Padres must win Wednesday after 3-1 loss to Cubs in wild-card Game 1

Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly hit back-to-back homers Tuesday, guiding the Cubs to a 3-1 win over the Padres 3-1 in Game 1 of their National League Wild Card Series.

Chicago also got a perfect performance from its bullpen in the franchise’s first playoff win since the 2017 NL Championship Series. The Cubs were swept by Miami in the wild-card round in 2020 during their last postseason appearance.

Now San Diego, hoping to avoid the same fate, sends Dylan Cease to the mound at noon Wednesday for Game 2 of the best-of-three series at Wrigley Field.

“Clearly our backs are against it,” said manager Mike Shildt. “But our club’s no stranger to challenges. You know, we’re battle tested, we want to answer the call tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”

Suzuki opened the fifth inning with a 424-foot drive to left-center off Nick Pivetta, tying the game at 1 and sending a charge through a towel-waving crowd of 39,114 on a picturesque afternoon.

Pivetta had retired 11 in a row before Suzuki extended his homer streak to five games going back to the regular season.

Kelly followed with a towering shot that drifted just over the wall in left-center. The catcher and Chicago native held his right arm in the air as he rounded first base.

It was the MLB postseason debut for both Suzuki and Kelly, who combined for the franchise’s first set of back-to-back homers in the playoffs since Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler went deep on Oct. 15, 2016 against the Dodgers.

Dansby with a dazzling catch to keep this a one-score game. pic.twitter.com/2ubXWrmnvT— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 30, 2025

Pivetta struck out nine in five solid innings, but San Diego’s lineup was shut down by Matthew Boyd and four relievers. Still, the Friars had their chances.

Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts produced an early lead for the Padres with back-to-back doubles in the second with nobody out.

Bogaerts advanced to third on center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s throwing error, but he was stranded when Boyd retired Ryan O’Hearn with a grounder to short, Gavin Sheets on a popup to third and Jake Cronenworth on another grounder to short.

San Diego put runners on the corners with one out in the fourth, but Chicago shortstop Dansby Swanson made a nice running catch to help Boyd escape again. Shildt called the catch “probably the play of the game.”

But the Friars’ bats went silent too. “You know, Boyd dodged some bullets early,” Shildt said. “We let him off the hook.”

Boyd exited after Freddy Fermin’s one-out single in the fifth. As shadows started to creep across home plate, Daniel Palencia retired each of his five batters for the win, including striking out Manny Machado and Merrill.

Drew Pomeranz and Andrew Kittredge each got three outs for Chicago before Brad Keller handled the ninth for the save.

With Cease taking the mound for San Diego, Chicago appears to be opting for a bullpen day, with reliever Andrew Kittredge as the opener.

Cease went 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA in 32 starts this season. Kittredge, acquired by the Cubs from the Orioles, went 4-3 on the year with a 3.44 ERA and 64 Ks.

Cease, 29, was drafted by the Cubs in 2014, but was traded to the White Sox in July 2017.

“I definitely have no hard feelings towards them, but yeah, it feels like a lifetime ago,” Cease said.