Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (10/2/25): Cubs 3, Padres 1 – Taillon, Bullpen Lead Way to NLDS
The Cubs and Padres met in the third and decisive game of their Wild Card series on a beautiful Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Chicago grabbed an early lead and maintained it throughout, but San Diego made a major push in the final inning to ratchet up the drama before the home team slammed the door to advance to the NLDS.
The North Siders applied major pressure to old friend Yu Darvish in the bottom of the 2nd inning with a Kyle Tucker single, a Seiya Suzuki double, and a Carson Kelly hit by pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Pete Crow-Armstrong followed with an RBI single to put his team in front and knock Darvish out of the game.
Jeremiah Estrada took over at that point and walked Dansby Swanson to force in a second Cubs run. The Padres reliever escaped further damage with a strikeout and a double play, but that 2-0 advantage loomed large.
Jameson Taillon did great work starting for Chicago, going four scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen. Caleb Thielbar, Daniel Palencia, and Drew Pomeranz protected the Cubs’ edge into the 7th inning.
Michael Busch provided the North Siders with critical insurance when he hit a solo home run off Robert Suarez in the bottom of the 7th to make it 3-0. Brad Keller came on and handled the 8th to bring the home squad within three outs of advancing.
Keller came back out to close it out in the 9th and immediately gave up a homer to Jackson Merrill. Then, after a strikeout that would have been a walk with ABS, Keller hit two consecutive batters to bring the go-ahead run to the plate with one out. At that point, Andrew Kittredge came out for his third consecutive day of work and recorded a groundout and a fly ball to complete the save and send the Cubs to the NLDS. (Box score)
Key Moment
Kittredge was thrown right into the fire with two on and one out, and he came through with flying colors. Freddy Fermin had two more hits on Thursday, but just got under a high fly ball to center field for the final out.
Why the Cubs Won
They got on the board early to lessen the impact of the Padres’ excellent bullpen, and their own relievers stepped up to get the crucial outs when they needed to.
Stats That Matter
- Taillon came up big in a big spot: 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 4 K, 0 BB.
- Busch had three hits, with the most important being the homer.
- Swanson made several outstanding defensive plays to go with his RBI walk.
- Kelly had a pair of hits and was on base three times.
Bottom Line
Playoff baseball is very intense, and that was on full display Thursday with every play carrying significance. The Cubs made all the plays they had to and got more terrific work from their bullpen. Craig Counsell did a very good job pushing the right buttons for the most part. Now they get another shot at the rival Brewers in what should be a very exciting series.
On Deck
The NLDS gets underway at American Family Field on Saturday. Freddy Peralta starts for the Brewers in a game broadcast on TBS with a radio feed on 670 The Score.
