The San Diego Padres dropped Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series to the Chicago Cubs Tuesday afternoon. The loss continued an alarming October trend. Once again, the Padres offense disappeared when it mattered most. Cold bats fueled a familiar wave of postseason frustration.
The loss only deepened the Padres postseason struggles across the past two years. They’ve now managed just one run over their last 33 innings. As noted by USA Today's Bob Nightengale on X (formerly known as Twitter), the stretch highlights the severity of the club's lingering issues on the MLB postseason stage.
“The San Diego Padres have now scored 1 run in the last 33 innings in the postseason.”
In Game 1 of the 2025 NL Wild Card Series, the Padres struck first when rookie Jackson Merrill doubled and scored on a follow-up double by Xander Bogaerts. A throwing error allowed Bogaerts to reach third, but the San Diego offense came up empty from there. That would stand as the Padres' only run of the afternoon.
Starter Nick Pivetta delivered four dominant innings before the Cubs flipped the momentum with back-to-back homers in the fifth from Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly. The Padres vs. Cubs matchup turned from a pitchers’ duel into a reminder of how quickly playoff games can shift.
The Cubs added insurance in the eighth and their bullpen was lights out, retiring all 14 batters over the final 4.2 innings. In contrast, stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Bogaerts combined to go 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position — a troubling pattern from last postseason.
Now facing elimination, the Padres turn to Dylan Cease in Game 2. But unless the San Diego offense snaps out of this historic slump, their season — and any hope of a World Series run — could be over much sooner than expected.
