19 in the first week of the season. The front office was forced to scramble to fill roster spots, and many questioned if they could assemble a big league-representative team.

Ultimately, 61 different players were used, including 18 who made their Major League debuts.

• Postseason standings

Still, no matter the challenge, Mattingly’s unwavering steadiness, coupled with veteran leadership from the likes of Jesús Aguilar, Corey Dickerson, Miguel Rojas, Brian Anderson, Brandon Kintzler and Francisco Cervelli, held the clubhouse together. On a daily basis, the message was this team had a chance to do something special.

In their eyes, they have already been through enough hardship, having spent eight days in quarantine at their Philadelphia hotel.

By clinching second place in the National League East on Friday, the Marlins ended a 16-year postseason drought since they won the 2003 World Series.

Now they have a chance to make some postseason magic.

How do the Marlins advance out of the Wild Card Series?
With the power arms the Marlins are ready to roll out, the organization feels confident they can stack up with anybody. Sandy Alcantara, Sixto Sánchez and Pablo López are expected to line up as the three starters in the first round, should the series go the distance. Alcantara (96.8 mph) and Sánchez (98.6 mph average) have high fastball averages, and López is at 93.9 mph, and has at times reached 96 mph.

All three also are effective at keeping the ball on the ground, with ground-ball percentages of 58 (Sánchez), 52.2 (López) and 49.1 (Alcantara).

What does the blueprint for a championship run look like?
For a team with so much youthful energy, the Marlins play a bit of an old-school brand of baseball. At their core, they are built around pitching, speed and defense. Mix in some timely hitting, and they like their chances. They have power threats in Aguilar, Anderson and Garrett Cooper, but they depend more on forcing the action with aggressive baserunning. They can create havoc on the bases, which is a change from last year. In 162 games in 2019, the Marlins stole 55 total bases. In 60 games this year, they swiped 51 bases.

What is one reason for concern?
What makes the Marlins dangerous also might be their potential weakness. Remember, this is a young team that plays with emotion and energy. Yes, there are veterans to lead the way, but none of their three projected starters have ever pitched in the postseason. Sánchez and left-hander Trevor Rogers, who will be a bullpen option for this first round, are both rookies. As much promise as Sánchez has shown, he is coming off two shaky starts – giving up nine runs over seven total innings. Some growing pains are expected for the 22-year-old. Mattingly has mostly veterans in the starting lineup, but the expected three starters are all 25 or younger – Alcantara (25), López (24) and Sánchez. Right-hander José Ureña, who was going to be used as a long reliever in the Wild Card Series, suffered a right forearm fracture when he was struck by a line drive on Sunday against the Yankees, ending his season.