Padres offense stalls in NL Wild Card Series loss to Cubs as bullpen shines

The Padres didn’t stumble out of October so much as they ran out of runway. Over three taut, low-scoring games against the Chicago Cubs, San Diego kept the margins microscopic and the stress high — exactly the kind of series that should reward a club built on run prevention, matchup flexibility, and a deep bullpen. But when the at-bats that decide everything arrived, the bats that were supposed to carry them never got out of neutral.

That was the season-long theme distilled into three games: elite run prevention buys you chances; timely offense has to cash them. The Padres’ pitching staff did enough to win a series, allowing just six runs total. The offense answered with five. In October, that’s the difference between moving on and going home.

Padres’ bats fade in October while bullpen shines in NL Wild Card loss to Cubs

The final math is brutal in its simplicity. San Diego lost the NL Wild Card Series 2–1, with both defeats coming by the same 3–1 scoreline and the lone win a 3–0 shutout. That profile screams “close, controllable, winnable.” 

Credit where it’s due: Chicago’s pitching was excellent, layering strike-throwers with platoon looks and refusing to give in when San Diego did create small cracks. But that tip of the cap doesn’t erase the missed opportunities. When the lights were brightest in the winner-take-all, Fernando Tatis Jr. — a player known for raising the ceiling on exactly in these moments, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, looking unusually off-balance. Jake Cronenworth’s series was even rougher: an 0-for-11 stretch that turned the eight-spot into a dead zone.

The Game 3 arc sharpened the frustration. Yu Darvish’s poor start put San Diego in an instant jam, and yet the bullpen did what this bullpen has done all year — absorb innings, smother rallies, and keep the game within a single swing for eight frames. Jackson Merrill finally delivered that swing in the ninth with a solo shot that cracked the door, but it came one rally too late and with no one aboard. It was a perfect snapshot of the series.

None of this means the blueprint is broken. It means the blueprint needs reinforcement. The offseason to-do list is clear: add an impact bat that changes the math in the middle, reduce exposure to prolonged cold spells around the core, and deepen the lineup so the offense isn’t so dependent on chaining three singles to score. Some of that can be internal — cleaner swing decisions in leverage, more lift against mistake velocity, better plan-of-attack versus late-inning relievers. Some of it will require external help — another source of extra-base damage that forces opposing managers out of their comfort zones sooner.

The Padres exit October knowing they can suffocate games; now they need to seize them. Keep the run prevention, keep the bullpen leverage machine, and stack just enough thunder to tip nights like these.

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