Never win easy
The Cubs dominated game three and still made it nuts in the ninth
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It's really true that when you win a game in the playoffs you think you're never going to lose again and when you lose a game you can't imagine winning another one. But in the decisive game three of the Wild Card series against the Padres, the Cubs set the tone early. Jameson Taillon struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. on three pitches to start the first, and Petecrow made a diving catch on a sinking Manny Machado liner to end it.
In the second inning the Cubs looked like they were set to pile on Yu Darvish, and Petecrow broke his 0-for-the-series with a big hit.
Our boy Petecrow's bat didn't arrive late for these playoffs. Turns out, it was right on time.
The Cubs had a lead and would push it to 2-0 when Dansby Swanson walked against former Cub Jeremiah Estrada with the bases loaded. Surely, they could finally break through with a big inning and make this easy on themselves, right?
Well, no. Matt Shaw apparently didn't notice that Estrada had just walked Dansby and was continually trying to dry his sweaty palm on his pants. Shaw swung at a pitch over his head and then struck out on one about a foot outside. Michael Busch hit into a double play and it was nice to be up 2-0, but it should have been four or five.
But it didn't really matter to Taillon. He cruised through four innings, striking out four and allowing just two hits. Apparently starters aren't allowed to go much farther in the playoffs, so Top Jimmy was replaced in the fifth by Caleb Thielbar.
The Cubs' bullpen was the balls, again. In game three they had to cover five innings, and were not as perfect as they'd been in games one and two, but they managed to navigate those 15 outs allowing five hits, one run, walking one and striking out four.
The Padres' bullpen allowed just one run (a Michael Busch homer off of Robert Suarez) but they were much more touchable than they'd been in the previous games. The Cubs had at least one hit in every inning, and had nine in the seven innings against that bullpen.
The Cubs clung to that 2-0 lead into the seventh, and it felt like the Padres were somehow escaping jam after jam. Busch's homer gave them a little breathing room, but nobody wanted to tempt the ghosts of 3-0 all the way to the end.
It's the most cursed of all scores. The Cubs led the Padres 3-0 in game five in San Diego in 1984 and couldn't hold it. Mark Prior took the mound in the eighth inning of game six in 2003 and it didn't last.
And it looked like the Cubs had added a fourth when Nico Hoerner tried to score on a Kyle Tucker grounder to Luis Arraez. He was called out on the field, and the replay seemed to show his oven mitt getting to the plate just before the tag by Freddy Fermin, but the replay umps copped out and said the call stood.
A big part of the reason it was 3-0 heading into the eighth was more incredible defense by Dansby Swanson.
He made two run saving great plays in game one. But in game three he went even further with three spectacular plays leading to four huge outs.
The Cubs turned the final six outs over to Brad Keller, as Daniel Palencia had once again been needed earlier in the game, and Andrew Kittredge had pitched in the first two games.
No problem, right? I mean for Bad Brad, "the action is the juice."
He navigated a tricky eighth, after allowing a single to Freddy "Augie Ojeda" Fermin (four hits in ten at bats in the series?) he sprayed a bunch of pitches but still managed to strike out Tatis, then throw a wild pitch, then get Arraez out one another nice Dansby play, and Machado to ground out.
I was glad that he managed to get out of the inning without Jackson Merrill (who OPS'd 1.253 in the series) coming up with a chance to tie the game.
But with most of the Padres best hitters cleared, it seemed like Keller should have an easier time in the ninth.
Sure.
Turns out for him, the action was running out of juice.
Merrill homered off of him to start the ninth and made it 3-1.
Then on a full count Keller walked Xander Bogaerts, only to be bailed out by an overly generous strike zone from home plate umpire DJ Rayburn.
Yikes.
Just two outs to go.
Keller got two strikes on Ryan O'Hearn and pulled a pitch meant for the outside corner so much it hit O'Hearn. Oops.
Then with two strikes he bounced a pitch about 40 feet from the mound and still somehow hit Bryce Johnson with it.
The Padres had the tying run on first with one out, Craig Counsell had to go bring in Andrew Rickety Kittredge to save it, after all.
Kittredge got Jake Cronenworth to ground slowly to Shaw, but the ball kind of stuck in Shaw's mitt and his throw to first was close enough that the Padres challenged the out call.
Cronenworth was out, so it left it up to the great Freddy Fermin.
Kittredge wouldn't even let the drama build. One pitch and Fermin flew harmlessly to Petecrow to end it.
It's the Cubs first playoff series win since beating the Nationals in the 2017 NLDS, and they are off to that round to face a team that considers them to be a rival (it's so cute.)
The series starts in Milwaukee at 1:08 p.m. on Saturday. Nobody's sure yet what Cub will start, but Jake Arrieta looked pretty good throwing out that first pitch the other day.
There's a whole day to worry about that. The Cubs are going to enjoy this for a little while.
WE ARE ALIVE, BABY.
— Chicago Cubs (@cubsbot.bsky.social) 2025-10-03T01:22:31.000Z
Check out the RECRAP postgame from last night. Oleg couldn't hear for the first few minutes, and Praz can be heard but not seen, but it turns into the high quality production you've come to expect.
Podcast: RECRAP - Never win easy - Cubs 3, Padres 1 - Oct. 2, 2025
