The San Diego Padres forced a Game 3 in their NLWCS matchup against the Chicago Cubs with a huge win Wednesday. The Padres gave the ball to Yu Darvish for the winner-take-all finale. But the 13th-year veteran ran into trouble early.
After an uneventful first inning, the Cubs hit Darvish hard in the second frame. Kyle Tucker led off with a single to right and Seiya Suzuki followed with a double to left. Darvish then loaded the bases by plunking Carson Kelly. A Pete Crow-Armstrong RBI single got the Cubs on the board and chased San Diego’s 39-year-old starter from the game.
Darvish was removed after recording just three outs on Thursday, per Talkin’ Baseball. The five-time All-Star departed his 14th-career postseason start with the bases loaded and the Padres down 1-0.
Padres go to bullpen early in Game 3 of NLWCS
Despite leaning heavily on the team's relievers while facing elimination in Game 2, manager Mike Shildt said the Padres’ bullpen was “All hands on deck” for Thursday’s do-or-die matchup.
San Diego turned to Jeremiah Estrada after Darvish’s exit. The veteran righty entered in a tight spot, with no outs and the bases full. Estrada started by walking Dansby Swanson in a seven-pitch at-bat. The walk brought another run in for the Cubs, putting Chicago up 2-0.
But after the early miscue, Estrada came up huge for the Padres. He struck out Matt Shaw on three pitches and then got out of the jam by inducing Michael Busch into an inning-ending double-play.
Estrada followed Darvish’s disappointing outing by throwing two scoreless frames for San Diego. The Padres then handed the ball to Michael King as the team attempts to hold the Cubs’ offense in check after going down 2-0 early.
Just about every pitcher on San Diego’s roster is ready to be called upon in Thursday’s matchup. Even Game 1 starter Nick Pivetta is available to face the Cubs. The ninth-year veteran threw 85 pitches over five innings in the Padres' series opening loss.
The Padres-Cubs tilt is just one of three Game 3s in a historic day for playoff baseball. The Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees also forced decisive Game 3s after losing the opener of their Wild Card Series matchups. It’s just the second time in postseason history that three elimination games took place on the same day.
