Playoff Energy Returns to the Northside as Cubs Take Game 1
- Eugene McIntosh
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Swanson’s defense, back-to-back jacks and Counsell’s bullpen magic put Chicago one win from advancing.
CHICAGO — The 39,114 in attendance at Wrigley Field made sure their voices were heard Tuesday afternoon — the loudest I’ve heard it since 2016. The Cubs fed off that energy, grinding out a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres to take Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series.
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson admitted the moment of playing his first playoff game at Wrigley got to him. “The energy, the fan base—just the intensity of the game was unbelievable. This is real fun…real, real, real fun. It was beautiful. Definitely a couple of tears in the eyes before the game. It’s just such an amazing thing to be a part of and grateful to have experienced it today, and hopefully many more to come,” he said.
Boyd & Defense Set the Tone
Cubs starter Matthew Boyd wasn’t dominant, but he was gutsy — 4.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 Ks (58 pitches). He got out of jams in the 2nd and 3rd thanks to Gold Glove defense behind him, most notably Swanson flashing leather to save two runs.
“I think to win any baseball game, you’ve gotta make tough outs. They came my way today but we’ve got so many good defenders on this team that guys have made plays all year. But it’s really important —they had some chances to score and being able to limit them to that one run was an unbelievable job by Matty Boyd to limit what could’ve been some damage and some extra runs,” Swanson said.
Breaking Pavetta’s Groove
Padres starter Nick Pavetta was cookin early, retiring 11 straight and piling up 6 strikeouts through 4 innings. But the Cubs finally made the adjustment in the 5th. Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly took advantage of two Pavetta mistakes, smacking back-to-back home runs — the Cubs’ first in the postseason since Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler in 2016 against the Dodgers.
Counsell’s Bullpen Magic
Cubs manager Craig Counsell stuck to his script, pulling Boyd before the Padres could face him a third time through the order. While Counsell has taken his share of criticism this season for some bullpen decisions, managing matchups and leveraging his relievers has long been one of his strengths. It paid off this afternoon as the pen delivered a masterclass.
Daniel Palencia entered in the 5th and recorded five outs, striking out two.
Drew Pomeranz and Andrew Kittredge followed with perfect frames in the 7th and 8th.
Brad Keller closed the door in the 9th, sending Wrigley into a frenzy with a strikeout of Xander Bogaerts to end it.
“It was perfect today, that’s what it was” Counsell said in reference to his pen’s dominance. “I’ve talked a lot about them helping each other and how that group is connected and today was a great example of it. They get their outs and they make their matchups, and so just a brilliant job. Everybody just executed pitches — made pitches. Can’t say enough about what they did today.”
Small Ball & Hoerner’s Clutch Gene
The Cubs had a chance to extend their lead in the 6th but squandered a golden opportunity, failing to execute with runners on first and second and nobody out. Instead, they leaned on their best situational hitter in the 8th.
Swanson led off with a single, and rookie Matt Shaw dropped his first sacrifice bunt of the year. After a questionable intentional walk to Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner did what he’s done all season — shorten up and drive in runs. His sacrifice fly scored Swanson to make it 3-1, giving the Cubs crucial insurance.
Hoerner, who finished the regular season with a .371 average with runners in scoring position (second only to Bo Bichette in MLB), proved again why he’s one of the most reliable clutch bats in baseball.
Wrigley was jumpin,, the Cubs’ bullpen held it down and Chicago is now one win from advancing.
Andrew Kittredge will open Game 2 tomorrow.
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