The Chicago Cubs scraped out a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series on Thursday at Wrigley Field, ending San Diego's playoff run and sending the Cubs onward to face the Milwaukee Brewers. It was a tense affair, with the Cubs holding a slim lead until the ninth, where the Padres mounted a brief threat but couldn't quite pull it off. Final score: Cubs 3, Padres 1, marking Chicago's first postseason series win since 2017.
Jameson Taillon set the tone early, tossing four scoreless innings to keep San Diego's bats quiet. The offense chipped in with timely hits—a Michael Busch home run in the second put the Cubs up 2-0, and Pete Crow-Armstrong's RBI single added insurance. But the bullpen, that retooled group Craig Counsell has leaned on all year, really carried the day. Daniel Palencia earned the win with five batters faced, no runs allowed, while Andrew Kittredge slammed the door in the ninth after Brad Keller walked the bases loaded. Indeed, the Cubs' pitching depth, once a question mark, proved decisive here.
For the Padres, it was a frustrating fade. Jackson Merrill's solo homer in the ninth trimmed the deficit, and they loaded the bases with two outs, but Hoerner's grab and a fly out sealed their fate. Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. went hitless in key spots, a disappointing end to a season that had so much promise after clinching the wild card. San Diego drops to 0-3 in best-of-three series since the format's debut, still chasing that elusive first World Series title.
Chicago, meanwhile, rides momentum into the Division Series. The Wrigley crowd's roar said it all—postseason baseball back in full swing. Yet as the Cubs celebrate, questions linger about sustaining this edge against Milwaukee's stout lineup. How far can this gritty Cubs squad really go?