CHICAGO — Fielding cleanly was key. Being at the friendly confines sure didn’t hurt.
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit an RBI single off a shaky Yu Darvish, and the Chicago Cubs shut down the San Diego Padres for a clinching 3-1 victory in Game 3 of their best-of-three National League Wild Card Series on Thursday.
Backed by a raucous crowd of 40,895 at Wrigley Field, fourth-seeded Chicago used its stellar defense to advance in the postseason for the first time since 2017. Michael Busch hit a solo homer, and Jameson Taillon pitched four shutout innings before manager Craig Counsell used five relievers to close it out against the fifth-seeded Padres.
“This group’s battle-tested,” Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “This group can grind it out. This group never backs down from and shies away from anything. This is such an amazing thing to be a part of.”
After reliever Brad Keller faltered in the ninth — allowing Jackson Merrill’s leadoff homer and hitting two batters with pitches — Andrew Kittredge earned the save by retiring Jake Cronenworth on a bouncer to third and Freddy Fermin on a fly ball to center field.