On Sunday, the San Diego Padres grinded for a come-from-behind 8-7 win in their series finale against the Chicago Cubs.

After two straight losses, the Padres stared at the prospect of getting swept early in Game 3. Kyle Hart made his second start with the Padres and didn’t make it out of the first inning. He was responsible for five of the Cubs’ first seven runs.

Hart walked four batters and gave up two hits in his two-thirds of an inning of work. He started with a 3-0 lead but struggled with his control, a common theme for Padres’ starting pitchers these past three days.

Chicago led 5-3 after the first inning, thanks to a pair of balks by Logan Gillaspie. Gillaspie appeared in his first game of 2025 the same day he joined the big-league club.

San Diego sent Omar Cruz down to Triple-A El Paso to make room in the bullpen for Gillaspie. Right-hander Tom Cosgrove was designated for assignment.

Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker added a two-run home run in the second inning to extend the deficit to 7-3. The Padres grinded back from there.

Padres grind back

From there, the Padres began chipping away at the Cub’s lead. Jackson Merrill hit his third home run of the season in the fourth inning to pull within two runs, 7-5.

Luis Arraez added an RBI single that allowed Elias Diaz to score from second in the fifth. Arraez finished the day with four hits and reached base five times. Gavin Sheets was back in the lineup after sitting out the first two games. He tied the game with a two-out RBI-single in the eighth.

A bit of luck broke the Padres’ way in the top of the ninth. With one out and two on, Manny Machado hit into what looked to be an inning-ending double-play. However, a poor throw to first by Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner skipped past Justin Turner and allowed Fernando Tatis, Jr. to score from second.

Padres closer Robert Suarez retired the Cubs in order in the bottom half of the ninth to seal the win.

Bullpen continues to shine

Gillaspie, Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam, and Suarez combined for 8.1 innings of relief in the finale. The bullpen remained dominant, aside from two runs allowed in the second inning. The bullpen has a 1.89 ERA through the first 10 games of the season.

Next up 

The Padres continue their first road trip of 2025 with their first-ever visit to Sacramento for three games against the Athletics.

Michael King is back on the mound on April 7. Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. PDT.

Mike Ursery

Mike is the sports editor for the Fayette Advertiser, and has been with East Village Times since 2015. His work has appeared on Bleacher Report. He is an avid Padres fan who is keeping the faith and trusting the process.