MLB

San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs

· NLWC - Game 3
San Diego Padres
90-72, 38-43 Away
Final
1 - 3
Chicago Cubs
92-70, 50-31 Home

Cubs beat Padres 3-1 to clinch Wild Card Series, advance to NL Division Series against the Brewers

Xander Bogaerts incredibly unhappy with strikeout call in 9th

Backed by a raucous crowd of 40,895 at Wrigley Field, Chicago used its stellar defense to advance in the postseason for the first time since 2017.

Michael Busch hit a solo homer, and Jameson Taillon pitched four shutout innings before manager Craig Counsell used five relievers to close it out.

After Brad Keller faltered in the ninth — allowing Jackson Merrill’s leadoff homer and hitting two batters — Andrew Kittredge earned the save by retiring Jake Cronenworth on a bouncer to third and Freddy Fermin on a flyball to center.

Next up for Chicago is a matchup with NL Central champion Milwaukee for a compelling NL Division Series, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday.

Counsell managed the Brewers for nine years before he was hired by the Cubs in November 2023, and he has been lustily booed in Milwaukee ever since he departed.

It was a disappointing finish for San Diego after it made the postseason for the fourth time in the last six years. The Padres forced a decisive Game 3 with a 3-0 victory on Wednesday, but their biggest stars flopped in the series finale.

How can I watch San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs?
  • TV Channel: Padres at Cubs 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ESPN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Fermin flied out to center.
9th Inning Cronenworth grounded out to third, Johnson to second, O'Hearn to third.
9th Inning Kittredge relieved Keller
9th Inning Johnson hit by pitch, O'Hearn to second.
9th Inning O'Hearn hit by pitch.
9th Inning Bogaerts struck out looking.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/sd.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originSD https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/chc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHC
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
2 Hit By Pitch 1
9 Ground Balls 10
8 Strikeouts 11
1 Runs Batted In 3
0 Sacrifice Hit 1
7 Hits 13
1 Stolen Bases 0
1 Walks 1
0 Catcher Interference 0
1 Runs 3
1 Ground Into Double Play 2
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
33 At Bats 32
1 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
16 Runners Left On Base 20
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 3
16 Fly Balls 12
0 Caught Stealing 2
147 Pitches 136
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 1
12 Total Bases 19
36 Plate Appearances 35
162.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
3 Extra Base Hits 4
3.3 Runs Created 6.1
.212 Batting Average .406
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.364 Slugging Percentage .594
.212 Secondary Average .156
.278 On Base Percentage .441
.641 OBP Pct + SLG Pct 1.035
0.6 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.8
3.3 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 6.9
19.0 Batter Rating 34.0
33.0 At Bats Per Home Run 32.0
1.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
4.08 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.89
.152 Isolated Power .188
0.13 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.09
.028 Walks Per Plate Appearance .029
.000 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.250
2.0 Runs Produced 6.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.6
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.6
72.5 MLB Rating 89.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Wrigley Field

Location: Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 40,895 | Capacity:

2026 National League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Los Angeles - 62 W3 0.61728394 100
San Diego 9 71 W2 0.5617284 91
Arizona 14 76 L2 0.5308642 86
San Francisco 35 97 L5 0.40123457 65
Colorado 42 104 L1 0.3580247 58

2026 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee - 59 W5 0.63580245 103
Chicago 14 73 W1 0.5493827 89
Pittsburgh 21 80 W1 0.50617284 82
St. Louis 26 85 L4 0.47530866 77
Cincinnati 28 87 L1 0.46296296 75
Full Standings