The San Diego Padres defeated the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series to even the series 1-1 with a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday.
The winner advances to play the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Division Series, with that series beginning Saturday.
San Diego dropped Game 1 after taking an early lead in the second inning. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts hit an RBI-double to knock in centerfielder Jackson Merrill in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. Right-hander Nick Pivetta was outstanding through the first four innings, striking out six, including five strikeouts through the first nine batters.
However, outfielder Seiya Suzuki and catcher Carson Kelly turned the tables with back-to-back solo home runs in the fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead. Second baseman Nico Hoerner hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, scoring the final run in Chicago’s 3-1 win.
The Cubs bullpen was literally perfect, not allowing a baserunner through the final 4.2 innings.
The script flipped for the Padres in Game 2, scoring early and never letting the lead go. Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. scored on Merrill’s sac fly in the first inning and rode San Diego’s pitching through the end.
Righty Dylan Cease was excellent through 3.2 innings, striking out five, but after Suzuki hit a double with two outs in the fourth, Kelly was intentionally walked, and Cease was pulled by manager Mike Shildt. The move paid off, putting lefty Adrian Morejon in to face Pete Crow-Armstrong, who grounded out to first base and ended the inning.
The “big three” of Tatis, Luis Arraez and Manny Machado came through in Game 2, going a combined 4-for-11. The big hit came from Machado, a two-run homer off lefty Shota Imanaga in the fifth inning, the last runs of the game. The Padres bullpen mimicked the Cubs’ performance in Game 1 and Mason Miller was electric again, striking out all five batters he faced including a painted 104.5 MPH fastball for strike 3 against Kelly.
The key in Game 3 will be the bullpens, especially with Morejon and Miller likely unavailable for the Padres after throwing a lot of pitches in Game 1 and 2. Right-handed starters Yu Darvish and Jameson Taillon will pitch Game 3 and will be tasked with getting as many outs as possible before going to the bullpen.
Both bullpens are taxed, but the Cubs may have a slight edge as their top relievers should be available Thursday.