Padres sweep MLB's highest-scoring Cubs, hold them to .129
San Diego beat Chicago 8-0 and 4-1 in the NL Wild Card Series, holding baseball's top-scoring offence to eight hits in two games.
The San Diego Padres swept the Chicago Cubs out of the NL Wild Card Series on 29 and 30 September, beating the offence that led Major League Baseball with 850 runs during the regular season. The Cubs topped the majors in scoring, per CBS Sports, yet across two games at Petco Park they managed eight hits and batted .129 (8-for-62), per ESPN. The Padres won 8-0 and 4-1 and now face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Division Series.
A franchise first on the first pitch
Game 1 opened with a piece of Padres history. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit the first leadoff home run in the club's postseason history, a 405-foot drive to center field off a Matthew Boyd changeup on the first pitch of the game, per ESPN. San Diego went on to win 8-0.
Tatis credited the home crowd. "Just the energy of our fans, our group, how we're feeling playing at home... you just feel like your blood is running inside your body so fast," he said, per ESPN.
Manny Machado added a solo home run in the first inning and an RBI double in the third, per ESPN. The home run was Machado's ninth in the postseason for the Padres, a franchise record, ESPN reported. Xander Bogaerts also homered off Boyd in the game, per ESPN.
King's seven scoreless innings
On the mound, Michael King pitched seven scoreless innings in Game 1, allowing one hit and striking out eight, per ESPN. He held a no-hitter into the seventh inning, ESPN reported. Joe Musgrove also pitched in the game, his first playoff appearance in more than two years after Tommy John surgery, and escaped a bases-loaded jam in relief, per ESPN.
Sheets and the bullpen close it out
Game 2 was tighter, but the result was the same. Gavin Sheets hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run off a 100.8 mph fastball, the hardest pitch any Padre has homered on in the regular season or postseason, per MLB.com. Nico Hoerner drove in Chicago's only run in the fourth inning, per ESPN. Five Padres pitchers held the Cubs to five hits, with the bullpen throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings, MLB.com reported, as San Diego won 4-1.
| Game | Date | Score | Key Padres performer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 September 2026 | Padres 8, Cubs 0 | Michael King: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 8 K |
| 2 | 30 September 2026 | Padres 4, Cubs 1 | Gavin Sheets: pinch-hit two-run HR |
| Series | Padres win 2-0 | Cubs hit .129 (8-for-62) |
The Cubs' quiet bats
Two of Chicago's key hitters went without a hit. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman combined to go 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts in the series, per MLB.com. For a lineup that scored 850 runs over the regular season, per CBS Sports, the series produced a single run.
Machado pointed to the Petco Park crowd. "I've never seen anything like it. That was huge," he said, per MLB.com.
How San Diego got here
The sweep capped a strong finish. The Padres were 50-53 on 23 July and went 35-17 over their final 52 regular-season games, per ESPN. It also reversed last year's result: San Diego lost the 2025 Wild Card Series to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, MLB.com reported, after reaching the NL Division Series in 2024, where they lost 3-2 to the Dodgers.
Next: the Brewers
The Padres now meet the Milwaukee Brewers, who finished with MLB's best regular-season record, per MLB.com. Game 1 of the NL Division Series is scheduled for 3 October at American Family Field in Milwaukee, MLB.com reported.
Manager Craig Stammen put the sweep in context. "We had 13 bricks to lay. Two down, 11 more to go," he said, per MLB.com.