By Dennis Lin, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma
CHICAGO — A tense ninth inning and a burgeoning Padres’ comeback almost flipped the script, but the Cubs were able to close out San Diego on Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory. Chicago now heads to the National League Division Series, where it’ll face its NL Central rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers. A two-run second inning that included an RBI single from Pete Crow-Armstrong and saw starter Yu Darvish exit the game with no outs and the bases loaded in the second was key to the Cubs’ victory, while a seventh-inning home run by infielder Michael Busch helped punctuate the win.
The Cubs couldn’t come into the game thinking they had to score early. But with the way the Padres’ bullpen had been pitching, getting to Darvish felt essential. The early runs meant Adrian Morejon didn’t get a chance to pitch with a lead and Mason Miller never entered the game. Both relievers were key to the Padres’ victory on Wednesday. Cubs starter Jameson Taillon unloaded his full arsenal for four shutout innings, then was followed by three relievers who kept the Padres off the board before Brad Keller gave up a late single home run to Jackson Merrill in the top of the ninth inning. Even as the Padres threatened late, the Cubs’ bullpen bent but didn’t break to help secure the win at Wrigley Field.
Kyle Tucker arrives at just the right time
A missing presence for nearly all of September, Tucker started the second-inning rally that put the Padres on the ropes. Still managing a strained left calf, Tucker did not sprint toward first base when he lined Darvish’s 93 mph fastball into right field for a leadoff single. But the pressure would get to Darvish and force San Diego to go to an overworked bullpen.
When Chicago’s offense was firing on all cylinders in the first half of the season, Tucker did not produce a barrage of home runs. The left-handed power was still there, but he mostly set an example for other hitters with his disciplined approach and sense of calm. Even on seemingly quiet nights, he might get on base twice and keep the lineup moving.
That timing and rhythm appear to be coming back after a significant layoff. In the ninth inning of Wednesday’s Game 2 loss, Tucker handled a 99 mph fastball from Padres closer Robert Suarez, lining it into right field for a single. In Game 3, Tucker also hit a line-drive single into left field off Jeremiah Estrada, another hard-throwing reliever.
Those are the signs of a pure hitter who once helped the Houston Astros win a World Series — and positioned himself for a huge payday as a free agent this winter. If Tucker is locked in, the Cubs’ playoff ceiling is so much higher.
The Padres’ big-name core falls into unfortunate, familiar territory
A year ago, a previously promising postseason ended with consecutive shutouts of the Padres’ star-studded offense, along with a valiant final stand by veteran starter Darvish. Thursday at Wrigley Field, history roughly repeated itself. This time, however, there was no standout starting pitching to admire amid the wreckage.
In the shortest outing of his career, Darvish faced seven batters and retired only three. In likely his final appearance for the Padres, pending free agent Michael King and the bullpen kept the game close, giving what remains a big-name lineup opportunity after opportunity to redeem itself.
The opposite happened. Fernando Tatis Jr. saw a total of 14 pitches while going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Manny Machado drew a walk but also finished hitless. Luis Arraez robbed himself of what would have been a hustle single. Xander Bogaerts mustered a single. The Padres’ other six hits came from a quartet of players making a combined $11.2 million this year.
Merrill, who prevented a shutout with a ninth-inning homer, continues to have a bright future. Tatis, 26, is still one of the sport’s best all-around talents. But on the second day of October, the Padres entered the offseason wondering if they squandered their core’s best remaining chance to win an elusive World Series title: Darvish, 39, is in the twilight of his career. Machado and Bogaerts are approaching their mid-30s. King, Arraez, Dylan Cease and Robert Suarez will soon enter free agency, but because of long-term contracts with aging players, the Padres could remain relatively hamstrung.
How will they restock their pitching depth after another all-in trade deadline? How will they address a power-challenged offense that short-circuited for a second consecutive year? Should there be significant changes in the front office? After another bitter ending, there will be no easy answers this winter.
The unsung heroes of Game 3? That Cubs’ D
The Cubs were built on elite up-the-middle defenders, and all three showed up on Thursday. Crow-Armstrong made a sliding catch in the first inning to steal a hit from Machado. In the sixth, with the Cubs clinging to a two-run lead and every pitch feeling pivotal, Dansby Swanson made a sliding stop on a one-hopper by Luis Arraez that seemed destined for center field. After a walk, Swanson then cleanly snagged a 105.2 mph grounder off the bat of Merrill to start a 6-3 double play to end the inning.
In the next half inning, with a runner on second and one out, Nico Hoerner made a leaping grab on a soft liner from José Iglesias. Cubs manager Craig Counsell likes to say that those types of defensive plays are like hitting a home run. Rather than putting a run on the board, you’re taking one — perhaps more — off. This team has a special group of defenders. It’s the one part of the team that’s slump-proof. And it’s a huge reason why they’ll be advancing to the next round to face the Brewers.
What’s next?
Can you hear the booing already? When every decision is magnified in October, managers become lead characters, constantly second-guessed or hailed as geniuses, depending on the latest outcome. That dynamic will be amplified to the nth degree when Counsell returns to his hometown to face the Milwaukee Brewers and a fan base that still hasn’t forgiven his decision to leave the small-market franchise and commute to Wrigley Field.
Counsell grew up as the son of a Brewers employee, and later worked for the club as both a player and a special assistant in the front office. Those experiences helped him land the manager’s job during the 2015 season. After overseeing the final stages of a rebuild, he guided the Brewers to five playoff appearances in six seasons, a run of sustained success that made it all the more shocking when he decided to explore his options as a free agent.
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer secretly negotiated a five-year, $40 million contract for Counsell after the 2023 season, and then fired manager David Ross, a popular figure from Chicago’s 2016 World Series team.
The intrigue is already baked in: the Cubs won this year’s season series, 7-6, but still finished five games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, despite carrying an exponentially larger payroll. And if the sight of Counsell’s face on the American Family Field video board riles up Brewers fans before a game in May, imagine what the reactions will be in a high-stress postseason environment.
(Top photo of Manny Machado and Dansby Swanson: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)