The San Diego Padres completed a convincing sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card Series with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday night at Petco Park. The Padres followed their dominant 8-0 win in the series opener on Tuesday by combining strong pitching and timely hitting to eliminate the Cubs in two games.
San Diego’s pitching staff restricted Chicago to just eight hits over the 18 innings of the series, holding the majors' top-scoring team and National League home run leader largely in check. Five Padres pitchers combined on a five-hitter in Game 2, with starter Nick Pivetta allowing one run before being replaced early in the game. Bradgley Rodríguez then entered the game and escaped a bases-loaded jam, preserving the Padres’ lead.
Offensively, the Padres took the lead in the second inning when Ty France doubled and later scored on a single from Xander Bogaerts, who finished with an RBI. Ethan Salas, the 20-year-old rookie and youngest catcher to appear in a major league postseason game, drove in another run later that inning with a line-drive flyout that scored Jackson Merrill. Salas, recalled on September 1, added a historic milestone to the Padres’ run, becoming their youngest postseason participant.
Chicago’s lone run came in the fourth inning when Seiya Suzuki singled and later scored on an RBI ground ball by Nico Hoerner, who accounted for half of the Cubs' series hits and their only run. Despite being one of the league’s top offensive teams this season, Chicago’s lineup struggled throughout the series, with top prospects Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman failing to produce significant contributions.
The Padres extended their lead later in the fourth inning when Bogaerts’ double forced the removal of Cubs starter Kevin Gausman, and pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets followed with a two-run home run. Sheets’ blast, traveling at 100.8 mph, marked the Padres’ first pinch-hit home run in postseason play since 2005 and provided the final margin of victory.
San Diego’s fast start to the series marked a turnaround from last year’s Wild Card matchup, when Chicago eliminated the Padres in three games at Wrigley Field. The Padres, riding a 20-3 run since early September, have now secured their fifth playoff series victory in seven years and will face the National League’s best team, the Milwaukee Brewers, in the division series beginning this weekend.