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    Cubs-Padres Game Three Thread: Sudden Death Baseball

    It all comes down to this. The Cubs and Padres square off to determine who has the right to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.
    Brandon Glick

    By Brandon Glick

    Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-Imagn Images

    Cubs Video

    Padres pitching dominated Cubs hitters on Wednesday, forcing a winner-take-all Game 3 in Chicago. The starters are right-handers Jameson Taillon for Chicago and Yu Darvish for San Diego. In 2025, Taillon posted a 3.68 ERA, and Darvish a 5.38 as an injury-plagued season limited him to only 15 starts. Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) tells a different story, though; Taillon has a 2025 FIP of 5.00, and Darvish has a 4.83 FIP. This game is unlikely to become a pitcher's duel, at least until both teams reach into their respective bullpens.

    Cubs Bullpen Usage
    Game 1 (Tuesday), Chicago’s relief corps delivered 4 2/3 perfect innings behind starter Matthew Boyd. The sequence was Daniel Palencia for 1 2/3, then Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Kittredge, and Brad Keller covering the final three innings. In Game 2 (Wednesday), the Cubs used an opener approach. Andrew Kittredge handled the 1st, followed by Shota Imanaga for bulk innings. After that, lefty Caleb Thielbar, righty Colin Rea, and lefty Taylor Rogers finished it off; their batters faced were Kittredge 5, Imanaga 17, Thielbar 4, Rea 6, Rogers 3.  Kittredge is the only Cubs pitcher to appear in both games so far, and he is likely out for Thursday's game as a result. 

    Padres Bullpen Usage
    Game 1, San Diego followed starter Nick Pivetta with Adrian Morejon, Mason Miller, and Jeremiah Estrada. In Game 2, Dylan Cease started and worked 3 2/3. Adrian Morejon covered 2 1/3 innings and threw 33 pitches, Mason Miller struck out the first five batters he faced and threw 27 pitches, and Robert Suarez recorded a four-out save to close a 3-0 win. It's likely that both Morejon and Miller will be unavailable for Thursday's game, but given the nature of the situation, it might be all hands on deck for Mike Shildt.

    Padres Batters Vs Jameson Taillon

    Jameson Taillon vs. San Diego Padres: Current Batters Table
    Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP
    1 Xander Bogaerts R 28 28 6 3 0 0 2 0 5 .214 .214 .321 .536 0 0 0 0 1
    2 Ryan O'Hearn L 17 16 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .188 .235 .188 .423 0 0 0 0 1
    3 Martín Maldonado R 16 14 4 1 0 1 1 1 2 .286 .375 .571 .946 0 0 1 1 1
    4 Luis Arráez L 13 13 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 .231 .231 .462 0 0 0 0 0
    5 Jose Iglesias R 13 13 7 2 0 1 3 0 1 .538 .538 .923 1.462 0 0 0 0 0
    6 Gavin Sheets L 11 10 3 1 0 0 0 1 3 .300 .364 .400 .764 0 0 0 0 0
    7 Fernando Tatis Jr. R 6 6 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 .333 .333 .833 1.167 0 0 0 0 0
    8 Manny Machado R 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .200 .000 .200 0 0 0 0 0
    9 Jake Cronenworth L 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
    10 Freddy Fermin R 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 0 0 0 0 0
    Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
    Generated 10/2/2025.

    Cubs Batters Vs Yu Darvish

    Yu Darvish vs. Chicago Cubs: Current Batters Table
    Rk Player B PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GIDP
    1 Justin Turner R 27 24 5 1 0 1 1 3 10 .208 .296 .375 .671 0 0 0 0 0
    2 Dansby Swanson R 22 19 3 1 0 0 1 3 6 .158 .273 .211 .483 0 0 1 0 0
    3 Ian Happ B 14 13 2 0 0 0 2 1 6 .154 .214 .154 .368 0 0 0 0 0
    4 Nico Hoerner R 11 10 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 .200 .273 .400 .673 0 0 0 0 0
    5 Carson Kelly R 10 10 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .300 .300 .300 .600 0 0 0 0 0
    6 Kyle Tucker L 6 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 .167 .167 .333 0 0 0 0 0
    7 Seiya Suzuki R 5 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 .250 .400 .500 .900 0 0 0 0 0
    8 Michael Busch L 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
    9 Pete Crow-Armstrong L 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
    Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
    Generated 10/2/2025.

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    Recommended Comments



    Featured Comments

    abuck1220

    abuck1220 223

    Posted

    won’t ever happen but I hope they trade Shaw. impossible to root for personally and has looked like an overmatched JV player for 80% of the season 

    • Like 2
    • Disagree 3
    ILMindState

    ILMindState 279

    Posted

    Ugh 10 hits and only 2 runs 

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,045

    Posted

    Just now, Jason Ross said:

    Damnit. Well, probably just used up almost every pitch Suarez had in him. 

    They'll either have to go on three-day-usage Morejon and Miller or dip into the BP further. 

    You think so? It’s an elimination game, I think they’ll extend him beyond what they normally would unless he gets in trouble

    Caesar

    Caesar 10

    Posted

    It’s going to be the offense as everyone predicted. WOW just wow

    Guest

    Guest

    Posted

    holy horsefeathers Palencia out for a 3rd inning?

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,564

    Posted

    Just now, UMFan83 said:

    You think so? It’s an elimination game, I think they’ll extend him beyond what they normally would unless he gets in trouble

    He wasn't super sharp and went 18 pitches yesterday. He probably shouldn't be trusted much over 30 and he's almost there already.

    Brandon Glick

    Brandon Glick 160

    Posted

    I appreciate Matt Shaw. His at-bats are perfect for bathroom breaks 

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,564

    Posted

    Just now, Pinerider said:

    holy horsefeathers Palencia out for a 3rd inning?

    Just one hitter. They'll bring in Pomeranz for the lefties.

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,045

    Posted

    Wow, I know Drew is coming in after this but surprised to see Palencia out for a 3rd different inning

    Wilson A2000

    Wilson A2000 606

    Posted (edited)

    2 minutes ago, abuck1220 said:

    won’t ever happen but I hope they trade Shaw. impossible to root for personally and has looked like an overmatched JV player for 80% of the season 

    839 OPS post All Star break, but he needs a B hack

    Edited by Wilson A2000
    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,045

    Posted

    Just now, Brandon Glick said:

    I appreciate Matt Shaw. His at-bats are perfect for bathroom breaks 

    How fast do you pee man?

    • Like 1
    • Haha 3
    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,045

    Posted (edited)

    Another 2 strike hit allowed with the breaking pitch

    Edited by UMFan83
    Caesar

    Caesar 10

    Posted

    2 runs won’t hold. Very predictable. 

    Hortonhearsawho

    Hortonhearsawho 88

    Posted

    Come on Drew we need you to come up huge here!

    chibears55

    chibears55 869

    Posted

    Here we go...

    Let them stay in this game after blowing opportunities to put them away, especially in that 2nd inning 😤 

    Eeyore

    Eeyore 199

    Posted

    Who doing the stretch?

    Guest

    Guest

    Posted

    ugh come on DP ball pls!

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,564

    Posted

    If I told you in March that the Cubs would have Drew Pomeranz and Brad Keller closing out the last 9 outs of a playoff series, you'd have thought I was crazy.

    • Like 2
    Guest

    Guest

    Posted

    Oh boy

    UMFan83

    UMFan83 3,045

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

    If I told you in March that the Cubs would have Drew Pomeranz and Brad Keller closing out the last 9 outs of a playoff series, you'd have thought I was crazy.

    You think Keller will go 2 if Drew gets through this inning?

    Jason Ross

    Jason Ross 2,564

    Posted

    Just now, UMFan83 said:

    You think Keller will go 2 if Drew gets through this inning?

    Yep. You have a former SP who's rested. If Kittredge handn't been used the last two days, I think he would have had an inning. But considering that? It's probably Keller for six.

    Eeyore

    Eeyore 199

    Posted

    There goes the double play 



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