The San Diego Padres scored just five runs in three games while losing to the Chicago Cubs in the 2025 National League wild-card round.
San Diego exceeded that run total in just one game of this season’s wild-card matchup, and the Padres will look to finish off the visiting Cubs when the best-of-three series continues on Wednesday.
The Padres steamrolled Chicago 8-0 in the opener on Tuesday as Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts homered and Michael King allowed just one hit in seven shutout innings.
San Diego closed the season with a 41-18 finishing kick and continued the run with the easy win. However, Padres manager Craig Stammen cautioned that there is plenty of work to do.
“It’s just one game, and we’ve got a job to do to finish the series off,” Stammen said. “The Cubs are a great team. They didn’t play their best game (Tuesday night), but I guarantee they’re going to play their best game (Wednesday).”
Tatis reached base three times, scored three times and opened the bottom of the first with a homer on Matthew Boyd’s first pitch. Later in the game, he scored from first on a stolen base followed by an electrifying dash home when Carson Kelly’s throw caromed into shallow left-center field.
“Both of them were crazy,” Tatis said of the two plays. “After that score, after that stolen base, I said to a couple people, I was screaming I’m going to pass out, just because all the energy and what was going on while it was happening. But starting a game, being at home and hitting a first-pitch home run like that, it just gets everybody going. It brings more energy to the boys.”
In last season’s series with the Cubs, Tatis went 1-for-12 with four strikeouts.
“We did a good job with Tatis last year,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “We did not do a good job (Tuesday), and it starts with that.”
Chicago led the majors with 850 runs during the regular season but had only an infield hit through eight innings on Tuesday before getting two hits in the ninth.
NL MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman struck out three times apiece.
“We didn’t do anything right,” Bregman said. “The good news is we get to show up (Wednesday) and play a baseball game. We’ve just got to execute better in all phases of the game.”
San Diego’s Nick Pivetta (3-2, 2.86 ERA) will take the ball in Game 2 against Chicago’s Kevin Gausman (9-12, 4.51) in a matchup of right-handers.
Pivetta was San Diego’s Opening Day starter and later missed nearly five months due to an elbow injury. He returned in September and went 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in four starts.
“I think we’re just rolling with something that’s really special, and I’m kind of just going to stay in that mode,” the 33-year-old veteran said. “I can’t tell you why it’s kind of grooving right now. All I can say is I’m healthy, I’m feeling good, and I’m excited for the next step.”
Crow-Armstrong is 1-for-5 with four strikeouts and a walk against Pivetta (regular season and postseason), who is 2-3 with a 3.90 in seven games, six starts, vs. Chicago.
Gausman went 4-2 with a 4.83 ERA in nine starts from the Cubs after he was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline.
Gausman hurt his left shoulder against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 23 while diving to make a tag at third base. After the Tuesday game, Counsell announced Gausman would start Game 2.
Gausman, 35, is 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 10 appearances (nine starts) against the Padres. Tatis (8-for-23), Machado (9-for-25) and Austin Hays (7-for-14) have each hit two homers off Gausman.
–Field Level Media
