Wrigley Stadium and its customers are used to day baseball, as the club still recognizes its once powerless history by playing Friday’s home game in the afternoon rather than at night. So while there hasn’t been a playoff baseball since 2020 (and has won a playoff victory since 2017), the scene on the wildcard Tuesday was Chicago bathing in the gorgeous autumn light while still enjoying the lovely late summer temperatures, a familiar one, as the Cubs dispatched visitors 3-1 in a brisk game. The perfect 4 2/3 innings for the Chicago bullpen.
Like ABC’s broadcast, both offenses struggled to make constant noise during this game (is the others’ volume fluctuating?). These teams had only 10 total hits, and the Cubs didn’t get singles from runners all afternoon. Under the hood, it was Padres who made more frequent, high-quality contacts, even though they only hit four hits. San Diego has 14 balls hit (95 mph or more) in the game, many of whom hit many in the Cubs Defenders.
In the second inning, San Diego jumped out with back-to-back doubles. Jackson Merrill lifted a ball in his hand, and then Xander Bogaerts (more than a week ago) was deported when he was still recovering from a foot fracture in Arizona, pressing a pipe Matthew Boyd Fastball into the left center field gap. The Cubs made a hurry to make a mistake in trying to cut Bogaert down at second base, while Nico Hoerner unfortunately threw Pete Crow-Armstrong, which brought Bogaerts to the third time. Although the next three Padres batsmen all scored the ball into the game, they did it directly on the cubs. The first of them looks like the best chance they add, but with the infield drawing, Dansby Swanson cleverly handles the popular ground balls of Ryan O’Hearn bats and keeps Bogaerts in third place:
Dansby Swanson lists a great dive station first throwing retired Ryan O’Hearn pic.twitter.com/dlsm3ratrp
– Bear Highlights (@cubs_highlights) September 30, 2025
This is not the only time Swanson’s defense has affected a critical moment. It seems that after Manny Machado’s walk, Merrill Lynch bunt (more on that later) and Bogaerts infield singles, Padres made in the fourth, made another game in the fourth, and brought O’Hern a second favorable RBI chance. Boyd used a fastball to thrust O’Hearn into his hand, but he was able to get enough speed to poke the soft ball into the shallow water center field. From the bat it seems it has a chance to fall, but Swanson chases, playing a tough and jumping role behind his head:
Dansby Swanson saved two runs today. pic.twitter.com/7olzejklxc
– Bear Zone (@cubszone) September 30, 2025
Both Swanson’s obstacles are important, as every tough game prevents both runs (needless to say anything that could happen in the rally) proves to be the difference in the game.
Considering the game state, after the fourth Machado Ladeff Walk, Merrill Sac Bunt was curious (it was often right to go multiple runs in the early stages of the game instead of giving up one), while Merrill doubled the Boyd in his previous AT-Bat. After the game, Padres manager Mike Shildt answered a question about the game, saying: “Jackson was alone, saw the game, and overcame the game.”
Padres leads the league in the regular season at a sacrifice. This is part of the Hilder style than typical in modern games, and probably more than suggested in analyzing vacuum and rosters with San Diego. Merrill may have tried to use Matt Shaw to play multiple roles in third base games, and he was for a blow rather than a clear sacrifice, but that didn’t solve it. It’s the only harmful decision to make in a clean baseball game otherwise.
Padres starter Nick Pivetta tore the Cubs batsman in the first four innings of the game. He only needed 50 goals to get his first 12 games and once retired with 11 Bears. 73% of his stadium are fastballs (four and sinker pieces, combined), and the bears cannot get in touch as early as possible. However, in the fifth Cubs, sitting on Pivita’s heater. Suzuki and Kelly started the fifth inning with six of the seven fastballs they saw (ignoring other Pivetta’s courts) and burning two of them, kicking back-to-back locomotive home runs:
Seiya Suzuki says stand up @ofcwrigleyfieldWoolen cloth pic.twitter.com/pvafebc5r3
– Chicago Bear (@cubs) September 30, 2025
That ball kept Suzuki’s bats at 112 mph for 424 feet. Statcast didn’t capture Kelly’s home run exit, which was with his racer at 95 mph. Kelly, whose parents are Chicago natives and Oregon-grown Cubs fans, shot just .225 this season, hitting 95 mph against the Fastballs and only four additional hits.
Back to back Jack! Carson Kelly, you dog! pic.twitter.com/smdjn3lqnn
– Chicago Bear (@cubs) September 30, 2025
After that, the Cubs’ leadership was never really threatened. Padres’s Global Bullpen coughed up the eighth inning insurance at a rally triggered by Swanson’s leading single. A rebound, wild court and Hoerner Sacrifice Flies finally plated Swanson on the Cubs’ third and final game.
Although they did give up some tough contacts, the Bears Bulls had a great line at the end of this one, with a perfect inning relief of 4 2/3 to ease Boyd, who got 60 total courts on the fifth and was eliminated on the fifth. Young firefighter Daniel Palencia worked 1 2/3 innings on San Diego’s order, retiring for 5 innings with just 17 pitches, and could have him in the second game if Craig Counsell needs him in another key position. Palencia then made a clean situation, from Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Kittrech and Brad Keller. The rescuers of the cubs combined, threw 41 strikes across 55 courts and quickly ended the game to get Wrigley faithfully to find the nearby barstool and ordered the old style before the Yankees and Red Sox match began:
In this, four members of Padres’ bullpen Nine-headed Dragons (Adrian Moreson, Mason Miller, Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta) were used, but none of them had more than 13 courts, making the entire group relatively new. The Cubs announced that Kittredge will be the game’s opener. Southpaw Shota Imanaga, Japan, who last started on Thursday, will work during a five-day break. He was bombed at the start of his final season of the regular season and gave up at least three points in his last six outings. Since 2020, he will be against Dylan Scease by Dylan Scease.
