Cubs beat Padres 3-1 to win Wild
Card Series, advance to NL Division Series against Brewers
[October 03, 2025]
By JAY COHEN
CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit an RBI single off a shaky Yu
Darvish, and the Chicago Cubs shut down Fernando Tatis Jr. and the
San Diego Padres for a clinching 3-1 victory in Game 3 of their NL
Wild Card Series on Thursday.
Backed by a raucous crowd of 40,895 at Wrigley Field, Chicago used
its stellar defense to advance in the postseason for the first time
since 2017. Michael Busch hit a solo homer, and Jameson Taillon
pitched four shutout innings before manager Craig Counsell used five
relievers to close it out.
“This group's battle-tested,” Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said.
“This group can grind it out. This group never backs down from and
shies away from anything. This is such an amazing thing to be a part
of.”
After Brad Keller faltered in the ninth — allowing Jackson Merrill’s
leadoff homer and hitting two batters with pitches — Andrew
Kittredge earned the save by retiring Jake Cronenworth on a bouncer
to third and Freddy Fermin on a flyball to center field.
Next up for Chicago is a matchup with the NL Central champion
Brewers in a compelling Division Series, beginning with Game 1 on
Saturday in Milwaukee.
Counsell managed the Brewers for nine years before he was hired by
the Cubs in November 2023, and he has been lustily booed in
Milwaukee ever since he departed.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” Counsell said. “It’s
Cubs-Brewers. That’s going to be as good as it gets. It’s always a
great atmosphere when the two teams play each other.”
It was another painful ending for San Diego after it made the
postseason for the fourth time in six years but fell short of a
pennant again. The Padres forced a decisive Game 3 with a 3-0
victory on Wednesday, but their biggest stars flopped in the series
finale.
“There’s a lot of hurt guys in that clubhouse, but we left it all
out on the field, and there’s no regrets on anybody’s part,” manager
Mike Shildt said. “Just disappointed.”
Tatis went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, including a flyball to
right that stranded runners at second and third in the fifth.
Machado, who hit a two-run homer in Game 2, bounced to Swanson for
the final out of the eighth, leaving a runner at third.
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The Chicago Cubs celebrate after Game 3 of a National League wild
card baseball game against the San Diego Padres Thursday, Oct. 2,
2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)
“It’s not fun at all. We definitely missed an
opportunity,” Tatis said.
Darvish also struggled against his former team. The Japanese
right-hander was pulled after the first four Cubs batters reached in
the second inning, capped by the first of Crow-Armstrong’s three
hits.
Jeremiah Estrada came in and issued a bases-loaded walk to Swanson,
handing the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Estrada limited the damage by striking
out Matt Shaw before Busch bounced into an inning-ending double
play.
Taillon allowed two hits and struck out four. Caleb Thielbar got two
outs before Daniel Palencia wiggled out of a fifth-inning jam while
earning his second win of the series. Drew Pomeranz handled the
seventh before Keller worked the eighth.
The Cubs supported their bullpen with another solid day in the
field. Swanson made a slick play on Luis Arraez’s leadoff grounder
in the sixth, and then turned an inning-ending double play following
a walk to Machado.
Crow-Armstrong, who went 0 for 6 with five strikeouts in the first
two games of the series, robbed Machado of a hit with a sliding
catch in center in the first.
“It’s just the next step for us,” Busch said. “You set out a goal
before each and every year to do stuff like this, and you celebrate
it, and it’s been fun to celebrate and continue to celebrate it
tonight, but there’s a lot of work ahead.”
Up next
Chicago went 7-6 against Milwaukee this season, outscoring the
Brewers 60-56. The NL Central rivals last played in August, when the
Cubs won three times in a five-game series.
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