Freddy Fermin stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and runners at second and third. Fermin had already recorded two hits in the game, which included a double, and was looking
to tie the game with a third hit.
Fermin drove the ball to center field, unfortunately Pete Crow-Armstrong was waiting for it to come down, made the catch and ended the San Diego Padres season as the Chicago Cubs secured a 3-1 win and a 2-1 National League Wild Card Series win.
The Padres led off the top of the ninth inning with a solo home run by Jackson Merrill, which was the first run of the game for San Diego. The homer cut the deficit to 3-1 and was the first sign of life from an anemic offense that did not have a leadoff hitter reach base until the seventh inning.
Xander Bogaerts followed Merrill and was called out on strikes looking at what appeared to be ball four. Ryan O’Hearn and Bryce Johnson both reached on a hit-by-pitch facing Cubs reliever Brad Keller. He was replaced with one out and two on by Game 2 opener Andrew Kittredge.
Jake Cronenworth was the first San Diego batter to face Kittredge and hit a ground ball to third base and nearly beat the throw to first, but was out by less than a step for the second out of the inning. O’Hearn and Johnson advanced one base on the play to set up the at-bat for Fermin.
Padres starter Yu Darvish ran into trouble in the bottom of the second inning after working a scoreless bottom of the first. Darvish allowed a single, double and hit a batter to load the bases for the Cubs. He then allowed a single to Crow-Armstrong, which scored the first run for Chicago and gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
Jeremiah Estrada came in to replace Darvish and allowed a walk to Dansby Swanson, which forced a runner home and gave Chicago a 2-0 lead.
A gritty performance by the San Diego bullpen held the score at 2-0 until the bottom of the seventh inning. Michael Busch led off against Robert Suarez with a solo home run to left field that put the Cubs ahead 3-0.
While the start from Darvish was less than ideal, the top of the lineup failed to produce when San Diego needed it most. Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez and Manny Machado combined to go 0-for-11 in the game. Tatis Jr. was the worst of the trio and finished with three strikeouts from the leadoff spot.
The loss eliminates the Padres from the postseason and sends them into the offseason with plenty of time to make adjustments to the roster and prepare for 2026.
The Cubs advance to play the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series.
