SAN DIEGO — There’s something about revenge that seems sweeter at a packed stadium, especially with 47,513 fans brandishing yellow towels.
One year after the Chicago Cubs knocked the San Diego Padres out at Wrigley Field, the Padres turned the tables on Wednesday night at Petco Park. They triumphed 4-1 in Game 2, clinching the NL Wild Card Series and moving on to the NLDS.
This time, San Diego had the upper hand.
After a formidable no-hitter performance by Michael King led the Padres to an 8-0 victory on Tuesday, the Cubs at least showed some fight on Wednesday. But just when they found their rhythm, they found themselves facing the most daunting part of postseason baseball—the Padres bullpen.
Chicago, which had the highest-scoring offense in the MLB during the regular season, could only muster one run over 18 innings in the playoffs.
To top it off, expected NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong had a rough series, going 0-for-7 with four strikeouts.
Not exactly what they were hoping for.
Kevin Gausman kept Chicago in contention early, especially after the Padres had overwhelmed Matthew Boyd in Game 1. But in the second inning, San Diego started to break free.
Xander Bogaerts brought in Ty France, followed by 20-year-old Ethan Salas—making history as the youngest catcher to start an MLB postseason game—who hit a sacrifice fly to score Jackson Merrill, putting the Padres up 2-0.
Chicago responded in the fourth inning.
Seiya Suzuki got on base, and Nico Hoerner drove him in with a single, marking the Cubs’ first run of the series and ending Nick Pivetta’s outing after just 3 1/3 innings.
Suddenly, Chicago had a chance with runners on first and second, looking to tie things up.
But Padres manager Craig Stammen remained calm.
He called in Bradgley Rodriguez, setting off the bullpen sequence that San Diego was eager to rely on throughout the series.
Rodriguez managed to escape a jam of bases loaded without letting any more runs cross the plate, squashing Chicago’s best chance to stage a comeback.
Then, pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets dealt the critical blow in the bottom of the inning.
He somehow got under a pitch and blasted a towering two-run homer into the right-field seats, shifting the game from a tense 2-1 to a 4-1 Padres lead.
After that, San Diego shut the door.
Rodriguez, Jason Adam, Adrián Morejón, and Mason Miller collectively threw 5 2/3 innings without allowing a run. No miraculous comeback from Chicago, no Game 3 to look forward to.
Revenge was finally served, and the Cubs’ postseason ended abruptly after just two games.
What it means
San Diego is heading to the NLDS for the second time in three years and third time in five seasons. They’ll face the Milwaukee Brewers starting Saturday.
The timing couldn’t be better for the Padres, who had the best record in baseball over the final two months of the season and just overwhelmed the MLB’s highest-scoring offense, outscoring them 12-1 in the series.
Now they meet Milwaukee, who had the best record in the regular season.
It’ll be a showdown of unstoppable force versus an immovable object.
As for the Cubs, they’re returning home after a disappointing playoff showing, with an offensive lineup that was supposed to dominate managing only one run in 18 innings. Their pitching needs some serious work this offseason, and seeing their key players struggle in October will surely sting for a while.
Turning point
When Chicago posed a threat in the fourth inning, Stammen replaced Pivetta with Rodriguez.
Even with the Cubs loading the bases with two outs, Rodriguez managed to get Dansby Swanson to fly out.
Chicago finally seemed to have a chance, but Rodriguez halted any hopes they had.
Did you see that?
“Holy Sheets!”
That was the buzz at Petco Park as Gavin Sheets made an impactful appearance off the bench, connecting with Palencia’s 101 mph fastball for a two-run homer into right field.
There’s an interesting symmetry to it—Sheets also hit a pinch-hit homer on Opening Day this season, and now he helped close the book on Chicago’s year.
Up next
The Padres are set for Game 1 of the NLDS against the Brewers in Milwaukee on Saturday. It’ll be an exciting matchup between baseball’s hottest team and the one that topped the regular season.
Meanwhile, Chicago faces a longer offseason than they anticipated for a team that was once the highest-scoring in baseball.
