The Rundown: Cubs Advance to NLDS, Nobody Parties Like Palencia, Brewers Next, Tigers & Yankees Win Elimination Games

“‘Is something wrong?’ she said. ‘Well of course there is.’ ‘You’re still alive,’ she said’ Oh, and do I deserve to be.” – Alive by Pearl Jam

Jameson all around, with a Busch to chase, am I right? The Cubs needed somebody to step up and be Big Daddy to send the Padres packing and they got two: Jameson Taillon and Michael Busch. Taillon tossed four shutout innings of two-hit baseball and Busch hit a 7th-inning home run that whipped Wrigley Field into such a deafening frenzy I swear I heard it here in Milwaukee. Bring on the Brewers!

MICHAEL BUSCH SOLO SHOT MAKES IT 3-0 CUBS! pic.twitter.com/zQFepFA6Th

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 2, 2025

To be sure, Taillon and Busch weren’t Chicago’s only heroes in the 3-1 win over the Padres, and some very good things happened this week that portend a big series in Milwaukee starting Saturday.

1. Dansby Swanson is as clutch defensively as any shortstop in the game. His glove alone in the Wild Card series was worth the $177 million contract he signed in 2022. The Cubs probably wouldn’t have won Games 1 or 3 without Swanson’s defensive chops. He and Nico Hoerner make tough plays look routine.
2. Kyle Tucker is getting his timing back. The Cubs need to protect his body, though, so he may have to stay at DH. His bat is worth much more to Chicago’s lineup than the difference in defense when Seiya Suzuki is in right field.
3. Look at that! Pete Crow-Armstrong made an in-series adjustment at the plate and went 3-for-4, driving in Chicago’s first run. We sometimes forget he’s just a 23-year-old who’s done some remarkable things on the ballfield. He trusts Craig Counsell implicitly and got some sage advice from Carlos Santana before yesterday’s game. More on that below, but Santana is the early frontrunner for this year’s Jason Heyward motivational speech award.
4. Playing the outfield has reenergized Suzuki. He finished the season with five home runs in four games, and his Game 1 blast added the accelerant to Chicago’s postseason fire.
5. The Cubs are proof of the adage that pitching, defense, and power win playoff games. Taillon, Shōta Imanaga, and Matthew Boyd held San Diego to three runs across 12.1 innings. The bullpen held the Padres to one run in 13.2 innings, not counting the earned run charged to Andrew Kittredge as an opener in Saturday’s 3-0 loss. The Cubs got big home runs from Suzuki, Busch, and Carson Kelly just when the team needed them most.
6. Busch was in beast mode all series, hitting .400 with a 1.200 OPS, and he’s still improving. Let’s not forget he hit .323 with a 1.049 OPS in his final minor league season. Believe it or not, he was the No. 5 second base prospect in 2021. Who was ahead of him? Nick Madrigal, Nick Gonzales, Vidal Bruján, and Xavier Edwards. Anybody would choose Busch over all four of them. Moving Busch to first base was a game-changer for the player and the organization.
7. Counsell mismanaged his pitching staff, but his circle of trust pushed through despite being gassed at the end of yesterday’s game. Brad Keller completely lost his command in the 9th inning, and Kittredge had little movement on his pitches while closing it out. We can only hope Keller, Kittredge, Daniel Palencia, Caleb Thielbar, and Drew Pomeranz get plenty of sleep ahead of Saturday’s Game 1 tilt with the Brewers. Kittredge was the Cubs’ unsung hero against the Padres. He pitched in middle relief Tuesday, started Game 2 on Wednesday, and earned the save yesterday.

My early prediction is that the Cubs will beat the Brewers in four games. It should be a helluva series regardless. The layoff probably stripped Milwaukee of its momentum and the Cubs are peaking at the right time. I’ll be at Monday’s game, and I’ll see you in the cheap seats if you make the trek.

Cubs News & Notes

• Crow-Armstrong’s redemption arc has arrived just in time for the Cubs-Brewers series.
• The center fielder’s big day started with some veteran advice from Santana. “Play your normal game,” Santana said. “Try to end it strong. Don’t let the emotions control you because the team needs you and you’re one of [our] best players.”
• The atmosphere at Wrigley Field lived up to its hype. It’s definitely different here.
• PCA made sure to give Cubs fans credit ($) for their part in motivating the team.
• Swanson did a little bit of everything to help the Cubs, but his defense was key in shutting down the Padres.
• Taillon turned in a perfect example of a textbook shutdown inning after the Cubs jumped to a 2-0 lead.
• The veteran right hander saved his best performance as a Cub for the game that mattered most, at least so far.
• Thursday’s clubhouse celebration was more wild than any of us might have imagined. Three more, please, and thank you.
• Nobody parties like Palencia. Wow.
• Chicago’s series with Milwaukee pits best friends Counsell and Pat Murphy against each other.
• Murphy’s weird mannerisms might put a bit of a strain on that friendship, however.
• Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of both teams.
• The Cubs and Brewers have never met in the playoffs, and, per ESPN, Milwaukee wins the series in 56.2% of its simulations. However, Chicago’s bullpen might be enough to give the Cubs a slight edge according to David Schoenfield.
• That said, DraftKings gives the Cubs slightly better odds of winning the World Series than Milwaukee. It’s worth noting that both teams now must travel the same postseason path.

Ball Four

The Padres have every reason to believe they got robbed on a 9th-inning called strike to Xander Bogaerts, but this response is unwarranted. Old-schoolers will tell you that you don’t take that pitch with two strikes regardless. Earmuff the kids before watching.

Baseball Savant indicated the umpire made the right call, though that’s extremely debatable if I’m being 100% unbiased. D.J. Reyburn got the call wrong per Umpire Scorecards. The point is that that pitch is probably called a strike as often as it’s called a ball during the regular season. It’s also proof that the ABS challenge system is necessary if the league wants an immaculately called game. The call definitely impacted the game, but the response below is unfortunate and unprofessional.

Yo holy shit #Padres reaction after the game to the umpires pic.twitter.com/Mw6475vUd2

— kyler (@padsfanatic) October 3, 2025

Central Intelligence

• Milwaukee: Catcher William Contreras contributed a must-read piece to The Players’ Tribune stating that no team is better than the Brewers. He did have some wonderful things to say about Counsell, too.
• Chicago: Busch is the fourth leadoff hitter in team history to hit a postseason home run. Dexter Fowler did it five times, while Ian Happ and Bob Dernier each did it once.
• Cincinnati: One MLB analyst suggested that Hunter Greene was tipping his pitches in the Reds’ Game 1 loss to the Dodgers.
• St. Louis: Hot stove season is still a month away, but the Cardinals and Braves could be a fit in a trade involving Sonny Gray. The St. Louis ace has a full NTC, but may waive that to pitch for Atlanta, his hometown team.
• Pittsburgh: Things that make you go hmmm…Several Pirates players questioned the organization’s lack of commitment to winning. A lack of player acquisition was not the lone pain point, however.

Wild Card Round Results

Dillon Dingler and Wenceel Peréz plated two runners apiece to push the Tigers past the Indians 6-3 in their elimination game. Detroit will play the Mariners in the Divisional Round starting Saturday.

A historic performance by rookie starter Cam Schlittler propelled the Yankees to a 4-0 win over the Red Sox. Schlittler, a Red Sox fan who grew up in Walpole, Massachusetts, tossed an unprecedented eight-inning, 12-strikeout, zero-walk gem to give New York the series win. They’ll play the Blue Jays in Toronto on Saturday.

Division Series Schedules

MLB is going to an alternating schedule after a full slate of games on Saturday. Despite what you may hear, this has nothing to do with not wanting to compete with the NFL. The league is simply trying to put the bulk of the games back into primetime viewing hours. The division series are best-of-five affairs, with the ALCS commencing on Sunday, October 12 and the NLCS starting a day later.

• Saturday, October 4: Cubs at Brewers, Yankees at Blue Jays, Dodgers at Phillies, and Tigers at Mariners.
• Sunday, October 5: Yankees at Blue Jays and Tigers at Mariners.
• Monday, October 6:  Cubs at Brewers and Dodgers at Phillies.
• Tuesday, October 7: Blue Jays at Yankees and Mariners at Tigers.
• Wednesday, October 8: Brewers at Cubs, Phillies at Dodgers, Blue Jays at Yankees, and Tigers at Mariners.
• Thursday, October 9 (if necessary): Brewers at Cubs and Phillies at Dodgers.
• Friday, October 10 (if necessary): Yankees at Blue Jays and Tigers at Mariners.
• Saturday, October 11 (if necessary): Cubs at Brewers and Dodgers at Phillies.

How About That!

Max Scherzer has played on five different playoff teams in his storied career. If the Blue Jays add him to their ALDS roster, he will join Josh Donaldson, Fernando Rodney, David Wells, and Kenny Lofton as the only players to play with six.

No team has repeated as World Series champions in a quarter of a century. The Dodgers were certainly built to break that streak.

The Phillies have a strong chance to get past the Dodgers and into the NLCS against the Cubs or Brewers.

Shortstops Konnor Griffin (Pirates), Kevin McGonigle (Tigers), Leo De Vries (Athletics), Jesús Made (Brewers), JJ Wetherholt (Cardinals), and Sebastian Walcott (Rangers) are the top six prospects per MLB Pipeline. The new list dropped this morning and includes Owen Caissie (No. 47), Moisés Ballesteros (53), and Jaxon Wiggins (67). Caissie is likely a victim of prospect fatigue, while Ballesteros will probably be promoted as a full-time roster addition in 2026. Wiggins should eventually climb into the 25-40 range or higher if he stays healthy.

Extra Innings

Nico Suave!

JUMPMAN, JUMPMAN, JUMPMAN NICO UP TO SOMETHING! pic.twitter.com/10UeTfnp6X

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 2, 2025

Apropos of Nothing

The Cubs won seven of their 13 games against the Brewers this year in a very evenly matched series. Chicago outscored Milwaukee 60-56 but won 10-0 on May 2 and 10-3 on July 30.

They Said It

• “I’ve never seen anything like that. I’ve pitched in some big games. I struck out Tatis to start the game, and that was the loudest I’ve ever heard a stadium in the big leagues.” – Taillon
• “It might’ve been the best I’ve ever seen him. Jamo’s a guy that does so much for this group that no one would ever see. [He has an] ability to hold others accountable, to say little nuggets here and there that may make a difference for a young pitcher or hitter.” – Swanson
• “I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t thinking about being able to turn around and say something to those [fans] out there. We owe everything to those people coming out and showing up every day. They’re just as much a part of this as the people in this clubhouse. I’m definitely somebody that feeds off of my bleacher creatures.” – Crow-Armstrong
• “I’ve been lucky to be in this organization for a while. You dream of things like this, and being in this clubhouse celebrating is different than being on the road. This is the place I’ve spent so many hours and days, and it’s nice to see it’s really trashed.” – Hoerner
• “Baseball is hard. I showed you all that. We’ve all showed you that. That’s no secret. So these are the moments we work for. But we also work to continue playing in this postseason.” – Crow-Armstrong
• “Teams shouldn’t want to come to Wrigley Field.” – Taillon, at the end of the 2024 season

Friday Walk-Up Song

The Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, and Tigers all played in the 2024 divisional round. The Cubs, Brewers, Mariners, and Blue Jays are this year’s new entries. Milwaukee and Seattle have never won the World Series.