The Chicago Cubs punched their ticket to the NLDS on Thursday night, dispatching the San Diego Padres in a tense Game 3 at Wrigley Field that felt like a gut punch for San Diego fans. The 3-1 victory capped a whirlwind best-of-three series, where the Cubs' defense shone brightest in the clutch. It was a stark reminder of how playoffs can unravel even the most stacked lineups.
Indeed, the Padres' top hitters—led by Fernando Tatis Jr.—went ice-cold when it mattered most. Tatis, nursing a nagging issue from earlier in the week, finished the series just 2-for-12, his swing looking a step slow under the Wrigley lights. Moreover, Xander Bogaerts faced a controversial call in the eighth, umpires ruling him out on a bang-bang play at first that replays suggested was wrong. Bogaerts, typically a steady force at shortstop, slumped afterward, his .278 average from the regular season offering little solace now.
Yu Darvish took the mound for San Diego in the decider, but the Japanese ace couldn't quite summon his September magic. He allowed two runs over five innings, striking out seven but walking three—a stat line that underscored the Padres' pitching woes in this matchup. Darvish's ERA ballooned to 4.12 in the postseason, a small but telling dip from his 3.45 regular-season mark. The Cubs, meanwhile, got a gem from their starter, holding San Diego to a lone run on four hits.
However, whispers around the Padres' dugout point to manager Bob Melvin's decisions as a flashpoint. Melvin opted to leave Díaz off the roster due to injury, going with three catchers in a bold move that backfired when offense stalled. And Jake Arrieta? The former Cubs hero, now a free agent after a brief stint elsewhere, watched from afar, perhaps chuckling at the irony as his old team advanced without him.
The series exposed San Diego's day-game struggles at Wrigley, where they scored just three runs across the final two contests. Tatis Jr., ever the sparkplug, vowed a stronger return next spring, but for now, the sting lingers.
In the end, what does this mean for the Padres' vaunted core as they head into an uncertain offseason?