Overview

• Chicago beat San Diego 3-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the NL Wild Card Series, marking the Cubs' first postseason win since 2017.
• Seiya Suzuki tied the game with a 424-foot homer for his fifth straight game with a home run, and Carson Kelly followed for the Cubs' first playoff back-to-back since 2016.
• The Padres struck first on Xander Bogaerts' RBI double scoring Jackson Merrill, while starter Nick Pivetta struck out nine over five innings but yielded the two fifth-inning homers.
• Manager Craig Counsell lifted Matthew Boyd after 4.1 innings, and relievers Daniel Palencia, Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Kittredge and Brad Keller retired the final Padres without a baserunner, with Keller closing.
• A wild pitch set up Nico Hoerner's eighth-inning sacrifice fly for insurance, and Game 2 will feature Cease for San Diego with Kittredge opening for Chicago, likely followed by Shōta Imanaga.