NL Wild Card: What to know before Cubs Game 2 vs. Padres, with a chance to clinch

The Chicago Cubs beat the Padres 3-1 on Tuesday. The team won its first playoff game since October 18, 2017.

They have a chance to clinch tomorrow in Game 2 vs. the Padres.

Here’s what to know before the Cubs play Game 2 of the NL Wild Card tomorrow.

The perfect Cubs bullpen

The Cubs’ roster of pitchers has earned everything they’ve gotten this season. The Cubs’ bullpen had been questioned most of the season. Matthew Boyd was a journeyman who wasn’t expected to be a Game 1 starter in the playoffs.

The two combined for a stellar day on Tuesday, keeping the Padres lineup in check, giving their own offense a chance to get their bearings and, ultimately, giving the Cubs a chance to clinch a spot in the NL Divisional series on Wednesday.

Boyd’s 4.1-inning outing wasn’t perfect by any means, but it got out of critical jams and showed he can thrive in the postseason. The bullpen was, by baseball definition, perfect.

“Can’t say enough about what they did today,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

Counsell deserves praise, too.

He was aggressive when he pulled Boyd after getting one out in the fifth. He put in Daniel Palencia, who recently returned from the injured list, and Palencia got what Counsell called the biggest five outs of the game against the heart of the Padres order.

“That’s the outing of the game that’s critical,” Counsell said. “The game made sense after that to me.”

The confidence flows from the starting rotation, too. The bullpen has undergone some changes since the start of the season and now features a litany of pitchers. The ones that got the call on Tuesday pitched a perfect final 4.2 innings.

Mitch Keller earned the save. Andrew Kittredge and Drew Pomeranz held.

“You pick a guy down there, they’re going to be the hero for the day,” Boyd said. “Guys have stepped up in huge spots.”

Count on Seiya Suzuki

When the Cubs get into a gotta-have-it moment on Wednesday, there’ll be a player they can count on.

Seiya Suzuki has been the biggest bat recently for the Cubs. With his fifth-inning home run on Tuesday, he has hit a home run in the last five games. This includes the two against the Mets on Sept. 25.

His home run changed the energy in Wrigley Field, and set up Carson Kelly’s follow-up shot that gave the Cubs the lead.

“Simply put, it was fantastic,” Suzuki said after the game through a translator. “You just felt the passion of the fans, them cheering us on. Rounding the bases, I felt some nerves, obviously, but great feeling overall.”

Suzuki said he watched the postseason the last few seasons and was angry when he did so. He wanted the chance to participate in a game with such high stakes so badly. He got his chance on Tuesday, and he made the most of it.

Now, he can be a hero again on Wednesday. The Cubs will need offense to clinch the best-of-three series. It makes the most sense that Suzuki can provide that again.

Kittredge to start Game 2, most likely opening for Shota

Counsell was asked if he had named a Game 2 starter for Wednesday. He told reporters that he hadn’t.

After Suzuki and Boyd spoke, a Cubs’ spokesperson said that Andrew Kittredge would start Wednesday’s game. Kittredge pitched the eighth inning for the Cubs, tossing only 14 total pitches.

With Kittredge being a bullpen arm, it’s most likely that he’ll start the game and set up a long-term pitcher in the first inning or two. That pitcher will most likely be Shota Imanaga.

Kittredge will start, so Imanaga won’t have to face the Padres lineup of Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill, who all had a batting average above .260 in the regular season. This takes pressure off Imanaga, who has given up 31 home runs this year. He’s allowed 10 of those 31 home runs in five September starts, including seven in the last three games.

The Padres will counter with former White Sox ace and former Cubs draft selection Dylan Cease.