The San Diego Padres receive endless praise for their first-class bullpen, and rightly so, but their starting pitching rotation has been littered with question marks for much of the 2025 campaign. Dylan Cease struggled before getting into a groove in September, Michael King made only 15 starts due to injury and Father Time has caught up to Yu Darvish. Nick Pivetta is the stabilizing force of this group and was therefore the only logical choice to start Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series. He made a couple of mistakes, though, and that was enough to hand the Friars an unsettling 3-1 loss versus the Chicago Cubs.
Pivetta breezed through the fist four innings but ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning. He allowed back-to-back home runs to scorching-hot Seiya Suzuki and hometown favorite Carson Kelly. San Diego fell behind 2-1 and never recovered. Besides those two pitches — the one to Kelly was up in the zone — the veteran right-hander gave up only a first-inning single to Nico Hoerner. He struck out the side after the bumpy stretch and finished with nine strikeouts and no walks in five frames.
Pivetta's overall performance could have easily resulted in a win, especially with baseball's best pen behind him, but the lineup stalled the rest of the way. Although the free agency signing knows he made plenty of good pitches during the afternoon, he also understands there is little room for error in the postseason.
“It's part of baseball,” Nick Pivetta told reporters after the loss, per The San Diego Union-Tribune's Jeff Sanders. “I gave up three hits today … but I need to execute.” While the Canadian hurler did experience some trouble in the fifth, the quiet Padres' offense should bear the brunt of the blame.
Padres' star hitters have to erupt ASAP
Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd gave up 12 runs in 20 1/3 innings in September, but he tossed a solid 4 1/3 innings before handing Game 1 over to a supremely prepared bullpen. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado went a combined 0-for-7 at the plate, and the club registered only four total hits. Xander Bogaerts was responsible for two of those, which included an RBI double that put San Diego on top, 1-0, in the second. One run will not suffice against a formidable Chicago lineup.
The Padres must quickly make adjustments and string together hits in what is now a must-win Game 2 on Wednesday. Pivetta is surely itching for the chance to get back on the mound and avenge his few moments of weakness, but he will need his teammates to give him that opportunity. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
