Machado’s homer, Padres’ bullpen heroics even up Wild Card series with Cubs
Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images
Wrigley Field – Chicago
The San Diego Padres entered play down 1-0 in the N.L. Wild Card series to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
This was a similar situation they had faced over 40 years ago in the 1984 NLCS. San Diego’s pitching held their ground and the core of their lineup delivered in a crucial Game 2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Dylan Cease took the ball for Game 2, following staff ace Nick Pivetta‘s five-inning outing that resulted in a loss.
Despite struggling in the regular season, Cease’s durability and raw stuff essentially earned him the nod for the contest. However, Cease’s postseason resume isn’t on his side, as he holds a career 12.91 ERA in October. With the Padres backs against the wall, Cease had the opportunity in front of him to change the narrative of both his career, and the Padres’ season. It was win or it’s on to 2026.
For Chicago, manager Craig Counsell opted for a creative approach. Everyday reliever Andrew Kittredge made the official start, before handing the game off to regular starter Shota Imanaga. Imanaga, a lefty, came in to face the Padres 6-7-8 hitters, a trio of left-handed batters. Imanaga faced San Diego twice in the regular season, and allowed merely a solo shot in both outings.
Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped in to lead off, after going 0-for-4 the day prior while seeing just 13 pitches. Tatis Jr. came through this time around, leading the contest off with a much-needed single to center field.
With the pressure now on Kittredge, Luis Arraez‘s skillset came into play perfectly. He found a good pitch to hit low in the zone, and poked it just past Nico Hoerner at second base. With Manny Machado coming up, the pressure to “bridge” to Imanaga without allowing any runs loomed over Kittredge.
However, a well-executed sequence of four sinkers and then a slider effectively punched out Machado. Then, Jackson Merrill stepped in and proceeded to get down into an 0-2 count, prompting the Wrigley Field crowd onto their feet.
However, after taking a few good pitches, Merrill flew a sacrifice fly to right field, plating the game’s first run. Xander Bogaerts nearly plated the runner from third, but his 100 MPH line drive perfectly found its way to Ian Happ in left field.
The @Padres are on the board first in Game 2! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/l3f0RLfLdd
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025
As Dylan Cease took the hill, a key strikeout from Cease got him out of early trouble and he hit cruise control for a few innings.
As expected, Shota Imanaga came on in the second inning to face the lefties Ryan O’Hearn, Gavin Sheets, and Jake Cronenworth. Also as expected, the trio was ineffective against Imanaga, as he retired the side quickly.
Cease was sharp in his second inning of work, retiring the Cubs via two strikeouts and a popout. He tallied 10 whiffs through his first two innings, recording three strikeouts. Maybe most importantly, is the fact that he shut down yesterday’s home run hitters, Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly.
San Diego got a jolt of offense, when Freddy Fermin doubled to open the third inning. With the 1-2-3 hitters coming up, the Padres looked bound to score and push their lead. However, early swings and bad results led to more stranded runners in scoring position for San Diego. Tatis Jr. flew out down the line. Luis Arraez bounced out, and Manny Machado flew out to center on a lazy fly ball, ending the threat.
After a failed San Diego rally in the fourth inning against Imanaga, the Cubs put together a threat of their own. Cease struck out Ian Happ and Kyle Tucker, but Seiya Suzuki doubled to put the tying run on second base. The Padres elected to walk Carson Kelly to bring up the man known as PCA to the plate.
Cease was rumored to be on a short leash in this game, and Mike Shildt played his pitching aggressively, turning to Adrian Morejon with two outs. Morejon, who threw a scoreless frame in Game 1, retired Crow-Armstrong on a ground ball to Luis Arraez to end the threat.
The 1-0 score set up to be a very daunting tightrope for San Diego to navigate, but the heart of San Diego’s lineup had other thoughts. Tatis drew a one-out walk against Imanaga. Arraez bunted him to second. The Cubs’ pitching plan had been to avoid having Imanaga face Machado more than once.
However, with Machado due up, Cubs skipper Craig Counsell elected to leave in his left-hander. The first pitch to Machado was a hanging 84 mph splitter and is one that will leave Cubs fans second-guessing the decision to leave him in. Machado’s 404-foot home run gave San Diego a 3-0 lead and jolted awake the dugout.
Deep dish. pic.twitter.com/3ahtGTkuxT
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 1, 2025
Morejon ended up getting seven key outs in an extended relief role. Shildt stuck with Morejon in the sixth, and under the lights of October, the left-hander delivered. When the Cuban lefty retired Kyle Tucker on a fly ball to center, it marked a season-high 2 1/3 innings on 33 pitches.
Morejon’s effort was valiant, no doubt. San Diego entered the bottom of the seventh with a three-run lead, calling on The Reaper himself, Mason Miller. Miller fanned three batters in the seventh in Game 1, and in a case of deja vu, proceeded to do the same. Miller got Seiya Suzuki on a 102.7 mph fastball, and Carson Kelly on a 104.5 mph heater. This one pitch set an MLB record for fastest strikeout pitch in the postseason since the dawn of pitch data tracking (2008). Facing Cubs All-Star Pete Crow Armstrong with two down, Miller froze him on a slider at the top of the zone. Six hitters faced, six strikeouts. It was one of the most impressive relief outings in recent memory around MLB.
Eight straight strikeouts from Mason Miller ties Josh Hader in 2022 for the most consecutive batters struck out in the postseason at any point
It’s also the longest streak to start a postseason career … by 2
h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/B6sAzPhVu2
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 1, 2025
Mike Shildt relieved Miller with Robert Suarez with two outs in the eighth. Suarez would need four outs to keep the Padres’ season alive. Hoerner immediately tested the Padres’ defense, lining a fastball down the right-field line. However, San Diego just so happens to have a Platinum Glover out in right field, as Tatis made the inning-ending catch on the run. It was an athletic play akin to an NFL receiver nabbing a deep pass over the middle for a touchdown.
Fernando Tatis Jr. ends the inning with an impressive grab! #Postseason
(MLB x @Nutrafol) pic.twitter.com/xC1jA5c3ZG
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025
The focus for San Diego was simple. Three outs and the season continues. Ian Happ led off the inning with a flyout. Kyle Tucker lined a fastball to right for a base hit. Wth the tying run on deck and Seiya Suzuki at the plate, things got tense. Suzuki battled against the Padre closer, fouling off two fastballs to set himself at 3-2. On the eighth pitch of the plate appearance, Suzuki grounded to short, where Xander Bogaerts flipped to Jake Cronenworth, and Cronenworth used his strong arm to complete the double play, sealing a shutout win. As Tony Gwynn Jr said on the radio broadcast (quoting the legendary Don Drysdale), “there will be tomorrow”.
The @Padres shut out the Cubs and force a Game 3! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/I9mXm8dG4b
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025
For the second time in four trips to the Wild Card, the Padres were down 0-1 and tied the series. Yu Darvish is set to start for San Diego in Game 3, his third career elimination game start for San Diego, while the Cubs will counter with right-hander Jameson Taillon. First pitch time is still TBD.
A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.
A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.