The San Diego Padres had a chance to pull off a comeback against the Cubs today, but they couldn't get it done.
The San Diego Padres lost their first series since April 1 as they dropped the final game of their three-game series against the Chicago Cubs, 5-4. The Padres came up just short in this one as couldn’t come through after loading the bases loaded in the eighth inning with the score 5-3 but stranded both the tying and potential winning run.
The game was a back and forth battle between two playoff teams from last year that pitted San Diego starter Matt Waldron against James Taillon for the Cubs. The Cubs broke through first against Waldron, with an RBI single from Miguel Amaya scoring Michael Conforto after Conforto doubled in the second inning.
The Cubs added to their lead in the fourth on a two-run homer by Pete Crow-Armstrong that scored Matt Shaw after Shaw bunted his way on to take advantage of substitute third baseman Miguel Andujar.
That made it 3-0, but the Padres came back with some long ball of their own in the fifth inning. The action started with a solo homer to left by Andujar, and Nick Castellanos then added his first home run as a Padre with a two-run shot that scored Jake Cronenworth after Cronenworth walked to make it 3-3.
The tie didn’t last long, though. Adrian Morejon replaced Waldron in the sixth, but the Cubs took the lead on a Michael Busch walk followed by a Shaw double, and an RBI groundout by Crow-Armstrong that put Chicago back in front, 4-3.
The Cubs added an insurance run that turned out to be the winner on a solo homer by Shaw in the eighth inning off Jason Adam, who looked uncomfortable throughout his brief outing.
The Padres’ eighth was the pivot point in this game. They loaded the bases when reliever Corbin Martin walked three straight hitters to create a golden opportunity. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to center to get the Padres back within a run, but a double play ball by Manny Machado, who was DHing due to a calf injury, ended the threat.
San Diego went out without a hit in the ninth as the Cubs took both the game and the series. Taillon retired 14 straight batters to start the game and got the win, and lefty Hoby Milner came in to get the last out earn the save. Morejon took the loss for the Padres to run his record to 2-1.
The Padres get a day off tomorrow, with the Chicago White Sox coming in for a weekend set at Petco.