San Diego Padres
Role Player
Cubs hand Padres first loss at home
Source: https://www.gaslampball.com/2025/4/15/24409548/cubs-hand-padres-first-loss-at-home
Yuki Matsui | Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
San Diego comes up short in extra innings, falls 2-1
The San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs battled through nine innings, but needed extras to decide the game at Petco Park, Tuesday night.
The Cubs took the lead with the first batter in the top of the 10th inning. Nico Hoerner faced Yuki Matsui with Dansby Swanson starting the inning on second base. Hoerner lined a ball in to the right-center field gap to score Swanson and give Chicago a 2-1 lead. Matsui then recorded a fly out, and back-to-back strikeouts of Miguel Amaya and Jon Berti to strand Hoerner at third.
The Padres threatened in their half of the 10th and had a runner on third base with one out after Jose Iglesias stole third base. Elias Diaz came in to pinch hit for Martin Maldonado and hit a soft ground ball over the pitcher’s mound. Chicago pitcher Caleb Thielbar fielded the ball and threw out Diaz, leaving Iglesias at third.
With two outs, Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped to the plate with a chance to tie or perhaps win the game. He saw two pitches from Thielbar and was ahead in the count 2-0, when Chicago decided to intentionally walk him to face Luis Arraez. He saw one pitch and hit a fly ball to left-center field that was caught to end the threat and the game, giving the Cubs a 2-1 win.
Chicago appeared to be on the brink of breaking the 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh. Jeremiah Estrada came in to replace Adrian Morejon, who allowed a single to Kyle Tucker to start the inning. Estrada quickly got the first out of the inning with a strikeout of Justin Turner.
With a runner on first, Estrada appeared to be out of the inning when Michael Busch hit a comebacker to him on the mound that seemed destined to result in a double play. Instead, Estrada spiked the throw to second where shortstop Xander Bogaerts was waiting to start the turn. The ball rolled away from Bogaerts and Tucker was able to go from first to third base on the play. Busch stood on first after the error.
Estrada responded after the error by getting a strikeout of Swanson and finished the inning when Hoerner flied out to Gavin Sheets in left field for the third out.
Jason Adam came on to pitch for the Padres in the top of the eighth and he too, worked into and out of trouble. With two outs, Adam allowed a walk to Berti, who then stole second base. Ian Happ followed with a pop out to Bogaerts to end the eighth.
Robert Suarez came on in the ninth inning, which is not uncommon since he has converted all seven of his save opportunities. This time, Suarez came in to a tie game and was given the task of facing Tucker, Turner and Busch. The closer retired the first two batters, but then allowed a double to Busch. Suarez then ended the inning when Swanson struck out on a high fastball, keeping the game tied as the Padres went to the bottom of the ninth inning.
Manny Machado put San Diego up 1-0 with his second home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning. Chicago answered in the top of the sixth by manufacturing a run on two singles and a sacrifice bunt by Pete Crow-Armstrong that made the score 1-1.
The Padres take on the Cubs in the final game of the series, Wednesday at 1:10 p.m.
Source: https://www.gaslampball.com/2025/4/15/24409548/cubs-hand-padres-first-loss-at-home
️: 7:10 PM