Padres sweep Cubs, make amends in NL wild card series

Can the Padres make it as far as the World Series? Can they win it?

The Friars definitely remain in contention to accomplish both feats after sweeping the Chicago Cubs in this past week’s National League wild card playoff series.

The Padres won by scores of 8-0 in Tuesday’s opener and clinched the best-of-three series with a 4-1 win on Wednesday.

Fans packed Petco Park to see the Pads’ first playoff series win since a wild card sweep over the Atlanta Braves in 2024. Yellow rally towels turned the stadium into a something akin to a Pittsburgh Steelers NFL home game chock full of terrible towels.

The clutch wins over the Cubs erased last year’s disappointing finish in the wild card series in Chicago in which the San Diegans lost by scores of 3-1 and 3-1 sandwiched around a 3-0 win in the middle game.

Tuesday’s 8-0 win made history as the San Diego franchise’s largest shutout margin in the postseason.

The Padres, seeded fourth among the six divisional playoff entrants, advance to the National League Division Series against the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers. The Pads carry a cumulative 93-71 record into the best-of-five series. The Brewers are rested after posting a MLB best 103-59 regular season mark.

The fifth-seeded Cubs are eliminated

The Friars enter the next round with some genuine optimism after sweeping the Brewers in a three-game home series in late August. The teams met six times during the regular season. The Padres held a somewhat surprising 4-2 series edge. Milwaukee won two of three games in Wisconsin in May.

But it’s time to wipe the slate clean in the playoffs.

Odds-makers put Milwaukee as a slight favorite.

Key stat: the Padres are 20-3 since Sept. 5.

All four divisional series start Saturday: the Padres at the Brewers, the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers (seeded second in the NL draw) hosting the Braves (seeded third), the Chicago White Sox at the Cleveland Guardians (seeded second in the AL draw) and the New York Yankees (seeded fourth) at the Tampa Rays (seeded first int he AL draw).

The Braves defeated the sixth-seeded Philadelphia Phillies in a Game 3 tiebreaker on Thursday while the White Sox swept the third-seeded Houston Astros and New York swept the fifth-seeded Boston Red Sox in a pair of American League wild card series.

Milwaukee will host the first two games on Saturday and Sunday. The series shifts to San Diego for Game 3 on Tuesday, Oct. 6, and a possible Game 4 on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The Brewers would host a pivotal Game 5 on Friday, Oct. 9.

The Game 1 win over the Cubs was history-making all aorund. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the first lead-off home run in Padres playoff history on the very first pitch. Manny Machado followed with another first-inning home run.

Michael King (13-10) was dominant on the mound with eight strikeouts, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Xander Bogaerts also homered for the hosts while Jackson Merrill drove in two runs with a single.

The Pads pulled a surprise by sending Joe Musgrove to the mound to close out the rout. It was his first appearance sicne Oct. 2, 2024, whiel recovering from elbow surgery. Musgrove received a standing ovation from the 47,084 in attendance but struggled by loading the bases with one out before finally retiring the side. Musgrove induced a pop-up for the second out and struck out Michael Conforto for the final out.

Petco Park was electrifying to behold.

Game 2, played in front of 46,513, was predictably closer with the Cubs needing a win to extend the series. The Pads led 1-0 in the first inning after SDSU alumnus Ty France doubled and came around on a Bogaerts RBI. The Friars made it 2-0 in the second inning after Merrill scored on a sacrifice fly by Ethan Salas, the youngest player to catch a playoff game in MLB history at age 20.

The Cubs chased San Diego start Nick Privetta with a run in the top of the fourth inning to halve the score but Gavin Sheets came through with pinch-hit two-run home run in the bottom of the frame to extend the lead to 4-1.

The Friars took care of the rest with a dominant bullpen showing that limited Chicago to five hits in the game. San Diego paraded five pitchers to the mound. Bradgley Rodriguez (5-3) received credit for the win in relief.

SAN DIEGO PADRES PLAYOFF CALENDAR

NATIONAL LEAGUE WILD CARD SERIES
Padres win best-of-three series 2-0
Game 1 (Sept. 29): Padres 8, Cubs 0
Game 2 (Sept. 30): Padres 4, Cubs 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
Best-of-five Series (Pacific Time)
Game 1 (Oct. 3): Padres at Brewers, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2 (Oct. 4): Padres at Brewers, 1 p.m.
Game 3 (Oct. 6): Brewers at Padres, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4 (Oct. 7): Brewers at Padres, 7 p.m. (if necessary)
Game 5 (Oct. 9): Padres at Brewers, 1:30 p.m. (if necessary)