Inside The Padres

Padres Lose Wild Card Game 1, Will Face Elimination on Wednesday

Noah Camras|
Sep 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs Catcher Carson Kelly (15) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Sep 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs Catcher Carson Kelly (15) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

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The San Diego Padres lost, 3-1, to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in the first game of the Wild Card round and are officially on the brink of elimination in the best-of-three series.

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The Padres had their ace on the mound in right-hander Nick Pivetta, who was cruising through four innings before he ran into trouble in the fifth.

Pivetta allowed just one hit through the first four innings, and retired 11 Cubs in a row at one point. As Pivetta was dominating, the Padres were able to take a 1-0 lead on back-to-back doubles by Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts in the second inning.

However, in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cubs got to Pivetta. Outfielder Seiya Suzuki crushed a 112.2 mph line drive a whopping 424 feet to left-center field to tie the game.

Then, the very next batter — catcher Carson Kelly — smacked a 2-2 pitch to left-center field, and the Cubs suddenly had a 2-1 lead.

The Cubs started left-hander Matthew Boyd, who was able to limit the damage, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing one run on four hits. He was replaced by the hard-throwing Daniel Palencia, who retired five Padres in order with two strikeouts.

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Former Padre castoff Drew Pomeranz got the seventh, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. For the Padres, Adrian Morejon got out of trouble with a scoreless sixth, and Mason Miller pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, striking out the side on 13 pitches in another dominant showing.

The Cubs then deployed right-hander Andrew Kittredge in the eighth, and he pitched a 1-2-3 inning on 14 pitches, making it 11 consecutive Padres retired.

The Padres had right-hander Jeremiah Estrada — the former Cub — pitch the bottom of the eighth, looking to keep it a one-run game. He was unable to do that, as he allowed a Dansby Swanson single and an eventual sacrifice fly after an intentional walk and wild pitch, giving Chicago a huge insurance run. Wandy Peralta then got the final out of the eighth.

The Cubs brought on right-hander Brad Keller to close out the game, and he did just that, retiring Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts in order, giving the Cubs a 1-0 series lead.

When Do The Padres Play Next?

Game 2 of the Cubs and Padres Wild Card series starts on Wednesday at 12:08 p.m. PT. Dylan Cease is set to take the mound for the Padres in the elimination game.

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah graduated from USC in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He is the lead editor for Inside the Padres. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, and has covered all Southern California sports in his career.

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