CHICAGO — The postseason comes at a team fast. It can go fast, too.
Two days after completing a regular season that spans six months, four teams find themselves on the edge of elimination.
One of those teams is the Padres, who lost Game 1 of their National League Wild Card Series on Tuesday the same way they lost a number of games in 2025.
They failed to get runners home and watched the other team hit balls over the wall.
A 3-1 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field turned on a pair of home runs in the fifth inning, but it was enabled by the Padres’ inability to drive in a runner from third base with less than two outs in two of the game’s first four innings.
The Padres’ best starting pitcher in the regular season was sensational for four innings but paid dearly for a pair of fastballs.
Nick Pivetta began the fifth inning with a 1-0 lead and having retired 11 batters in a row following a one-out single in the first.
The Cubs flipped the score before making their next out. It took just two swings.
Seiya Suzuki tied the game by sending a 2-2 fastball left over the inner third on a line at 112 mph through the wind toward left-center field, a projected 424 feet and halfway up the 30 rows of Wrigley’s famous bleachers.
Nick Pivetta #27 of the San Diego Padres looks on after a solo home run by Carson Kelly #15 of the Chicago Cubs in the sixth inning during Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field on Sept. 30, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Carson Kelly’s home run on a 2-2 fastball at the top of the zone sailed higher and was not hit as hard. But it landed in the first row beyond the ivy-covered left field wall, giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead and bringing a roar from the crowd that remained a rumble for almost the entirety of the rest of the afternoon.
Adrian Morejón replaced Pivetta to start the sixth inning and was greeted by two singles. But the left-hander was able to keep a lid on the old ballpark by ending the inning three pitches later, on a double play grounder and a fly ball to center field.
Mason Miller struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh inning, and Jeremiah Estrada allowed a run on a single, a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
The Padres’ 1-0 lead came on back-to-back doubles by Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts that began the second inning.
But with Bogaerts on third base after center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s throw got away from second baseman Nico Hoerner, three straight outs in the infield stranded him there.
And after Manny Machado drew a walk against Matthew Boyd to start the fourth inning, he moved to second base on Merrill’s sacrifice fly and to third on Bogaerts’ infield single that was dribbled to the left side of the infield.
That would end up being the Padres’ only hit in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position. Because after Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson made an over-the-shoulder catch in shallow center field on a flare by Ryan O’Hearn and Gavin Sheets flied out to center field, the Padres would get just one more hit and would not get another runner beyond first base.
That was Freddy Fermin, who lined a one-out single to left field in the fifth inning that ended Bush’s day.
Jackson Merrill #3 of the San Diego Padres bunts against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning during game one of the NL Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez hit fly ball outs against Daniel Palencia, the Cubs’ saves leader.
Palencia worked through the sixth inning before former Padres left-hander Drew Pomeranz breezed through the seventh on 11 pitches, Andrew Kittredge got through the eighth and Brad Keller worked a perfect ninth.
Originally Published: September 30, 2025 at 2:33 PM PDT