The San Diego Padres’ 2025 postseason ended in familiar fashion: disappointment. Despite forcing a decisive matchup after a 3-0 shutout win in Game 2, they lost 3-1 to the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series on Thursday evening.
San Diego third baseman and shortstop Manny Machado, who went just 1-for-10 in the series, did not shy away from accountability.
“I’ll put that blame on me. I should have been better,” Machado said after the loss, per Marty Caswell of the Sporting Tribune.
The only feather in his cap came in Game 2 with a two-run homer, but when push came to shove in Game 3, he couldn’t come through, grounding out to shortstop Dansby Swanson in the eighth inning with a runner on third.
The Padres' other marquee star, Fernando Tatis Jr., couldn’t get the bat going either. In the winner-take-all Game 3, he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, including a flyout in the fifth when San Diego had men in scoring position, a chance that slipped through their fingers. Alongside Machado, the pair went 2-for-22 with only one homer and two RBIs, nowhere near enough to move the needle
Yu Darvish, making his first postseason start against his former team, lasted just one inning plus four batters into the second, surrendering an RBI single to Pete Crow-Armstrong before being pulled. Darvish left with San Diego trailing 1-0. Another run scored on a bases-loaded walk after Darvish left, and the Cubs never looked back.
The Padres’ bullpen kept the game within reach. Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta, Michael King, Adrian Morejon, Robert Suarez, and David Morgan combined for seven innings of one-run ball with only Michael Busch’s solo home run off Suarez in the seventh adding to Chicago’s lead. But the Padres’ lineup repeatedly failed to convert opportunities, stranding four runners in scoring position before the ninth inning.
The rookie Jackson Merrill was the only one to light a fire under the Padres’ bats, belting a leadoff homer off Brad Keller in the ninth for his maiden postseason blast. San Diego later put two more runners aboard, but Chicago reliever Andrew Kittredge shut the door to send Chicago to its first NL Division Series since 2017.
The Cubs’ defense also played a decisive role. Crow-Armstrong, who had been hitless in the first two games, robbed Machado of a base hit in the opening inning with a sliding catch. Swanson anchored the infield, starting two crucial double plays and flashing his Gold Glove form to deny San Diego multiple scoring chances.
Another October stumble leaves the Padres’ season ending without a World Series appearance after reaching the postseason for the fourth time in six years.
