Padres Sweep Cubs Out of Postseason With Dominant Pitching

Padres Pitching Shuts Down Cubs

The San Diego Padres secured their place in the next round of the playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. Five Padres pitchers teamed up to allow just five hits, completing a clean two-game sweep in the National League Wild Card Series.

Xander Bogaerts drove in the first run for San Diego, building on their dominant 8-0 victory from Tuesday. Gavin Sheets then came off the bench as a pinch hitter to hit a two-run home run, putting the game out of reach. Young catcher Ethan Salas also drove in a run. In doing so, Salas became the youngest player to catch a postseason game in major league history.

Complete Turnaround From Last Year

This victory is revenge for San Diego. Last year, the Cubs knocked the Padres out of the playoffs in three tough games at Wrigley Field. This time, the Padres turned the tables with two big wins in front of their home fans at Petco Park.

The Cubs came into the postseason leading the majors in runs and the National League in home runs. However, the San Diego pitching staff completely silenced their bats. Chicago managed only eight hits, seven of which were singles, across the entire 18 innings of the series.

San Diego is in incredible form right now. They have a 19-3 record since September 5. This marks their fifth playoff series victory in the last seven years. They now move on to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the division series starting Saturday in Milwaukee. San Diego took four of six games from the Brewers this season, which included a three-game sweep at Petco Park in August.