The Chicago Cubs won Game Two against the San Diego Padres in extra innings by a score of 2-1. On a night when the Cubs’ pitching was fantastic, the offense did just enough to hand the Padres their first home loss of the season.
Sho-Time in San Diego
Coming off his worst start of the season last Wednesday against the Rangers, Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga rebounded nicely to shut down an excellent Padres lineup. In five innings of work, he struck out seven batters, walked only three, and gave up just four hits.
He did allow Manny Machado to homer in the fifth inning, but that was after back-to-back dropped foul balls on the Cubs’ defense. As a result, the run wasn’t earned, but the prolonged at bat drove up his pitch count to 93, which caused him to leave the game afterwards.
After tying the game in the top of the sixth inning on a Pete Crow-Armstrong sacrifice bunt, the Cubs’ offense had men on with a chance to take the lead. Unfortunately, their recent struggles with runners in scoring position would continue, and they wouldn’t be able to add any more.
In the sixth inning, Padres starter Randy Vasquez would leave the game as well. Similar to Imanaga, Vasquez had a great night. He tossed five innings of one-run ball while allowing seven hits.
A battle of the bullpens
The second half of this game became a battle of the bullpens. This would seem to favor San Diego, given how dominant their bullpen has been this season.
But the Cubs’ bullpen held their own against the dominant Padres’ bullpen. Both units pitched the remainder of the game mistake-free free which necessitated extra innings to determine a winner.
In the top of the 10th inning, with a “Manfred” man on second, Nico Hoerner smashed a triple into the right-center gap to score Swanson and give the Cubs a 2-1 lead. Despite having a man on third with no outs, the Cubs would be unable to extend that lead and entered the bottom of the tenth needing to prevent any damage to secure the win.
An Unexpected Hero
Enter Caleb Thielbar. After Porter Hodge and Ryan Pressly handled the eighth and ninth innings, Cubs skipper Craig Counsell called on the veteran left to shut the door. Thielbar entered the night with a 6.35 ERA, so Cubs fans were right to be cautious. But he did his job well. The Cubs elected to intentionally walk Fernando Tatis Jr, opting to face three-time batting champion Luis Arraez instead. That decision proved to be a good one as Arraez would fly out to left soon after, which ended the game.
After a disastrous night the previous game, the Cubs’ bullpen pulled themselves together to secure a hard-fought win in San Diego.
The Cubs and Padres will play the final of their three-game set on Wednesday. Starting for the Cubs will be lefty Matthew Boyd, who has been excellent so far this season. For the Padres, it will be Nick Pivetta.
Cubs bullpen saves the Game in San Diego as Cubs win 2-1 in Extras – Game 20 Recap