The Padres didn’t leave much doubt on Wednesday night.
San Diego beat the Cubs 4-1 to complete a two-game wild-card sweep and punch its ticket to the National League Division Series, where the next stop is Milwaukee and a matchup with the No. 1 seed Brewers.
This one belonged to the Padres from the start. Nick Pivetta set the tone on the mound by retiring the first six hitters he faced, and San Diego’s lineup gave him support in the second inning. Ty France, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts strung together three straight hits, then Ethan Salas - who became the youngest player to catch a postseason game in MLB history - lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Pivetta ran into a little trouble in the third after a leadoff walk and a single, but he still finished the inning by retiring three straight. Chicago finally broke through in the fourth, scoring its first run of the series before Pivetta exited with two on and one out. Right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez took over and worked out of the jam.
San Diego answered right away. Gavin Sheets, batting as a pinch hitter, launched a two-run homer in the fourth to push the Padres ahead 4-1, and from there the bullpen slammed the door.
Rodriguez followed with a scoreless fifth, Jason Adam threw a perfect sixth, and Adrian Morejon covered the next two innings with back-to-back zeros. Mason Miller then finished it off in the ninth, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Now the Padres get two days off before heading to Milwaukee for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.
PT/8:30 p.m. ET.
The teams split the season series in Milwaukee and San Diego, with the Brewers taking two of three at home from May 12-14 and the Padres sweeping them at Petco Park from Aug. 10-12.
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