Padres’ pitching struggles in 8-3 loss to Cubs
Credit: CBS Sports
The night after his four RBI game, which led the Padres to victory, Ty France and the San Diego Padres looked to take the middle game in this three-game series vs. the Chicago Cubs
On Monday night, San Diego improved their record to 19-9 thanks to nice contributions from Manny Machado, Ty France, as well as Adrián Morejón and Jason Adam.
On Tuesday, the Cubs sent Edward Cabrera to the mound looking to better his 2.73 ERA in his first five starts as a Cubbie. Walker Buehler took the bump seeking better results from his last outing in Denver, which only went 2 2/3 innings, allowing four runs. The Cubs would get the best of the Padres and defeat them 8-3. The pitching seriously struggled for San Diego. SD fell to 19-10 on the season.
No Manny Machado
Manny Machado was not featured in the starting lineup on Tuesday night after getting removed from Monday night’s game with calf cramping. Craig Stammen says Machado is “day-to-day” and would be available off the bench if needed.
Scoring begins in the second
Buehler’s leadoff walks to Ian Happ and Michael Busch in the second inning would come back to haunt him. Dansby Swanson would stroke a 2-0 sinker into the left-center gap for a double that would plate Happ and Busch. This gave Chicago an early 2-0 lead.
Xander Bogaerts took the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the second into the third deck of the Western Metal Supply Company building. This would be Bogaerts’ team-leading fifth blast of the 2026 season.
Enter Xan Man. pic.twitter.com/wxlenulywj
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 29, 2026
Tying it in the fourth
Jackson Merrill flew out to deep left-center field for the first out in the bottom of the fourth inning. Via the ABS system, Bogaerts overturned two strike calls, including a strike-three that would ultimately continue his plate appearance. Bogaerts would win the plate appearance, walking on nine pitches. He’d steal second base to put himself in scoring position for a red-hot Ty France. France went up once again with a single up the middle to knot the game at two apiece.
Vive La Ty France! We’re tied at 2 from Petco Park #Padres #ForTheFaithful pic.twitter.com/J1SSktkCeB
— Carlos (@LFGPads19) April 29, 2026
Buehler gets pulled in the fifth
Walker Buehler was only able to get through 4 2/3 innings on Tuesday night. After retiring Hoerner and Moisés Ballesteros with ease, Buehler’s night would end abruptly after Seiya Suzuki singled, and Happ got hit by a pitch. Kyle Hart would come in to face the lefty Busch and would strike him out on a sweeper to leave the runners stranded.
Buehler allowed just two earned runs on three hits while walking three men. The righty would toss 92 pitches with just 48 of them coming for strikes. Buehler only generated four whiffs throughout the course of his outing.
More runs in the sixth
Hart gave up a single to Carson Kelly, as well as a walk to Pete Crow-Armstrong. David Morgan entered the game for Hart and took over with runners on first and second with an out. Morgan looked to bounce back after a forgettable outing on Sunday in Mexico City. A wild pitch would advance the runners 90 feet each, then Matt Shaw would strike out to make the second out in the inning. The following at-bat, Nico Hoerner doubled into right-center to score both runners and retake the lead for Chicago, 4-2.
In the bottom half, San Diego got some two-out magic going to respond. Merrill grounded out, and Bogaerts struck out to make it a quick two outs for Cabrera. France would single on a grounder to left field, and Sheets followed that with a hit by pitch. After striking out in his first two at-bats, Luis Campusano came through and singled into left field to score France and make the score 4-3, Cubs.
Luis Campusano makes it a 1-run ballgame with a single#Padres #ForTheFaithful pic.twitter.com/vgNJlpu3Us
— Carlos (@LFGPads19) April 29, 2026
Chicago widens their lead
Morgan would lose a nine-pitch battle to Suzuki that ended in a leadoff base on balls and would end Morgan’s outing. Wandy Peralta would induce a ground ball out to Happ, then would hit Busch with a pitch. Then, with two outs in the inning, Alex Bregman off the bench would dunk a ball into the right field grass to bring in Suzuki for the fifth Cubs run. A struggling Pete Crow-Armstrong would smack a Peralta changeup up and over the centerfield wall, plating Kelly, Bregman, and himself. This capped off a four-run seventh for Chicago and would make the score 8-3.
Wrap-up
Edward Cabrera recorded his third win in a Cubs uniform as he went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs. Left-hander Kyle Hart received his first decision of this year, a loss, allowing two earned runs in his 2/3 innings of work.
The Cubs improved their record on the season to 18-12, recording eight runs on eight hits and no errors. San Diego’s record would fall to 19-12 with the loss. The Padres scored just three runs on six hits, while having an error on defense.
Four of the six Cubs to get walked by Padres’ pitching would end up scoring in this game.
Ron Marinaccio was the lone bright spot on the pitching side, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out one in his 8th and 9th innings of work.
Day baseball on Wednesday
On Wednesday afternoon, the Padres will look to keep their perfect April series record intact. San Diego has not lost a series in April to this point. The Cubs will send veteran Jameson Taillon to the mound with the Padres’ knuckleballer Matt Waldron on the other side. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM PT.
Angel grew up a San Diego sports fan, following the Padres, SDSU athletics, San Diego FC, as well as the Chargers. He is currently a third year community college student, and will transfer to SDSU to pursue a career in Journalism.