Manny Machado belted a two-run homer in the fifth inning, helping the visiting San Diego Padres square their National League wild-card series against the Chicago Cubs at one win apiece following a 3-0 victory on Wednesday.
The decisive Game 3 of the best-of-three series is Thursday afternoon in Chicago. The winner of that contest will play the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in the best-of-five NL Division Series.
San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. scored on a sacrifice fly from Jackson Merrill in the first inning. Luis Arraez contributed two of the seven hits for the Padres, who rebounded from a 3-1 setback in the series opener on Tuesday.
Adrian Morejon (1-0) relieved Padres starter Dylan Cease in the fourth inning and did not allow a hit over 2 1/3 scoreless innings, one day after working a scoreless frame in the series opener. The left-hander also benefited from a fortunate bounce in the sixth inning, as Nico Hoerner sent a hard-hit ball that caromed off his right foot and right to first baseman Arraez for an easy out.
Mason Miller followed up striking out the side in the series opener by fanning the first five batters he faced on Wednesday.
“It doesn’t get much better,” Cease said. “What was that, five batters, five strikeouts? It’s like a cheat code; it’s really impressive.”
Miller exited after hitting Michael Busch with a pitch, however, Robert Suarez retired Hoerner when Tatis made a running catch in right field.
Suarez overcame a one-out single by Kyle Tucker in the ninth inning by inducing Seiya Suzuki to ground into a game-ending double play.
“It’s outstanding,” Tatis said of the San Diego bullpen. “That’s what they are capable of doing and they carry us all year. We expect them to keeping doing that.”
Tatis singled to lead off the game against opener Andrew Kittredge (0-1) and advanced to second on a base hit from Arraez. A double steal put both runners in scoring position before Merrill’s sacrifice fly to the front edge of the warning track in right field allowed Tatis to trot home to open the scoring.
Shota Imanaga relieved Kittredge to start the second inning and coasted into the fifth before issuing a seven-pitch walk to Tatis. Machado stepped up two batters later and launched a first-pitch fastball well over the wall in left field for his 12th career postseason homer.
“Look, the result suggests we should’ve done something different,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of having Imanaga face Machado. “Really just confidence in Shota, plain and simple there. I thought he was pitching well. I thought he was throwing the ball really well. Unfortunately, he made a mistake.”
Imanaga surrendered 31 homers in 25 starts during the regular season, tied for the second most in the National League behind Washington’s Jake Irvin (38 homers in 33 starts).
Kittredge permitted one run on two hits in one inning after tossing one scoreless frame in relief on Tuesday.
Counsell said the first two games of the series have met expectations.
“I think tomorrow will be a lot of the same,” he said of Thursday’s Game 3. “I think we’re made for that. We’re gonna have to produce more offense, there’s no question. … That’s gonna be the challenge tomorrow.”
–Field Level Media
