2025 National League Wild Card Series 2

2025 National League Wild Card Series

Chicago Cubs 92 - 70 in the NL	2 - 1 Series Summary	San Diego Padres 90 - 72 in the NL

Overview[edit]

The Teams[edit]

Managers: Padres: Mike Shildt | Cubs: Craig Counsell

Padres

Cubs

Umpires[edit]

Erich Bacchus, Cory Blaser, D.J. Reyburn, Todd Tichenor (crew chief), Mike Muchlinski and Ben May

Series results[edit]

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	San Diego Padres 1 Chicago Cubs 3	September 30	Nick Pivetta (0-1) Matthew Boyd (0-0)	3:08 pm
2	San Diego Padres 3 Chicago Cubs 0	October 1	Dylan Cease (0-0) Andrew Kittredge (0-1)	3:08 pm
3	San Diego Padres 1 Chicago Cubs 3	October 2	Yu Darvish (0-1) Jameson Taillon (0-0)	5:08 pm

Results[edit]

Game 1 @ Wrigley Field[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Padres	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0
Cubs	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	x	3	6	1
WP: Daniel Palencia (1-0); LP: Nick Pivetta (0-1); SV: Brad Keller (1)
Home Runs: CHI - Seiya Suzuki (1), Carson Kelly (1)

Attendance: 39,114

The pitching match-up for Game 1 did not feature a superstar for either team, but both Matthew Boyd for the Cubs and Nick Pivetta for the Padres were coming off good seasons, and with the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field, there was a good chance that this would be a low-scoring game. However, the Cubs did manage to beat the famous Chicago winds long enough to hit back-to-back homers in the 5th inning, and that proved to be the difference in the game even if Boyd failed to complete five innings: their relievers were all outstanding, never letting the Padres create a chance to even the score.

Things started quietly, but largely due to the wind keeping a long fly ball by Cubs lead-off hitter Michael Busch inside the park, where it was caught by center fielder Jackson Merrill. Nico Hoerner followed with a single, but the next two batters struck out against Pivetta, who would end up with nine Ks against no walks in five innings. It was the Padres who broke through first, as Merrill and Xander Bogaerts opened the 2nd inning with back-to-back doubles, Bogaerts advancing to third base on a throwing error by Cubs CF Pete Crow-Armstrong. However, he was left stranded there as Boyd retired the next three batters on a couple of ground balls and a pop-up, none of which could push the runner across. The 1-0 lead lasted until the bottom of the 5th, as Pivetta was cruising along, while Boyd escaped trouble again in the 4th. In that inning, Manny Machado drew a lead-off walk, and Merrill hit a sacrifice bunt to move him to second base. Bogaerts followed with an infield single, placing runners on the corners, but Ryan O'Hearn popped up and Gavin Sheets flied out to center. In the 5th, the Padres threatened again when Freddy Fermin singled with one out, prompting Cubs manager Craig Counsell to call on reliever Daniel Palencia, who retired the next two batters.

Pivetta had given up next to nothing until the 5th, but Seiya Suzuki led off that inning with a homer on a line drive to center. Next up was Carson Kelly, who drove a pitch deep to left center field, and just like that, San Diego's lead had turned into a 2-1 deficit. Pivetta then struck out the next three batters in order, making his brief descent into mortality more puzzling. Palencia continued to pitch in the 6th, retiring the Padres in order, and Drew Pomeranz did the same in the 7th. In between, the Cubs had threatened against Padres reliever Adrian Morejon, but Ian Happ grounding into a double saved him. In the bottom of the 7th, Mason Miller did what he does best - overpower all three Cubs batters he faced to strike out the side. The 8th inning was given to Andrew Kittredge who made it 11 straight outs as the Padres were running out of time. And the Cubs made the job even harder by adding an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th. Dansby Swanson led off with a single off Jeremiah Estrada, and was bunted over to second by Matt Shaw. Estrada then issued an intentional walk to Busch, but he sabotaged the strategy of setting up a potential double play by throwing a wild pitch while facing Hoerner, who then hit a sacrifice fly.

Brad Keller, who had resurrected a floundering career with a strong season, was asked to save the game. He acquitted himself well, getting Machado to ground out, Merrill to fly out and then striking out Bogaerts looking to nail down the win. It had barely taken 2:25 to play the game.

Game 2 @ Wrigley Field[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Padres	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	7	0
Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
WP: Adrian Morejon (1-0); LP: Andrew Kittredge (0-1); SV: Robert Suarez (1)
Home Runs: SD - Manny Machado (1)

Attendance: 41,083

Heading into Game 2, Padres manager Mike Shildt wanted to use his team's greatest strength - its bullpen - to stave off elimination, while the Cubs decided for some reason to use a strategy from the last decade, using reliever Andrew Kittredge as an opener instead of just letting the excellent Shota Imanaga do his thing. The Padres used a real starting pitcher in Dylan Cease, but he was on a short leash. In the end it was the Padres who came out on top in the battle of wits.

Whatever the Cubs wanted to accomplish by starting Kittredge, who had pitched an inning in relief in Game 1, it did not work. The first batter of the game, Fernando Tatis Jr., led off with a single and Luis Arraez singled as well. After Kittredge struck out Manny Machado for the first out, the two baserunners pulled off a double steal and Jackson Merrill followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to give San Diego an early lead. In the 2nd, Kittredge gave way to Imanaga, who quickly reeled off a 1-2-3 inning. Meanwhile, the Cubs put a few runners on base, but never really threatened against Cease until the 4th, when, after he had struck out the first two batters, he gave up a double to Seiya Suzuki. Shildt ordered an intentional walk to Carson Kelly and then lifted Cease in favor of Adrian Morejon. He got Pete Crow-Armstrong to ground out to first to end the inning, and the Cubs would be completely muzzled by San Diego's relievers the rest of the game.

The Padres built themselves a cushion in the 5th when Tatis drew a one-out walk, then went to second on sacrifice bunt by Arraez. The small ball ended there as the next batter, Machado, hit a home run to left field. That made the score 3-0, which would be the final score. The Padres' relievers were outstanding: Morejon faced seven batters and retired them all. Next up, Mason Miller got five straight strikeouts before grazing Michael Busch with a pitch with two outs in the 8th. That was the cue to bring out closer Robert Suarez, and he got Nico Hoerner to line out to right, with Tatis making a nice running catch. The Cubs' relievers were also very effective, so it was still 3-0 when Suarez returned to pitch the bottom of the 9th. Kyle Tucker finally managed to get a hit with one out, but the next batter, Suzuki, grounded into a double play, and the game was over.

Game 3 @ Wrigley Field[edit]

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Padres	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	7	0
Cubs	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	x	3	13	0
WP: Daniel Palencia (2-0); LP: Yu Darvish (0-1); SV: Andrew Kittredge (1)
Home Runs: CHI - Michael Busch (1); SD - Jackson Merrill (1)

Attendance: 40,895

After having been shut out in Game 2, the Cubs turned the tables on the Padres in the decisive Game 3, holding them from scoring until the 9th inning, as in a bizarre twist, Andrew Kittredge went from starting and losing the second game to saving the third, and Daniel Palencia earning his second win in relief. The Cubs used a real starting pitcher this time in Jameson Taillon, although he was limited to just four innings despite pitching quite well, while the Padres went with a grizzled veteran of many postseason battles in Yu Darvish. However, he did not accomplish his mission, as he faltered in the 2nd inning, and it was another long day for San Diego's relievers.

Taillon started things off with a 1-2-3 inning in the 1st, although it took a nice sliding catch by CF Pete Crow-Armstrong to record the third out, but things were more complicated for Darvish. He gave up a lead-off single to Michael Busch, then got a force out and strikeout, before Nico Hoerner was caught stealing at second after initially being called safe. In the 2nd, however, a lead-off single by Kyle Tucker was followed by a double by Seiya Suzuki, placing two runners in scoring position with no one out. Darvish then compounded his trouble by hitting Carson Kelly with a pitch. A single by Crow-Armstrong cashed in a first run and also spelled the end of an abbreviated outing for Yu, who was replaced by Jeremiah Estrada. He walked Dansby Swanson to force in a second run, and the levee was about to break completely but Estrada struck out rookie Matt Shaw and then got Busch to ground into a double play to end the inning. It was 2-0, Chicago, but it could have been much worse. Given a lifeline, the Padres were unable to take advantage of it, however, going down quietly against Taillon for the third straight inning in the top of the 3rd. In the 4th, it was Swanson's turn to make an impressive defensive play, jumping to his full extension to snatch a line drive off the bat of Luis Arraez for the first out. Jackson Merrill doubled with two outs, the first runner in scoring position for San Diego, but he was stranded when Xander Bogaerts popped up.

Michael King was the next pitcher for the Padres, and he struck out the side after giving up a lead-off single to Kelly in the 4th in his only inning of work. At this point, Craig Counsell decided to go to his bullpen even though Taillon had pitched well, only giving up a pair of hits in four innings while expending just 60 pitches. It almost cost the Cubs dearly, as their first reliever, Caleb Thielbar, gave up a hit to one of the three batters he faced, and Palencia allowed a double to Freddy Fermin. However, the runner was Gavin Sheets, not the fastest man out there, and he stopped at third base, after which Fernando Tatis Jr. flied out, stranding two runners in scoring position. The Cubs got two more hits in their half of the 5th, including a double by Ian Happ, but a well-timed double play ground ball prevented them from adding to their lead. In the 6th, Mike Shildt decided to use his closer, Robert Suarez, pitching in a third straight game, in a very atypical situation; he gave up back-to-back singles with one out but then got two strikeouts to escape the inning. There was now a clear pattern to the game, as the Cubs seemed to place runners on base every inning, but to have all sorts of difficulties cashing them in. Their lead should have been much more comfortable than just 2-0, but they had wasted a bunch of opportunities to pad it. However, except for the 5th inning, the Padres' bats had been pretty much asleep although they stirred a bit in the 7th. Bogaerts led off with a single, prompting Counsell to replace Palencia with Drew Pomeranz, and after a first out and some tactical moves, Bogaerts stole second. However, neither pinch-hitter José Iglesias nor Jake Cronenworth were able to advance him any further.

The Cubs finally added an insurance run in the 7th, and they only needed one hit, a lead-off homer by Busch off Suarez. That was very much back-breaking, and after Hoerner followed with a double, Shildt had to call on another of his front-line relievers in Adrian Morejon. Hoerner went to third base on a sacrifice bunt, but he was thrown out at home when the next batter, Tucker, hit a ball to 1B Arraez. Brad Keller gave up another lead-off single in the 8th, this one to Fermin, and he also threw a wild pitch, but even with this helpful gift, the Padres were unable to come through with a big hit. They were now down to their last three outs with Keller still on the mound. Merrill finally put them on the board, hitting a lead-off homer to center field. Keller then struck out Bogaerts, but he hit Ryan O'Hearn with a pitch, bringing the tying run to the plate in Bryce Johnson - and he plunked him as well. That's when Counsell decided to bring the best pitcher he had left in Kittredge, who had been his primary closer during the season. He got Cronenworth to ground out to third. It was a very close play at first base, but the out was confirmed after a challenge. The two runners were now in scoring position with Fermin coming up. On Kittredge's first pitch, he hit a sharp line drive to center, but Crow-Armstrong was perfectly placed to make the catch that ended the game.