The Cubs pitching staff did a pretty good job of holding a strong Padres offense down in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, allowing just seven hits and three runs.
That’s not good enough when your offense
can’t score, though, and the Padres defeated the Cubs 3-0, forcing a decisive Game 3 Thursday.
Andrew Kittredge chwas used as an opener, which I think everyone agrees was the right strategy with Shōta Imanaga coming in to be the “bulk guy.”
Unfortunately, Kittredge allowed hits to the first two Padres hitters, and though he retired the next three, one of those outs was a sacrifice fly by Jackson Merrill that gave the Padres the only run it turned out they would need.
The Cubs couldn’t do much with Dylan Cease, who was removed with two out in the fourth. A one-out single by Nico Hoerner in the first, a leadoff single by Dansby Swanson in the third and a two-out double by Seiya Suzuki was it. Swanson advanced to second on a wild pitch but was stranded.
Swanson, in fact, was nearly doubled off second when Michael Busch lined to short, but was called safe. It was ruled “call stands” on review [VIDEO].
The Padres followed Suzuki’s double by intentionally walking Carson Kelly before replacing Cease with Adrian Morejon.
Morejon struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong to end the inning.
Imanaga threw pretty well overall, but had walked Fernando Tatis Jr. with one out in the fifth. After a sacrifice bunt, Manny Machado was the next due hitter.
Michael Soroka was warming up. I simply do not understand why Craig Counsell let Imanaga face Machado for a second time. The home run Machado hit was utterly predictable.
This wasn’t why the Cubs lost the game, because they didn’t score. It’s still worth asking the question.
After Machado’s homer it was a battle of bullpens, and the Cubs pen did well holding the Padres scoreless the rest of the way — four innings, two hits, one walk combined by Caleb Thielbar, Colin Rea, Taylor Rogers and Soroka.
But the Cubs couldn’t do anything against Padres high-octane relievers Mason Miller and Robert Suarez, both of whom throw 100-plus.
The Cubs did have a chance in the eighth. Busch was hit by a pitch with two out. Hoerner was the next hitter and sent a line drive toward the right-field corner. Tatis made a leaping catch to end the inning [VIDEO].
If that ball gets past Tatis, Busch scores and Hoerner is on third and the tying run is at the plate.
But it didn’t.
The Cubs did get a baserunner off Suarez with one out in the ninth on a single by Kyle Tucker, his first hit of this series. But Suzuki hit into a double play to end it.
Tip o’ the cap to Padres pitching, which was better than the Cubs’ pitching in this one.
More from BCB’s JohnW53:
Today’s shutout loss was the Cubs’ 10th in their 125 post-season games since 1901. The previous one was just two games ago, by 2-0 vs. the Marlins in Game 2 of the 2020 Wild Card series. Today’s was the seventh at home. One of the earlier six also was by 3-0: the first, vs. the White Sox in Game 3 of the 1906 World Series. The next three were by 1-0, in 1918 and twice in 2016, then by 5-0 vs. the Nationals in Game 4 of the 2017 Division Series.
…
This was the Cubs’ 13th consecutive post-season game at home in which they have scored no more than three runs, since their pennant-clinching 5-0 win over the Dodgers in Game 6 of the 2015 NLCS.Their streak is the longest in MLB history by four games. The Mariners had eight in a row in 1995-2000 and the Twins have an active streak of eight.
Three teams have had seven-game streaks. The Cubs, in 1910-29, are among four with six straight, and, in 1935-45, among 19 with five.
So we’ll have a decisive Game 3 Thursday with Jameson Taillon going for the Cubs and old friend Yu Darvish starting for San Diego.
The game time and TV channel are uncertain at this time. If all four series go to a third game, the Cubs and Padres will be at 2:08 p.m. CT on ABC. If there are three games Thursday, the Cubs game would be at 5:08 p.m. CT on ESPN if the Boston/New York series is over, and at 4:08 p.m. CT if the Cincinnati/Los Angeles series is over. If there are only two games Thursday, the Cubs game would be at 6:38 p.m. CT on ESPN. As always, we await developments.
One more for the right to face the Brewers. Go Cubs!
